After Senator Bob Corker uncorked his imperishable quip, “It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center,” it became abundantly clear that he and John McCain have, by example, made a most persuasive case for term limits. McCain stood up against the Republican legislative steamroller on health care, and Corker has stood up to the dysfunctional and dangerous White House with ever sharper criticism during the last several weeks.
What the two senators have in common—besides being moderate members of an increasingly immoderate political party—is the extreme unlikelihood that either of them will run for office again. In Corker’s case, he has already declared he is retiring, and in McCain’s case, sadly, the glioblastoma ravaging his brain will almost certainly kill him before is he up for reelection seven years hence.
They also have in common the fact that both supported the Donald Trump presidential campaign. McCain, whose personal detestation of Trump was obvious, did so largely out of party loyalty, whereas Corker was an early Trump booster.
Now what they conspicuously have in common is a willingness to speak their minds without fear of electoral backlash. McCain has spoken his mind on the counterproductivity of narrowly partisan politics in Congress, and his defiance has been aimed equally at Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Corker’s turnaround has arisen from his alarm over White House foreign policy (or non-policy), and secondarily a personal antipathy stemming from Trump’s abuse—abuse targeting not only Corker but also other senators who have displeased the Adolescent in Chief in some way.
We might expect more such independence on the part of legislators if term limits prohibited their running for office after a set number of terms.
The strongest argument against term limits is the possibility of elected officials going rogue, no longer representing their constituents because they have nothing to lose. That undermines the principle of representative democracy . . . but in fact, could it be worse than the current predicament of legislators representing special interests rather than the interests of the public? Whose constituency has become lobbyists and campaign donors rather than voters?
The strongest argument for term limits is being made by McCain’s and Corker’s example.
I leave the formal case for term limits to more capable minds. Below are two examples. Of course you can find oodles more with a web search: