In just about a month, Mississippians will head to the polls en masse to cast their ballots in a Senate election featuring long-time Sen. and proverbial Southern gentleman Thad Cochran and former Rep. Travis Childers. This general election comes after a rancorous GOP primary, which pitted Cochran against Tea Party member Chris McDaniel and ultimately ended in a runoff that gained national attention. McDaniel is one of the many Tea Partiers who has attempted to challenge the conservative system recently by running against an established mainstream Republican, claiming his incumbent opponent has been in the system for too long and has lost touch with his constituents. Just this summer, Eric Cantor, former House Majority Leader and Rep. from Virginia, suffered a primary loss at the hands of Dave Brat, another Tea Party newcomer running on the same platform. The perceived indoctrination of these candidates into insider-Capitol Hill culture not only spurs some of these upsets, but also the conversation on congressional term limits.
Plain and simple, term limits threaten the idea of true and pure democracy. After a certain number of years of service, the government strips the ability of an individual to be elected to the same office again, taking votes out of the hands of the people by putting limits on who they can elect to represent them. Congressional term limits are detrimental to states like Mississippi, who do not bring the same volume of seats to the table as states like California, Florida or New York. Because states like Mississippi possess a modest delegation in Congress, the best way to bring positive legislation and benefits back to smaller home states is to gain seniority through longevity. Cochran, as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee with a lengthy record of congressional leadership, has a strong record of bringing funding back to Mississippi according to William Fausset of the New York Times. Fausset says Cochran, “Mississippi’s powerful Senator has helped bring to fruition, thanks to his skill at procuring federal funds: The construction of the air-traffic control tower at the Olive Branch Airport. The new East-West stretch of interstate, which will bisect the county when completed. And a state-of-the-art regional sewer system that solved a chronic wastewater management problem, allowing DeSoto County to attract new industry and build new neighborhoods.”
All of these initiatives likely would have been pipedreams without Sen. Cochran’s seniority and network. Cochran is not alone in his seniority. The most successful Congressmen and women are those who have been navigating the political intricacies of the Beltway for decades. Emma Roller and Stephanie Stamm of National Journal bring attention to Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a 37-year Senate veteran who has seen 742 bills he has sponsored or cosponsored become law, more than any of his colleagues. National Journal’s top-10 list of Senators, ordered by the number of laws passed ,features 10 senators who have served in Congress for over 30 years, and our very own Sen. Cochran is second only to Hatch, checking in at 675 laws passed. These contributions dwarf those of high-profile younger congressmen and women like Ted Cruz and Heidi Heitkamp, who, as of May 2014, had only seen one bill they sponsored or cosponsored become law.
The lack of time spent in Congress certainly contributes to the lack of production of these newcomers. Young congressmen and women not only lack the experience to push bills for their home states, but they also lack the network of legislative giants like Senators Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid and Cochran. Jennifer Rubin of The Washington Post points out, “whether one agrees with their output or not, the more experienced lawmakers tend to be the most productive.”
Rubin argues against replacing long-time policymakers with new ones, asserting newcomers like Rand Paul and Cruz would not make Congress any less dysfunctional. Congressional term limits would definitely reshape our governmental structure. Although this may not be the worst thing, it would place states with large congressional delegations in the driver’s seat of national policymaking even more than they currently are. Congressional term limits would curb the American peoples’ right to choose their own leaders. They are a tongue-in-cheek allowance for the American people to neglect their most basic Constitutional duty — to vote. This presupposition of laziness is one we as a nation cannot accept. Fulfill your civic duty in November; get out and vote, and let your voice be heard.
