Dear Congress person (the actual were sent to their name directly),
I am writing this due to my concern about our state, our
nation as a whole and the direction that government is headed. I am alarmed at
how and why persons run for office and how much they run. Representing our
citizens in Congress should not be a job that we strive to keep, but make a
difference from.
I see all the time
how people are always looking towards reelection and voting or putting forward
votes on bills that would not make a difference, or even pass at all, just to
show those people that elected them that they are doing what is best for them
in the hopes of getting reelected.
This type of action
I feel really takes individuals away from the act of governing effectively and
moving the country forward. In fact, with so much attention focused on
reelection, nobody wants to cross those precious political lines to actually
get something passed and maybe compromised on.
I am sad when I
think about how the political process has evolved and how our founding fathers
thought it a privilege to serve, and that is just what they were doing,
serving. I would love to change the face of politics so that serving in
government was actually a sacrifice one had to make in order help the country
as a whole, and not just some special interests.
I know that the
reason those in Congress and the President have the perks they do s so that
they could not be influenced by those outside in their decisions, but I do not
think that it has actually worked like that. We see too often how people are
elected with the help of those with money, and as such have to try and support
those that elected them in the first place.
I apologize about
the long letter, as I am quite frustrated with the way that things are headed,
and although I would like a lot of things to change quite a bit, there is one
thing that I feel could be changed would have the greatest impact.
Congress passed an
amendment to the Constitution after Roosevelt was president. Prior to him,
presidents only served two terms in a tradition set forward from Washington,
but not Roosevelt. He was actually elected to four terms, which is unheard of.
Because of this,
Congress had a great fear. They realized that there was a possibility that it
could be abused by someone that did not want to give up power and continue to
get elected. They did not want to fall into that type of hole that allowed one
president through "elections" to rule for years and years.
We were lucky that
Roosevelt was one of those that wanted only the best for the nation, but I can
understand Congress and I agree that we do in fact need term limits. Here is
the real kicker to that though, Congress imposed term limits on the office of
President, but not on Congress itself.
I actually find that
to be counter intuitive, until you dig deeper into thoughts. The fallacy of most persons is that they wish
to hold onto the power that they attain, and to limit others. I don't blame
them as a person, I have thought of the same in the past myself.
Here is where we all
have to step in to help us create a better political environment. I think we
should impose term limits on Congress itself.
Although details
would need to be hammered out, it could work something like this: Senators
could serve a maximum of 10 years, effectively limiting them to one term within
the senate, or if they had been appointed or elected in a special election the
ability to serve a full term. The house would be limited to 5 years. This would
add 2 terms to them. There terms are so short that 2 terms may be needed, but
no more really after that.
I think people would
be much more willing to focus on getting things done, compromising and passing
those laws and budgets while they are in session instead of concentrating on
doing whatever it takes to make themselves re-electable.
I hope that you
truly think into this. I also hope that Congress finds a way to govern
themselves and does not require the citizens to govern for them. I say this not
to scare anyone, but to remind you that although Congress is the easiest and
fastest route to change the Constitution, it is not the only way.
If my efforts to
motivate and move this type of action forward do not find traction within the
Congress I wish to see bettered, I will try everything I can to get the State
legislatures to apply for a convention to alter the Constitution.
I greatly appreciate
you in reading this and I am hoping that something of this magnitude yet of
common sense can be moved forward.
With many warm regards,
Timothy Benoit
I decided to write this in regards to reading a report of the possibility of the next Republican agenda including a constitutional change to outlaw abortions. Please, do not get me wrong, I could never have an abortion myself (being a guy, guess that is obvious, but also never want my wife to do it either) but I felt that there really are many more pressing concerns in this world than to try and outlaw abortions. With the economy the way it is, jobs, education, healthcare and many other issues truly plaguing us, why cannot we focus on something that could actually be changed for the better, instead of focusing on something so political to begin with.
If Congress can look at an amendment to the Constitution for this, I am sure they all could agree that an amendment with term limits for Congress themselves should be an easy law to pass.
Although these are my opinions, I am hoping that most others themselves can see the logic in all of this.
Timothy Benoit
