For the past several years, there have been discussions concerning adding a constitutional amendment for term limits for US Senators and members of the House of Representatives. Although I know many of you think it is a great idea, in my opinion, it is not the fix for Washington.
Let me begin the explanation of my position by asking some questions: When did the incumbency problem start with US Senators? When did taxation without representation in the form of Federal Income Taxes begin? The answer to both questions is 1913. And what happened in 1913? During Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, two amendments were added to our Constitution that moved us away from the original intent of the Founding Fathers. Those two amendments were the 16th, allowing the Congress to “…have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.” and the 17th, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote…“
Now you are probably thinking that I am right with the 16th Amendment, but you might be thinking I am nuts by calling the 17th Amendment a mistake. The Founding Fathers designed the Federal Government with horizontal checks and balances by dividing the power between three branches – the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative. They also provided vertical checks and balances by having the citizenry electing the Representatives for the House and the State Legislatures appointing the two Senators from each State. The Senate was to be the stronger of the two houses of Congress and would safeguard the sovereignty and rights of each State. The 17th Amendment took vertical power away from the States. Yes, since 1913, the Federal Government has been encroaching on States‘ Rights.
Now let me explain why I believe term limits will not fix the problem. Picture a wall representing the Constitution with cannons on one side representing invaders trying to tear down the wall, and the people of this great land living in freedom with no debt on the other side. Then picture two holes blown through it in 1913 representing these two amendments. Then after years of tax and spend, mountains of debt along with the corruption of the Federal Reserve, chain the free people of America to the chains of tyranny, there comes a carpenter on the “American” side to patch one of the holes with wood not brick, the wood representing the term limits amendment. Notice which hole is not fixed. You guessed it, it is the 16th amendment hole, which still allows the tax and spend problem, the debt problem, the Federal Reserve problem. Now imagine termites and ants or any other bug coming through the wood. These bugs are representing the special interests that kept the incumbents in power all these years finding a way through the wood to use donations for some other “favorite” candidate to be elected. Limiting terms will not prevent corruption of Senators.
What is the fix then? The fix is this, and it starts today with all the bad bills coming out of Washington. Find out who your state legislators are, and ask them to inform the US Senators how the State expects them to vote on Federal legislation. Follow the voting records of your two US Senators. If their voting record goes against the wishes of the State, then vote them out during the next election. I am including your State legislators in the process due to Article 1, section 3, of the Constitution stating that the US Senators are appointed by each of the State legislatures. State control of the US Senate worked perfectly and made this country a well oiled machine from its formation under the Constitution in 1787 till 1913, and since 1913 we have been slipping down the slippery road of socialism with the exception of great presidents like Calvin Coolidge, Warren Harding, and Ronald Reagan. In my opinion, the real fix is to repeal both the 16th and the 17th amendments. I understand this action might be dangerous right now with the progressives in government because this idea would lead to a Constitutional Convention. Here is a thought: In a Constitutional Convention we could not only repeal the 16th and the 17th amendments, but we would have to have the faith that God would protect his piece of art – this great country and the Constitution.
