Term Limits: Combatting the Corrosive Nature of Power

Term limits are not about liking or supporting a particular candidate. They are about good governance.  The founders of this nation never wanted a permanent political class. They wrote: “nothing is so essential to the preservation of our government as a periodic rotation; preventing the perpetuity of office in the same hands for life”.

Along with the veniality and imperfection of all elected officials, the corrosive nature of power often rationalizes their deluded and detached decisions. Their actions then cross the line, negatively impact the lives and well-being of the people they serve.

With term limits in place, politicians are more responsible toward their constituents, as they will soon be constituents themselves. They will be required to live under the laws, policies and burdens they have created.

They will have less time in office to concentrate on developing financially beneficial relationships with special interest groups determined to keep them in power. Candidates will more likely  run for the purpose of serving the people, as they will leave office before corruption can dominate their decisions.

The need for re-election will no longer be the driving force behind most of their decisions. An emphasis on action that will make a positive difference in the lives of the people they serve would have become a priority.

Political arrangements and allegiances made for the acquisition and maintenance of power would cease to be a prime directive. Money and favors would no longer  be the driving force for aspiring politicians.

As incumbents become firmly entrenched with the governing elites, they often lose sight of the daily struggles faced by working and middle class families. The gap must be reduced between savvy career politicians and the ordinary candidates who are better able to understand the daily realities of the American people.

Partisan ideologues would have the opportunity to set aside their indoctrinate  beliefs and actually work with their colleagues to enhance the quality of their constituents lives, as the party bosses’ stake in political outcomes will have been diminished.

Special interests oppose term limits because they do not want to lose their valuable investments in incumbent law and policy makers. Encouraging citizen legislators rather than career politicians is a rising priority for many Americans.

Some say that voters should be the sole arbitrators when it comes to limiting the terms of elected officials they are in disagreement with. However, we must remain mindful of the fact that trillions of dollars have been spent refining the marketing of severely diminished politicians into an exact science.

Statistical research provides these pitch men and women with the precise approaches necessary to get elected. There isn’t any ethical standard that must be met, as it relates to the truth and accuracy of their campaigns. The snowball effect of power twists, turns and distorts reality into the perceptions they want to sell to the American people. Money is, and has always been, the mother’s milk of politicians.

As we are strangulated by the oppressive weight of the body politic, nothing is more important than to reverse the pernicious rise of a professional political class.

John Donnelly

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Donnelly, a resident of Key Largo was born, raised and went to high school in the South Bronx. Upon graduation he was awarded several scholarships to college.  He chose to enlist in the United Sates Marine Corps.

While serving in Vietnam John was wounded in action. He received two meritorious promotions, one during combat.

Upon discharge and return to America, John had a difficult time transitioning back into civilian life. He found himself homeless for the next 4 years.

As he worked out some troublesome concerns, he began to yearn to make some sense of his experiences via education. He sought and received his GI Bill benefits. He applied and was admitted to New York University. He later transfered to the University of Miami where he graduated on the President’s Honor Roll.

John secured a teaching position at a Maximum Security Prison Facility for criminally insane adolescents. While working there he earned a Master of Science degree from Florida International University. He graduated Summa Cum Laude.

John spent the next 20 years teaching elementary and high school students, while doing some coaching and instructing as an adjunct college professor. John was the recipient of the Mayor Stephen P. Clark award, which recognized him as an “Outstanding Educator”. During this time he continued his work clothing, feeding and counseling the homeless.

John has been acknowledged by the Disabled American Veterans, the Miami Vet Center and the Veterans Council of Monroe County for his efforts on behalf of homeless and addicted veterans.

Recently, John was privileged to spearhead the successful release of a wrongfully accused inmate who faced 3 life sentences, without the possibility of parole, for crimes that he did not commit. This young man has since been returned to his twin sons and graduated with honors from one of our nation’s premier vocational colleges.

John continues to research and write on issues facing our ‘One Human Family’.