"We already have "term limits". They are called "elections". People who believe that statement have no depth of understanding of our political system. Equating elections with term limits is not only an oxymoron, it is analogous to equating the invention of a stone age club or the bow and arrow as being equivalent to discovering weapons of mass destruction. Here are some of the advantages held by incumbents:
- As "news makers," they are regularly featured on the evening news related to legislation passed or for their views on pending legislation. (You can't buy this kind of publicity.)
- Legislatures preside over budgets and appropriations. Legislators get to take credit for all spending where they voted for legislation perceived as being positive.
- Better yet legislators get to vote and claim credit for any legislation or tax cut that might be perceived as saving taxpayers a buck or two.
- Challengers that have not been beaten in prior elections do not get to claim these benefits. (Challengers can't buy this kind of publicity, even if they have the money to pay for it.)
- Last, but certainly not least, incumbents' control over the public purse effectively empowers the incumbent to buy his or her own reelection using the public treasury, even before they start raising campaign funding. (Incumbents have a substantial advantage in raising campaign funding because incumbents rarely lose and most campaign funding has nothing to do with issue or candidate promotion, but is actually a form of buying access to elected officials.)
The United States cannot survive if we do not pass a Constitutional Amendment that provides Term Limits for members of Congress and the Federal Judiciary. If you believe your state can remain solvent without Term Limits, you are living a fantasy,
I don't care if an incumbent has an "advantage". That's not a problem with the election system. That's a problem with campaigns and campaign financing. And if I have an elected official who I'm happy with after 2 or 3 terms, why do I need to "force" him out of office with a term limit? I don't have many answers, but a democracy isn't really a true democracy if a candidate can't stay in office as long as his/her constituents want.