We are long overdue for term limits on members of Congress

By STEVE CHRISTENSEN

Why do we have a term limit on being president, but not on being in Congress?
    I think (here we go again!) being in office for too long creates a lot of possibilities for corruption. It’s so tempting and if you make a law that says something isn’t illegal, there’s no chance of being convicted. Look at the people who have been in Congress a long time. I challenge you to find one who isn’t rich.
    Did you know that insider trading rules don’t apply to members of Congress? That’s right, a member of Congress could not have gone to prison for what Martha Stewart did. If a member of Congress does it, it isn’t against the law. If you do it, or Martha Stewart does it, you go, or she goes to prison.
    Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps because the people who are exempt are the very people who made the law in the first place. That’s right, they exempted themselves from insider trading laws. In some countries that would be called corruption. Because that’s what it is.
    So, why do politicians do things like this? Because we allow it. By re-electing senators and representatives over and over, we condone this behavior. If we voted them out of office, or better yet, if there were limits on the terms they serve, this wouldn’t happen.
    Bloomberg Government (BGOV), an internet-based service of Bloomberg News, analyzes government actions that impact businesses and people in general.
    The BGOV Barometer shows that 90 percent of House members and 91 percent of senators who sought re-election in 2012 were successful (I couldn’t fine 2016 statistics), exceeding the incumbent re-election rates of 2010, when 85 percent of House members and 84 percent of senators seeking re-election were successful.
    It has been the same for over four decades. At least 90 percent of House members were re-elected over that period.
    At Bloomberg, Charlie Mahtesian puts it this way: “The conclusion is that the 2012 re-election rates are an example of an enduring phenomenon: Voters hate Congress but like their own member.”
    Peter Schweizer has written several books. He is a conservative historian. Even though I don’t agree with much that he says, I am fond of two of his books, “Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets” and “Throw Them All Out.”  I think it’s a good idea.