Term Limits In, Career Politicians Out

We, the People, must demand it…

Demand what, you ask? Term limits for federal office holders. Support for term limits is overwhelming and crosses every political, geographic and demographic divide. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, an eye-popping 87% of Americans favor term limits, including 56% who strongly support the idea. Only 12% oppose the concept (I wonder how many of them are congressmen?)

Simply put, there is no rational reason to oppose term limits unless you have a vested interest yourself. Meanwhile, the argument that “experience matters” can be easily countered by allowing for two six-year Senate terms or six two-year House terms. Twelve years in either body should be enough for anyone but if your ego if super-sized, an allowance could be made for a grand total of 24 years inside the hallowed halls of Congress. But after that, puhleeze go home and get a real job like the rest of us.

Simmering under the surface, however, is another related issue that deserves almost as much attention as term limits: a mandatory retirement age for federal officeholders.

Currently, there is a minimum age restriction of 25 for the House, 30 for the Senate, and 35 for the presidency. Curiously, there is no minimum age requirement for the Supreme Court or other federal courts. Likewise, there is no maximum age for any of the aforementioned positions, which begs the question, why not?

A simple question that deserves a simple answer. In 1788, when the U.S. Constitution was ratified, the average life expectancy for an American male was 38 years. That’s it, folks. Of course, if you somehow managed to dodge measles, mumps, malaria, smallpox, diphtheria, dysentery, scarlet fever, yellow fellow, typhoid fever, and typhus and lived to be 60, odds were that you would survive to 75. But you would definitely be the exception, not the rule, and so there was no reason to set a maximum age for the few lucky survivors who lived that long.

Today, American men can count on an average of 77 years and American women a few more than that. However, we all know scores of people in their 80s and 90s – and maybe even a few centenarians, too – which means that it’s time for a mandatory retirement age to be enacted and enforced for federal officeholders lest we have another babbling, bumbling, stumbling Joe Biden (or his handlers) running the country in the near future.

The Pew Research Center also polled Americans on this issue and the results were almost as lopsided as the ones in favor of term limits. A super majority of respondents – 76% of Democrats and 82% of Republicans – think there should be an age limit for elected officials. Sorry about that, Chuck Grassley (91), Bernie Sanders (83), Mitch McConnell (83), Jim Risch (82), and Angus King (81) in the Senate… and sayonara to Hal Rogers (87), Maxine Waters (86), Steny Hoyer (85), Nancy Pelosi (85), Jim Clyburn (84), Danny Davis (83), John Carter (83), and Frederica Wilson (82) in the House.

When asked about Supreme Court justices, 82% of Democratic respondents supported a mandatory retirement age whereas Republican support dropped to 68%, still a sizeable majority. In fact, when the two parties are combined, 79% favor a maximum age for federal officeholders and 74% support one for SCOTUS.

The American system of government thrives on a constant influx of fresh blood and new ideas, which is all the more reason to impose BOTH term limits and a mandatory retirement age. Currently, 31 states and the District of Columbia have a mandatory retirement age for judges that ranges from 70 to 75 (with one outlier, Vermont, which sets it at 90). How about if we all get on the same page and apply a mutually acceptable standard to federal judges, SCOTUS, and both Houses of Congress?

After all, the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots is 65, for air traffic controllers it is 56 (with some exceptions up to 61), for foreign service employees of the Department of State it is 65, and for federal law enforcement officers, national park rangers and firefighters it is 57. Even the U.S. Military has mandatory retirement ages for enlisted men (62), and general and flag officers (64 unless extended by the President to 68).

One final suggestion: if you have served more than 40 years in Congress, you should have your security clearance revoked and your federal pension rescinded unless you voluntarily resign your seat. There are currently three members of the House who fall into that category… and I think it’s shameful.