OpenGov - Open Government Brainstorm

It would almost certainly require a Constitutional amendment, and would only have a chance to pass if current Senators and Representatives were "grandfathered," as President Truman was when Presidential term limits were enshrined in the Constitution. But we need this. No one feels that Presidential term limits have impeded democracy by preventing constituents from voting for whom they want, and the gains the Republic would realize in quality and disinterested statemanship, lessened corruption and influence peddling and reduced wasteful expenditure and pork would be well worth it even if it did. We should remember Cinncinatus, and Lucius Quintus Cinncinatus Lamar, his namesake. There aren't many like them around any more.

I've actually come to the opposite conclusion, after watching term limits radicalize my state legislature. The primaries in our state is where the real contested elections are, and in many rural counties in Missouri, the bench is incrediby thin to begin with, and then term limits means you run through the statesmen quickly.

No! instead:

We must have public financing of campaigns...period!

I know you think you don't want to pay for it...but you already ARE!

Every no bid contract, every unpaid royalty on an oil lease, every blocked piece of legislation that is supported by the majority because some committee head is paid off or intimidated into inaction, every blocked investigation...YOU PAY AND PAY AND PAY!

You pay hundreds of times what you would to finance campaigns in A CORRUPTION SURCHARGE!

Don't get rid of experienced people who do a good job...get rid of the influences that make them beholden to special interests and not to the voters!

Term limits will hurt more than help. Federal regulations are lengthy and cumbersome and take years to figure out. Agency reform (HUD, HEW, DOD, FAA, etc.) will slow to a crawl as oversight committees populated with congress people with no or little experience or understanding of federal bureaucracy hold up legislation and appropriations for programs of which they have no historical knowledge. What is needed is true campaign finance reform so that special interests cannot purchase our elected officials and obtain political favors and contracts in return. Cronyism is the menace here.

Decreasing the barriers to running for office might work better than term limits.

A national publicly funded election system like the ones in Maine in Arizona would allow people who aren't millionaires to run for office and it would make the election about ideas instead of fundraising and advertising.

Creating a requirement of public approval for proposed congressional pay raises would also help increase responsiveness of representatives and weed out some of the greedy ones.

We have had too many decades of self-serving lifetime careerist members of Congress (both parties, both chambers) who have been setting their own Pay, Perks, and Pensions (and Pork, Big Time), and who have legalized their own bribery as they accept arm loads of cash from armies of lobbyists, then obediently deliver their votes as purchased.

The real solution is to have people actually know who they're voting for, and to have more limits on filibusters in the Senate.

5. Congressional Term Limit: Congressmen, both Senators and Representatives, may only serve two consecutive terms of office. The next term following two successive terms must not be served, but the congressmen may run for re-election on the fourth term for no more than two successive terms. Meaning, a congressmen may serve two terms on, one term off, then two terms on, and so forth; determined by re-election of and by the people.

• I am tired of incumbent politicians loaded with PAC money, running for re-election without restating their platform of ideals or accepting debate invitations from party rivals. They take it for granted that the American people have been watchful of their voting record and judge them on their actions in congress, for the vast majority of Americans, this isn’t true. Since this proposal opens up the forced restatement of ideals for re-election every term or every forth term, it would reaffirm to the American people that their congressional representatives have their interests in government.

Term limits won't work if good representatives are removed for "back room crony type leaders". Their votes could be bought, etc. (not saying they aren't now).

The Democratic Party Super Delegates strike me as this type of power. It should be the policy that all delegates be elected and not picked by insiders. Otherwise the ruling elite stay in power.

We can agree to disagree, I believe there are very few 'good' representatives in congress. As demonstrated on a daily basis. Every one is against the 'good ol' boy' problem, just as long as it is not their 'good ol' boy' 94% of incumbants were re-elected in '08. With campaign finances as they are structured now, Money runs the politicians, we need campaign reform and term limits to reign in the ruling elite ie..congress.

I am anti-incumbent in that any politician who was in office during the Bush Jr. administration, need to go since they failed in their primary duties to moderate the actions of the other branches of government, namely the executive branch. The federal government is built upon the principle of three, where two branches moderate the third so neither branch becomes to powerful. This system has clearly failed. I would start by removing all Supreme Court judges, since none of them defended the constitution in regards to the Bush Jr. admin. The Supreme Court allowed Bush to interpret the constitution far too freely. Even Cheney got to say that his office was not part of the executive or the legislative, but somewhere in limbo where the rule of law does not apply. By god, how that could be allowed with any sane judiciary is beyond me. This most likely is a very good reason to outlaw family presidents, since father chose judges to be favorable to the son, years down the road.

"The Supreme Court allowed Bush to interpret the constitution far too freely. Even Cheney got to say that his office was not part of the executive or the legislative, but somewhere in limbo where the rule of law does not apply. By god, how that could be allowed with any sane judiciary is beyond me.

Actually, the Supreme court never sanctioned that assertion and it's fairly clear that even a conservative court would have shot that one down if it had.

I certainly don't want my choices on the ballot eliminated. If you don't like your reps vote them out, but don't mess with my choices

You all know that our Founding Fathers were really concerned about the 2 party system. Just look at what a mess it is! As soon as one party is in the driver's seat, the other is trying to discredit it. It's really too bad we couldn't just do away with them, and the best candidate win for elected office based on their platform. I agree with a limit on campaign spending...the last one was obscene! The next group to limit or get rid of are all the lobbyists who pour money on top of Senators for special interests. We the People have little say in what our government does. This would be extremely tough to change...any ideas?