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Austin Dyess

Rogers 5
October 21, 2015
Term Limits, the End of Political Gridlock

It is clear without a reasonable doubt that the people of these United States are
unhappy with the current unproductive nature of our government. You may have heard
from peers, the news, social media, or even candidates running for office that our
governmental machine is broken and is in dire need of fixing. Originally created to be
servants of the constituents firsts, lawmakers second, and politicians last, this order of
duty for members of the House of Representatives has reversed in the past decades.
Concerned more with re-election and campaign funding, members of Congress have
seemingly come to a halt when it comes to compromising on important issues to please
their constituents. Although it is believed that voters will enact change where they see fit,
it is imperative that this constitutional amendment is passed to end career politicians,
limit the power of lobbyists, and ease partisan politics to pass meaningful and important
legislation to save our country.
Career politicians have been known to cater to themselves first, their party
second, and constituents of their region last. Career politicians came about as
congressmen shifted their focus from their party and ideals to themselves. It makes sense,
too, with no end in sight, congressmen are constantly worrying more about their next
election than anything else. An example of this happened in 1994 when 39 freshmen
Republican congressmen promised to step down from their position after 12 years of

service. Since then, many have stepped down, but a surprising number, (9), have
hypocritically stayed in office (Killian). This is just one example of how congressmen are
able to make promises and break them with no repercussions as they continued to win
elections in their districts. The terrifying thing is, becoming a career politician is not very
difficult. Representative Sean Duffy of Wisconsins 7th district was on the MTV reality
show The Real World: Boston and Road Rules: All Stars before beginning his
political career. When asked if he supported federal legislation to require trans-vaginal
ultrasounds for pregnant women seeking abortions, he not only did not know what they
were, but also curved answering the question by replying I havent had one(Duffy).
Despite unprofessional responses and making comments that are offensive to all women,
Representative Duffy continues to be reelected as a young career politician. If someone
so clueless can win as an incumbent, how may a new, bright politician be elected? The
answer, sadly, is that he most likely will not, as there is an upward trend in the number of
career politicians due to the ever-rising cost of campaigning.
Money talks, especially in politics. Campaign Donations influence both
elections and legislation; with a term limit, the huge role money plays in politics could be
curbed substantially. With the backing of lobbyists they have met while in office,
incumbents win at an alarming rate. According to The Effects of Campaign Spending in
Congressional Elections incumbents almost always outspend their challengers (by and
average of more than $436, 000) They also add spend another seventy-five thousand
dollars and youll get 1,572 more votes,(Jacobson 469). Some quick math will tell you
that incumbents will have an extra nine thousand votes per election. As time moves
forward these campaign spending numbers will only move upwards as corporations will

become more invested in politics. By blockading legislation and pushing bills that are in
the best interests of the lobbyists, incumbents are at a substantial advantage in their
election. Over time, many lobbyists and House Members develop long-term professional
relationships that are mutually lucrative. According to OpenSecrets.Org, the median
net worth for the 530 current lawmakers who were in Congress as of the May filing
deadline was $1,008,767 (Choma). This may be great for the employing corporations
and Representatives, however, this is not how our founding fathers envisioned our
government would work as the working and middle-class people are losing trust in their
government. Because our lawmakers are more concentrated on their next election, they
find themselves subject to their lobbyists and parties for funding.
Another large portion of campaign fundraising comes directly from their political party,
who, on occasion, will ask them to put aside their personal beliefs for their partys views.
Partisan politics today is notorious for being one of the major cruxes of American
government. In order to secure the support of their party, congressmen must back up their
party, even if they want the bill to pass. Although super PACs are unable to donate
directly to a single candidate, the 2012 elections are the first to have so-called super
PACs, which are allowed to raise an unlimited amount of money from donors who can
choose to remain anonymous (Kaufman). This means indirect funding to smear
opponents campaigns and influence elections. In order to secure funds from larger
donors and their parties, congressmen must go against their personal beliefs when their
party calls for it.
An example of this happened earlier this decade in the governmental shutdown of
2013. The GOP leadership was furious with Obamacare and voted over 40 times to repeal

it. When the budget was being discussed for the next House of Representatives, both
sides forced all of their congressmen to not budge. The GOP demanded cuts for the
Affordable Care Act in the budget while the Democratic Party would not consider any
cuts. On September 30th, neither party was able to compromise because leadership
demanded their party stay strong, resulting in the infamous government shut down that
lasted almost three weeks (Manton 25). The shutdown was an eye-opening experience to
many Americans as all nonessential governmental functions were completely shut down.
American people are known for having the best, be it technology, business, or feats of
science, however our congressional structure is now recognized globally as a joke. A
Gallup poll, with a margin of plus-or-minus of four percent, discovered that The current
disapproval rating of Congress is at 83%(Gallup). Of those that disapproved, that
majority of naysayers cited the party gridlock and their inability to compromise. If new
faces were allowed into congress perhaps age-old alliances against other parties could be
broken up, ending the gridlock, allowing compromises, and progress that cannot be
accomplished in todays political climate of Washington.
Some argue that term limits would give too much power to lobbyists and party
officials and that the complexity of serving in a legislature requires years of experience.
This argument has some verisimilitude, as there is a significant learning curve to the
legislative process, however, this does not warrant giving up and allowing the same
people to create our laws for decades. According to Vital Statistics on Congress twothirds of voters want The House of Representative Members to be moved out. It is
unrealistic to believe that the incumbents are the only people out of the hundreds of
millions of citizens in the United States that are qualified for the job, especially when

they are on a historically bad run. Opponents also maintain that elections are the best tool
for limiting the number of terms served by legislators. This makes many incorrect
assumptions: first, this is expecting all Americans to be politically involved. Second, this
assumes that people will vote in congressional elections, and, third, this assumes people
believe their voice really matters in politics. This past primary election, only five
incumbent congressmen lost their seat, and in the general election, 14 were defeated
(Haas). Out of 435 seats, that is a meek three percent change in personnel; hardly enough
fresh faces to free our country of the current political gridlock.
In order to make the imperative changes that are necessary to keep our country
afloat, we must check the power of the lobbyists, partisan politics, Super PACs, and
career politicians by enacting a term limit on the House of Representatives. George
Washington set the standard for all Presidents by leaving office due to his fear of another
monarchy, although these congressmen do not have the tyrannical powers of a single
king, collectively they are holding our country back by clinging to the money and power
that comes with the responsibility of creating our countrys laws. It is now up to you to
vote to enact the 28th Amendment and make America great again by allowing a fresh
voice to speak amongst the stale cobwebs of the House of Representatives.

Works Cited
"Congress and the Public." Gallup.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
Duffy, Sean. "Duffy, Town Hall, Spooner, Duffy Makes Joke of New Invasive Abortion
Procedure." YouTube, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015
Election Statistics, 1920 to Present N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015
Haas, Karen L. "Election Statistics, 1920 to Present | US House of Representatives: History, Art
& Archives."
Jacobson, Gary C. "The Effects of Campaign Spending in Congressional Elections." The
American Political Science Review 72.2 (1978): 469. Web
Kaufman, Stephen. "2012 U.S. Elections the First Influenced by "Super PACs"" IIP Digital.
United States Embassy, 01 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2011/10/20111027114031nehpets0.9594
385.html#ixzz3qIAPv828
Killian, Linda. The Freshmen: What Happened to the Republican Revolution? Boulder, CO:
Westview, 1998. Print.
Manton, Amanda (2015) "Term Limits in the United States," ESSAI: Vol. 12, Article 25

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