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Incumbents get re-elected the vast majority of the time, because they typically have the best connections to raise the most money during elections.
Only way to stop them is with term limits.
I think 12 years is a good number, because it gives them reasonable time to make a difference.
Also, once a congressman gets comfortable in their office, they lose the "fire" that first made them run for office.
This is why nothing ever gets accomplished Congress.
We have a bunch of old men and women who really aren't passionate about making a difference.
They are more concerned about getting re-elected than passing new laws and helping the people who elected them.
And these old men and women are often the ones in the leadership positions.
Precisely the point of the OP. Public funding of campaigns would allow those with the best ideas and best track records to run for office, no matter how unpopular they are with the big money and the vested interests, thus enabling a level playing field. Term limits for committee roles would also reduce the cronyism and pork spending.
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Not as easy as it sounds.
Incumbents get re-elected the vast majority of the time, because they typically have the best connections to raise the most money during elections.
Only way to stop them is with term limits.
I think 12 years is a good number, because it gives them reasonable time to make a difference.
Also, once a congressman gets comfortable in their office, they lose the "fire" that first made them run for office.
This is why nothing ever gets accomplished Congress.
We have a bunch of old men and women who really aren't passionate about making a difference.
They are more concerned about getting re-elected than passing new laws and helping the people who elected them.
And these old men and women are often the ones in the leadership positions.
Term limits is not the "only way" to stop them. It's not even the best way to stop them. Real campaign finance reform is a better way to stop them. Getting more people interested in and involved in the election process is a better way to stop poorly performing incumbents from being re-elected.
Limiting the options of voters is a poor strategy, not to mention the fact that term limits in the federal government are nearly impossible to impose.
Yes, 8 needs to be an option as well. That's why I didn't vote.
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