Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Analysis Of The Principal Arguments In Support Of A Congressional Term Limit, Paul William Cadero-Smith

Dissertations and Theses

This paper looks closely at the debate on congressional term limits. The objective of this paper is to examine critically the fundamental arguments made in support of term limits. Analysis of pro-term limits literature pinpoints incumbent behavior as the driving force behind term limits reform. In particular, supporters argue that legislators have become increasingly career-oriented over the past fifty years, allocating for themselves a myriad of perks of office ( e.g., large staff, free mailing, and unlimited travel budgets) to achieve their reelection goals. In addition, incumbents are cited for focusing on the wishes of their constituencies instead of on …