Limited Government Means Limited Terms

The People's Term Limits Restores Power to The People

We The People are born and raised fed the myth that we have choice in American politics. In fact, there's only the illusion of choice. Although there are two parties that rule over us, in effect there is only one - the incumbency party. A politician elected to Congress is essentially in power for life. As a result the people have very little say in how they're governed. This is not democracy.

They are able to stay in power by selling their office to wealthy special interests and lobbyists. That means they are not really in office to represent the people. The power of incumbency affords them the ability to continue winning elections year after year. This system makes elections essentially meaningless.

We can do something about what's going on in Washington. We can end a government run by a privileged few on behalf of powerful special interests.  The solution is a People's Term Limits. In the next election year (2010) vote out every member of Congress who has been in power for too long. If they won't give us term limits we'll impose it on them.

The Power of Incumbency

A member of Congress is a privileged individual. They are essentially there for life. In the 2004 election cycle, the re-election rate for sitting members of Congress was 98.8 percent. In the Senate, 25 out of 26 occupants were re-elected. 

Since the end of WWII, the power of incumbency has gotten progressively worse. In the Senate, incumbents averaged a 74 percent rate from 1946 to 1964; 1966-1984, 76%; 1986-1998, 87.4%. From 1952 to 2000, the re-election rate for House incumbents was 93 percent. More recently, 1998 to 2004, 98 percent of incumbents had been re-elected in the House of Representatives. Even in 1994, when Republicans took control of Congress in a "seismic realignment, 91 percent of incumbents still won." 

And it's not limited to the United States. In Australia, for example, "governments use the powers of incumbency to gain an advantage over the Opposition."

How They Remain In Power

"Money is perhaps the single biggest reason that incumbents are returned to office so often. Incumbency is one of the main factors in their ability to raise funds. This sort of "cyclical effect is the most powerful engine driving the re-election of incumbents in Congress."

"It's rare for an incumbent to face a challenger with a campaign war chest even half the size… Whoever raises the most money almost always wins. And incumbents almost always raise the most money” This creates a self-perpetuating cycle: since the candidate with the most money usually wins, and incumbents almost always have more funds available – the incumbent has a distinct advantage."

Earmarking is used by incumbents to buy lobbyists and voters. In the current defense budget, $5 billion were added in earmarks. Even some prominent Senators like Tom Colburn admit this about his colleagues: "they're like pirates who divide up the bounty and share it among themselves"

They also re-district which serves to get rid of voters unfavorable to the incumbent.

The Consequence of Government without Limits

JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs reported large profits only months after receiving billions in bailout funds. Paid for by the American people. We were told it was necessary in order to "save" Wall St. and the economy. There was no bailout of the rest of us who are having trouble making ends meet. Forty million Americans live under the poverty line (over 13 percent). 1 in 8 Americans and 1 in 4 children live on Medicaid to get by. And as a result of the near depression caused by Wall St. greed, and a government that turned a blind eye to their shenanigans, the gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen. 

The unemployment rate  is over 10 percent and will remain high for years to come. That means the people are benefiting very little from the bailout/stimulus package. It's business as usual on Wall St. while the American people get the shaft.

Robert Byrd recently became the longest "serving" Congressman in American history. He's been on Capitol Hill for 56 years and is 92 years-old. He is considered a "master of pork-barrel politics." The former Klansman "joined other Southerners in filibustering against major civil rights legislation during the 1960s." What is the result of all those years in Congress? The State Byrd represents, West Virginia, ranks 49th in standard of living (measured in per capita income). That not bad enough, they also rank 49th in the number of citizens whom have obtained a college bachelors degree or greater.

PTL: You have the Power!

People's Term Limits is something you do yourself. No need to join some organization and pay a membership fee. All you have to do is vote. Just not for a long serving incumbent. This is the criteria:

Vote out House members whom have been elected 4 Times, and will have been in office 8 consecutive years; In the Senate, those that have been elected twice, and will have been in office 12 consecutive years.

Despite spending $100 million the people of NYC almost voted out incumbent Mayor Bloomberg because of his hand in overthrowing term limits.