Tom Wright

Ever wonder why presidents have term limits, but not Congressmen? The answer is simple; Congress made it that way. Ever wonder why the nation is in so much debt? Congress again. Rant as you will against presidents, but it is Congress that makes the laws and dictates spending. So, how do you get term limits for Congress? Amend the Constitution. Do you really think Congress is going to vote themselves out of a job?

Think of the career politicians, who have never done anything else. The first one who comes to mind is Joe Biden. How about Chuck Schumer and Chuck Grassley, the longest serving Republican. Senator Schumer served nine terms in the House, before being elected to the Senate in 1998. Nancy Pelosi raised her family, before running for office. She is the daughter of Congressman Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr, who was mayor of Baltimore, before serving in Congress. Her brother, Thomas D’Alesandro, III became mayor of Baltimore. A real political family.

Seven of the ten longest serving current politicians are Democrats.

1. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — 50 years (1975 – present)

2. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) — 48 years (1977 – present)

3. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) — 44 years (1981 – present)

4. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — 44 years (1981 – present)

5. Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY-5) — 44 years (1981 – present)

6. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ-4) — 44 years (1981 – present)

7. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD-5) — 44 years (1981 – present)

8. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) — 42 years (1983 – present)

9. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9) — 42 years (1983 – present)

10. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) — 40 years (1985 – present)

I heard Ben Ray Lujan say, “I believe in term limits, at the polls.” Senator Lujan had a job before he was inducted into politics by his powerful father. He was a card dealer in Nevada, before Speaker Lujan, gave his son a political future. Qualified? Not then. Showing her political qualifications, our CD3, House Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez recently said, “The reality is there were no open borders during Biden.” Whether she is delusional or asleep, we still elected her. CD1 Representative Gabe Vasquez continues to rant on his social media site, X, about racism and current border policy, but he has disabled comments from the public. Evidently, he does not care what his constituents think. We really must do better.

In 2023, a Pew Research Center survey showed 83% of us wanted term limits for Congress which currently has a 26% approval rating (Gallup). It is time for term limits. Despite the wishes of the electorate, Congress has declined to seriously consider amending the Constitution to term limit themselves. But those who wrote the Constitution foresaw such a circumstance where congressmen would resist the will of the people on matters calling for constitutional amendments. Article V of the US Constitution prescribes two methods of making amendments. When two thirds of both Houses of Congress propose Amendments, they may be ratified by three fourths vote by the representatives. Article V offers an alternate method of proposing Amendments, which can occur when two thirds of state legislatures (34 of 50) call for a convention of states which proposes Amendments, they can be ratified by three fourths vote (38 of 50) of the states. This method is called a Convention of States. In the 1787 Constitutional Convention, George Masson advocated successfully for this method, should the government become oppressive. It was unanimously included, but it has never been successfully used.

Every state, except Hawaii has applied to Congress for a Convention, on 700 different subjects. The two thirds threshold has come close several times and Congress has acted on these proposed Amendments, through their powers to prevent the power of legislation from getting out of their hands and into state governance.

The Convention of States process calls for Amendment proposals on specific subjects. In 1981, 30 states called for a balanced budget amendment. Term limits and campaign finance amendments have also been petitioned to Congress, but none have reached the two thirds threshold. The reason could be all proposals are directed at limiting the powers of our congressional politicians. The convention process lies more in the hands of individuals, through state legislatures and not federal.

If 83% of us want term limits, why can’t we get them? I bet a balanced budget amendment would also pass. A campaign finance amendment could eliminate dark money from special interest groups to prevent them from buying politicians. Let your state representative know they can call for a convention of states and propose amendments the federals won’t. Few understand the options available in Article V.

Tom Wright is a Santa Fe columnist and El Rito Media investor.