We desperately need reasonable term limits for congress
I’m more and more convinced there are no good arguments against reasonable term limits for congress.
I just read about the most recent member of congress having a somewhat age-related incident. This was Virginia Foxx. She has been in congress for 20 years and is 81 years old. Just recently we’ve had Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, and Diane Feinstein, all have age related incidents that affected their ability to perform.
My representative is Gerry Connolly who is 74 years old with cancer. I’ve voted for Connolly every time he ran. I don’t have a problem with Connolly, but I don’t know what I’m missing either because no democrat will challenge him in a primary. I don’t really get a chance to see what my options are until he chooses to stop running.
The arguments I’ve heard against term limits are things like, it takes power away from voters, it could diminish competency of congress, it could artificially cut short the tenure of beloved figures, and it wouldn’t really reduce corruption.
While some of these things may have some validity, I think they are all bad arguments when the current system has no term limits.
I could take the arguments against term limits one by one, but the glaring problem with all these arguments is I see no systemic benefit of allowing any person to be in the same position of power indefinitely.
When the arguments against term limits are brought up, I think they are made without specifying a specific duration. There is a difference in a term limit of 4 years versus 16 years. Meaning you could pick very generous conservative term limits if you are worried about competency or turnover.
But let’s be real. Over the last 40 years, how many elected officials would you say have been exceptional representatives of their constituents, or have some kind of irreplaceable skill?
When you build systems, you want those systems to facilitate behavior that aligns with your goals. I think one of the highest priorities of democracy is for elected officials to reflect the will of the people.
By repeatedly sending the same representatives we miss a good opportunity for voters to express their needs. We just saw this when democrats didn’t have a true primary. The primary process allows candidates to have a conversation with the voters. Without that process elected officials become detached from the people they represent.
By forcing some turnover it allows voters and representatives to reengage. This creates a natural interval for our governing system to realign itself.
I don’t think this just applies to congress. Imagine if we did the same with the judiciary. Do we really need lifetime appointments? I understand the goal of giving judges some insulation against political concerns but is a lifetime appointment necessary to accomplish this? We couldn’t do the same with say, a 20-year appointment.
Wouldn’t that make the supreme court appointments saner? That way you could predict when spots open, and they would open consistently so one president doesn’t have too much influence over the court by luck.
Maybe this isn’t the biggest problem in the world, but it seems like an obvious one that we should be able to fix. And who knows? Maybe this is causing more issues than we think. You really don’t know how these things can affect the system until you put the rules in place.
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(reuploaded for Spotify and Apple podcasts)
These segments were scheduled a few days ago but were postponed due to Trump's actions in Venezuela. Enjoy some late extra content starting with Emily going deep on Ryan's socialist past, career in journalism, and the infamous time he got in a fist fight with Jesse Watters.
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Ryan and Emily interview Christian Parenti on Trump, Venezuela and his life story!
YouTube: https://youtu.be/td2tvKEpe3o
Krystal, Ryan and Emily discuss China calling Trump's bluff on tariffs, stock market reacts, and a lawyer for a wrongly deported man responds to JD Vance.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/5aaiNVuR134
Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/2togMvVQ0F4mXQmbwuFs4K?si=wEARUQEoSR2o4KFxn-wR4w
Timestamps:
(00:00)Introduction and Overview of Liberation Day
(2:25)Jobs Report Analysis and Economic Implications
(14:58)The Impact of Tariffs on Domestic Economy
(26:15)Trump's Economic Strategy and Its Consequences
(40:55)The Autocratic Leadership Style of Trump
(42:19)The Case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
(1:12:02)The Shift in Democratic Leadership Dynamics
(1:17:53)Upcoming Nationwide Protests Against Trump
(1:33:45)End Of Show
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Here is the “support” I’ve received from Supercast over the last few days. Not sure why this is such a difficult problem to solve.
This message is for those who, like me, arent able to get Superchat because y'all were supporters of the show back in 2024 and before, so that you go into Supercast and only see the items from 2024.
I truly don't want to be obstinate, and usually I'm the dude that would be apologizing for disturbing the peace. I also am not advocating for stopping payment until the problem is resolved.
Its just frustrating paying for a product when im being asked to get in touch with support rather than having someone who is in touch with support and being engaged with the community, someone who might be able to let the community know about something entirely similar to an FAQ.
TLDR, if anyone has found a solution to this problem, please let others know! Id love to start using Supercast, but I am too frustrated to ask support know, yet. Petty of me, Im sure, but some of my indignation might be righteous.
Reposting our Friday show here for people we haven't been able to assist yet with Supercast. We promise we are working around the clock to solve every individual's issue.
The BP Friday crew take a look at Scott Bessent claiming Iran must not be allowed to toll the Strait, Jill Biden's new memoir on the disastrous Biden debate where she questions if he was drugged, Spencer Pratt rising in polls for LA mayoral race, and New Jersey House Candidate Dr. Adam Hamawy responds to attacks from Jewish Insider about being linked to Al-Qaeda, his time serving as a doctor in war ravaged countries, and rescuing 9/11 survivors from the rubble.
YouTube:
