Biden, McConnell and Feinstein make the case for term limits

Do we need term limits? Let’s see if we can make the case.  With term limits we would not have an octogenarian who wants the responsibilities of the presidency for another four years – with a reasonable fear that he may not complete another four-year term.

We would not have Mitch McConnell as the Republican Senate Minority Leader – who has had repeated “senior moments” at press conferences.  We would not have Diane Feinstein as an incoherent Democrat Finance Committee Chair.  Her condition is so bad that she had to surrender the chairmanship of the Committee.

The historic record is filled with politicians who served beyond their capabilities only because of the protective nature of staff and media.  South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond would never have hung on to his Senate seat for48 years — past is 100^th birthday.  He was the oldest serving member in American history.  At the end, he was wheelchair-bound, missed committee meetings and often was asleep when he did show up.

Senator Carl Hayden served Arizona in Congress, first in the House and then the Senate from 1912 – when Arizona became a state — to 1969.   At the end of his Senate career, Hayden was wheelchair-bound and had to have aides cast his floor votes.  He occasionally had to be rushed off the floor due to incontinence. He was unable to run for reelection in 1968.  In announcing his retirement, Hayden ironically expressed the importance of term limits when he said, “Among other things that fifty-six years in Congress have taught me is that contemporary events need contemporary men.”  It took him 56 years to learn that?

West Virginia Senator (and former Ku Klux Klan wizard) Robert Byrd served in the Senate for 51 years – the longest ever.  Despite his history and his devotion to segregation, Byrd’s tenure made him one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate – and a staunch opponent of school integration.  He was the last member of the KKK to serve in Congress.  He died in office at the age of 92.

Michigan Congressman John Dingell was the longest serving member of Congress with a 59-year career.  In his final years in Congress, Dingell suffered a number of debilitating age-related issues, including a broken hip.  His health issues prevented him from running for reelection. He was 88 when he stepped down.

In today’s political world, the American people express great frustration and distrust of the nation’s leaders — understandably.   If the Founders had incorporated term limits into the Constitution, most of those in Congress today would not be there – and literally all the leadership and heads of committees.  Perhaps that vision is why more than 80 percent of the American people favor federal term limits.

Yes, it is nice to believe that there should be no restrictions on elections.  Let the people decide.  Unfortunately, the amassing of power is detrimental to the democratic process.  Former Congressman and Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld perfectly addressed the dilemma when he said, “Term limits are a bad idea that‘s time has come.”

So, there ‘tis.