# Term limits for US Congress and Senate **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 3, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308 "2015-12-03T14:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/41 "2015-12-08T14:31:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It’s reasonable to assume that more than 10% of opposing candidates would do a better job than the incumbent. “assume”? I thought this was Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/42 "2015-12-08T14:41:00Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > No, you go back to the job you left after you serve your term. You’re still thinking in the current paradigm. Only people that are out of the work force for 12 plus years need help getting a lobbying job when they don’t get re-elected. If the turnover in congress was higher, there wouldn’t be as many lobbying jobs available. If I had asked to take two years off from my job, I wouldn’t have been able to return to it. That’s true for most people. This was the same issue Britain went through over the issue of paying members of Parliament. Some people argued that people should serve out of a sense of duty rather than because they we’re getting paid. But the reality was that making the job unpaid limited it to only wealthy people. I think it’s better for the country if we treat politics like it’s a job rather than like it’s a hobby for the idle rich. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/43 "2015-12-08T14:43:05Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Since 1980, party control of the Senate has changed six times. During the same period, party control of the White House only changed four times. > > Seems to me that’s evidence that voters do, in fact, shake things up. Plus, only one-third of the current Senate was serving in 2005. That’s a 66 seat turnover in ten years. Is the Senate better now? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/44 "2015-12-08T14:45:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It’s reasonable to assume that more than 10% of opposing candidates would do a better job than the incumbent. If only there was some method whereby we could replace the incumbents with these opposing candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/45 "2015-12-08T17:23:06Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > The US was built on the principle that with enough support from the public, anyone can lead. I haven’t seen anyone comment on this yet, but I don’t think it’s a defensible statement or that any of the Founding Fathers would have agreed with it. Being a Congressman/Senator is a job, and, like most jobs, is one that someone with experience is typically better at doing than a complete novice. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/46 "2015-12-08T17:27:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Being a Congressman/Senator is a job, and, like most jobs, is one that someone with experience is typically better at doing than a complete novice. Imagine what our economy would look like if we expected everyone to change to a new job every five years. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/47 "2015-12-08T19:05:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I haven’t seen anyone comment on this yet, but I don’t think it’s a defensible statement or that any of the Founding Fathers would have agreed with it. > > Being a Congressman/Senator is a job, and, like most jobs, is one that someone with experience is typically better at doing than a complete novice. In fact most of the founding fathers believed in a natural aristocracy. Voters could choose among the better sorts who should hold a particular office, but they would be choosing from the natural aristocrats. ---
**Author:** ![BigBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@BigBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/48 "2015-12-11T01:58:28Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There are already term limits. 6 years for a Senator, 2 years for a Representative, 4 years for President. **The additional limit of two terms for President is idiotic and has been a disaster so far.** The only thing missing is term limits for judges. They should be pretty long, but Judge for life is a bad idea. How so? ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/49 "2015-12-11T04:46:34Z")
“Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.” - Mark Twain ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308/50 "2015-12-11T14:13:04Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > “assume”? I thought this was Great Debates. How do you propose that we objectively measure the effectiveness of legislators? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-for-us-congress-and-senate/739308.md?page=2)