When was the last time you went to the ballot box and felt like you had a real slate of genuine choices to choose from? I can’t remember either.
Congressional races have become like a bad game of Monopoly. The game started decades ago and if you’re a challenger for a seat from outside the establishment. How are you going to seriously compete? Challenging an incumbent in Washington is like joining a game of Monopoly after all the properties have been scooped up and built upon. Your initial cash is going to be gone before long. The truth is, the incumbency in Washington has consolidated its control at the expense of the country.
Term limits would change the game. Suddenly the incumbent “players” in the congressional game would be required to periodically exit the game to make room for new players. Their seats would be up for grabs and new individuals with fresh perspectives would be able to vie for seats at the game. The stagnation and inertia that plagues Congress today is due to a lack of incentive to take risks and make bold decisions. New members would be far more motivated to move the ball forward. Accountability would increase as elections would become far more authentically competitive. This means that members would have to spend far more time on the actual work of serving to their constituents rather than dialing for dollars.
Currently the only reprieve from incumbency dominance in the Beltway are incarceration, death, or retirement. In the 2022 mid-terms, 100% of U.S. Senators who ran to keep their seats kept them. The House wasn’t much better, where 95% of the incumbents won. 97% of SuperPAC money goes to the incumbent candidates. Without term limits, we will remain beholden to a codified ruling class whose power is only shaken when they land on “Go to Jail”. Even then, many incumbents have “Get Out of Jail Free” cards in their back pockets due to their manifold connections and layers of influence.
The Tennessee State Senate can bring the country closer to having the states propose congressional term limits, or when close to doing so, forcing Congress into finally taking action on this issue supported by 87% of American voters. When they reconvene in January, I’m eager for them to concur with both the House and the voters in passing House Joint Resolution 5 for term limits on Congress.
###
Dukette, Aaron, USTL Central Regional Director. “Congressional Elections like a Bad Game of Monopoly.” Murfreesboro Voice. 21 Nov. 2023. Letter to the editor.
https://www.murfreesborovoice.com/