United for Term Limits: Democrats and Republicans agree there are major problems with a Seniority System
U.S. Representative Jared Golden and State Senator Rick Bennett discuss the pitfalls of the seniority system imbedded in Congress and the need for term limits. Both agree that term limiting Congress will reduce the concentration of power among entrenched politicians. It will shorten the ladder to chair positions empowering citizens from all walks of life to resolve the current issues Americans face on a faster timeline. Find out more by watching this insightful political dialog.
Rep. Golden: When you’re in a system where there’s no term limits and it can take 20 years before you’re ever even in a position to be considered to chair a committee and chairing a committee is where it’s at. When you’re in a system where there’s no term limits and it can take 20 years before you’re ever even in a position to be considered to chair a committee and chairing a committee is where it’s at. If you really wanna have the ability to make a big difference on a specific subset of issues and 22 years later it might not be all that relevant anymore.
Ali: One comment before… I ask the question is the practicality and the logic that I’m hearing from you two guys it’s awesome. It’s absolutely awesome. And I hope the rest of the country sees that too. Really. What are the… What problems have you noticed in your time in Congress that are a result of people staying in office too long? I would say that to both of you actually.
Rep. Golden: When you’re in a system where there’s no term limits and it can take 20 years before you’re ever even in a position to be considered to chair a committee and chairing a committee is where it’s at. If you really wanna have the ability to make a big difference on a specific subset of issues. If you want to do the most to help our veterans as an example, there’s no doubt being the chair is the best way to do that.
And you could have a really good idea about how to go about that and 22 years later it might not be all that relevant anymore. And the number of times in Congress that I have seen chairs finally get there and realize that they’re pushing the pet project they’ve been holding onto and waiting for that moment to do for 12 years or for 20 years, it’s no longer the most important thing or the right fix.
Maybe it was back then, it’s not today. And you realize there’s a mismatch between where Congress is in the past almost and where we are as a nation today and where we need to go in the future. That’s one problem that not all the time, but sometimes presents itself.
Audience member: One of things I’d like to say too is thank you for all the work you do for veterans. That’s a little bit off topic, everybody, while I got you here, I figured I’d tell you. Thank you very much.
Rep. Golden: Thank you.
Audience member: You’re welcome.
Sen. Bennett To answer your question, we’ve had term limits in Maine now for almost 30 years, and I served, as I said, my first terms in the house when we didn’t. And what we saw was that if you looked on average at turnover, it didn’t look too bad. But you’d get into the weeds of it and you’d find out that there are a few long… The longest serving people had consolidated the power in presiding officers, long-serving committee chairs. And then you would have really well-meaning people that are coming out recently retired business leaders or nurses and people just from ordinary walks of life that just want to go there with good purpose and do their thing. And they’d get elected and they’d suddenly realize that they’re… They don’t have the authority that the constitution says that they have. Because it’s being… It had been consolidated in the longest serving members. And so you get turnover because those people get frustrated. They’d serve one term, two terms and say like, “I’m tired of this. I don’t want to be a potted plant. I’m here to serve the people.” And they wouldn’t leave. So you’d have on average decent turnover, but the problem is the fresh blood that was turning over.