Why We Need Term Limits

Sitting on the chair of an appropriations subcommittee is not very different from sitting on a throne. And the longer you sit, the more throne-like that chair becomes as you gain more influence and become more bulletproof. Murtha's behavior is far from outrageous and far from unique. Sadly, it is quite commonplace. How could it not be? Politicians are paid for their influence and as it grows so does their income and self-importance. There is no trap more human. These entrenched tumors of power are not democracy in action, they are democracy thwarted as their districts yield a disproportionate amount of influence over the nation. Their constituents are as likely to vote against them as union workers are to reject a pay raise. Even ineffective incumbents are almost impossible to beat. The solution is to remove the corruption that results from a career spent at the controls of the sluice. We don't allow the drunk to continue to be liquored by the barkeep, let's apply common sense to politics as well.