Dear Editor: Term Limits

Dear Editor,

As you and your readers know by now, I despise politics, especially as they stand in this day and age where the almighty dollar seems to have taken precedence over our precious right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The latest furor concerning the proposed convention of states, in particular, the push for setting stricter term limits has gotten me thinking (I know, DANGEROUS). We’ve heard arguments, both in support of and against the proposal. As far as the arguments against setting (tightening?) term limits, they might run something like this: “term limits, specifically LOWER term limits only mean that even if we happen to get a good one (House Rep., Senator, etc), we will only have them for the set term limit, just to have the next one come in who may or may not be much worse.” Thus, you see the problem!

“Well, the best way,” one might hear, “to fix this problem is to vote for the best candidates and then follow up with them, holding them accountable to their oath of office.”

Sad to say, too many have witnessed or even participated in this process, so I’m pretty sure I don’t need to remind anybody how that most often works out for us.

I’m not a politician, by any means, but I have a suggestion for this dilemma. It DOES involve accountability, though not necessarily in the way one normally thinks. What if term limits were meted out as a reward or punishment? For that matter, what about applying the same to upper levels of government?!

If instead of setting across-the-board term limits, as in this or that candidate serves for a set number of years, they may face a sort of impeachment for failing to keep their oath of office? Would that not make them think twice about accepting a bribe behind the back or turning a blind eye? If they start to renege, for instance, on their campaign promises, they would be held accountable, not just by being in danger of losing their job, but they could even be brought up on criminal charges!

I’m sure I’m not the first one to think like this. But seriously, if even local politicians could be impeached, do you think they might take their jobs a little more seriously? I can understand the notion behind setting term limits (sorta, kinda), but really, as long as they’re doing a good job, why not let them?

Again, term limits may not be the worst political idea ever, but it does have its, well....limits!

Charles Haddon Shank

Whitehall, Montana