ARE TERM LIMITS SIMPLY A BAND-AIDE????

Upfront, I am not a supporter of imposing term limits on United States Representatives or Senators. The United States Constitution sets the limit of a term of a Representative to two years and the limit of a term for a Senator to 6 years. Who will be the next Representative or Senator is then decided by the people. Initially the Senator would be elected by the respective state legislature, but the 17th amendment changed that provision to have the senator elected directly by the people. I would have opposed that amendment as well, and I believe I have proven to be correct.
Also, in support of my position, California placed term limits on members of the California legislature in 1990, and the results have been disastrous. California has become a one-party state and corruption is the natural course in Sacramento.
My real reason for opposing term limits is because I believe it is simply a feel-good solution. We are led to believe if we deny the rights of the people to elect who they want to serve them, we will some how bring about a better system that is more responsive to the needs and wants of the people. In our system of government, or our intended system of government, an involved, informed, and interested public is required. As the public becomes less involved, less informed, and less interested in the workings of government, nothing can be done to correct the corruption and self-serving happenings in government.
The reasons given by those supporting term limits, (corruption, self-serving, influence of lobbyists) was always a consideration, even in 1787. People have always been people and corrupt people have always sought office, not to serve but to be served. Aaron Burr could be serving right along with Eric Swalwell on the Intelligence committee, and probably would have cavorted with the same Chinese spy that did Swalwell. Nancy Pelosi would probably have rewarded Burr the same way she has rewarded and revered Swalwell.
So many of you say, “Well than Don, what is your solution?” My solution is the same solution that our founders had and we the people failed to deliver.
 “Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.” Thomas Jefferson
“Let each citizen remember at the time they are offering their vote...that they are executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which they are accountable to God and their country.” Samuel Adams
What we are being told by these great lovers of freedom, is that who we have serving in our government, that the type of government we have, is only dependent upon how informed the voter is and how much importance did that voter place on their vote. Unless these two problems are addressed, everything else is simply a band-aid.
What we have learned over the last many elections, is those who oppose individual liberty and freedom and favor government supremacy, understand this principle. Those who oppose individual liberty and freedom and believe in the bigness and goodness of government, understand that an uninformed voter and a voter who places little to no value on their vote can be cajoled and bribed to vote for those who oppose individual liberty and freedom and favor tyranny.
My solution to fix this problem is not simple and it is certainly not a quick fix. We who wish to preserve our Republic and live as sovereign over government and not as servant to government, must understand that only we can correct our situation. The three things we must do immediately is to become informed, to be interested, and to be involved. Many would claim they are informed and interested, and perhaps they are. It is then time to become involved. Involvement means to go to local government meetings of all kinds, to run for local government offices, to participate in local political organizations, to serve on local political boards, to voice an informed opinion which means studying and understanding issues, and perhaps most importantly by “Setting Brushfires of Freedom” in the minds of our fellow citizens.
This is certainly not an easy fix nor is it a quick fix, but it is the only long-term fix to preserving individual liberty and freedom. It is critical that we also talk with and listen to our children and grandchildren, who are being taught in schools and colleges that there is no value in freedom, that the correct solution to all problems is the bigness and goodness (tyranny) of government. “Setting Brushfires of Freedom” means to lead people to come to their own conclusion that indeed there is value in freedom.