The Politics and Law of Term LimitsEdward H. Crane, Roger Pilon Eighty percent of the American people say congressional terms should be limited. Fifteen states have already done so, and efforts are spreading to more states and hundreds of cities. Would term limits be a good idea? Would they be constitutional? The Politics and Law of Term Limits presents both sides of the issue and lets the reader decide. Contributors include syndicated columnist George F. Will, League of Women Voters president Becky Cain, Thomas E. Mann of the Brookings Institution, constitutional scholar Ronald D. Rotunda, and former White House counsel Lloyd Cutler, among others. The Founding Fathers did not include term limits in the Constitution because they thought citizen legislators, not professional politicians, would be the rule, and an overwhelming number of voters from every demographic group in the nation believe that should be the case today. Problems such as the burgeoning federal deficit indicate that careerism and legislative "experience" may not be all they are cracked up to be. Proponents of term limits argue that abolishing careerism would open the political process to a new type of candidate - the aspiring citizen legislator - who wishes to take a brief time out from his or her work to make a contribution to society. But opponents of term limits counter that such a change would induce an unhealthy dependence on congressional aides and professional lobbyists. Who is correct? You decide. |
Contents
3 | |
Term Limits | 15 |
From the Voters with Care | 27 |
Term Limits Not the Answer to What Ails Politics | 45 |
Restoring The University in Rotation An Essay in Defense of Term Limitation | 57 |
Congressional Term Limits A Bad Idea Whose Time Should Never Come | 83 |
The Constitutionality of StateImposed Term Limits for Federal Office | 99 |
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additional qualifications amateurs American argue argument ballot ballot-access Becky Cain campaign finance reform candidates career Cato Institute challengers citizen legislature competition congressional elections congressional term limits constitutionality Convention debate delegates Deliberative Democracy democracy democratic disqualified district electoral enacted ex rel exclusive experience F.Supp Federalist Fourteenth Amendment Framers Hamilton House of Representatives Ibid impose term limits incumbents issue Joseph Story League of Women limit the terms Madison Malbin Mann members of Congress ment officeholders opponents of term party percent Petracca political politicians poll Powell President professional prohibition proposed qualifications clauses qualifications for office quasi-term limits regulation representation representative democracy republican requirements Roger Pilon rotation in office rule served spending Supreme Court term-limits laws term-limits legislation term-limits movement Thomas Mann Thorsted tion tional tive turnover U.S. Constitution U.S. representatives U.S. Senate U.S. Term Limits unconstitutional Victor Kamber violate vote Washington Women Voters