U.S. Term Limits Petition

Congress has a 13 percent approval rating, but a 95 percent re-election rate! That's because our elected leaders can abuse their power to keep away electoral challenges, which transfers power away from citizens and into the hands of unaccountable career politicians.

Won’t you help us break this cycle, by signing the online petition?

Term Limits NOW petition for U.S Congress

Whereas, Congress ratings are at an historic low point; and

Whereas, the American people no longer trust career politicians who run for reelection over and over again; and

Whereas, members of Congress seem to care more about pandering to campaign contributors and special interest groups than representing their constituents; and

Whereas, election rules and government power have been perverted so that it has become almost impossible for the people to vote their elected representatives out of office; and

Whereas, 75% of the American people support term limits;

Now Therefore Be It Resolved, that I do hereby call on you to publicly support a two-term limit on members of The Senate and a three-term limit on members of The House.

https://www.termlimits.org/ustl-petition/{/url]

Got to start somewhere...

It is time to clean house.

Is it ever!!!!

A petition won't break the cycle.

They never have before. This comes up constantly.

No one in power votes to reduce their power.
Only expand it.

The only way to get rats out of a nest is to offer a valid threat or a bribe/incentive.

Sending in a petition doesn't do anything.


I thought this was funny:

Majority didn't want obamacare.
Majority don't want obamatrade.
Majority in several states didn't want gay marriage.
Majority didn't vote for Bush's second term.
Approximately 25%-30% of the total voting public voted for Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections.

Majority, or supermajority (75%), of americans don't matter.
And never will as long as they believe a solution can be had by churning out electronic petitions.

True, stop re-electing them would work too.

maybe you all need a little Dose of this!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendums_by_country#Switzerland

Switzerland


In Switzerland Swiss voters can demand a binding referendum at federal, cantonal and municipal level. They are a central feature of Swiss political life. It is not the government's choice whether or when a referendum is held, but it is a legal procedure regulated by the Swiss constitution. There are two types of referendums:

Optional referendum: Any federal law, certain other federal resolutions, and international treaties that are ongoing in nature, or any change to Swiss law may be subject to referendum if at least 50,000 people or eight cantons have petitioned to do so within 100 days. Within cantons and municipalities, the required number of people is smaller, and there may be additional causes for a facultative referendum, e.g., expenditures that exceed a certain amount of money. The facultative referendum is the most common type of referendum, and it is mostly carried out by political parties or by interest groups.
Mandatory referendum: There must be a referendum on any amendments to the constitution and on any joining of a multinational community or organization for collective security. In many municipalities, expenditures that exceed a certain amount of money also are subject to the obligatory referendum. Constitutional amendments are proposed by the parliament or by the cantons or by federal popular initiative.[15] Citizen's initiatives at the federal level need to collect 100,000 valid signatures within 18 months, and must not contradict international laws or treaties. Often, parliament elaborates a counter-proposal to an initiative, leading to a multiple-choice referendum. Very few such initiatives pass the vote, but more often, the parliamentary counter proposal is approved.

The possibility of facultative referendums forces the parliament to search for a compromise between the major interest groups. In many cases, the mere threat of a facultative referendum or of an initiative is enough to make the parliament adjust a law.

The referendums are said, by their adversaries, to slow politics down. On the other hand, empirical scientists, e.g. Bruno S. Frey among many, show that this and other instruments of citizens' participation, direct democracy, contribute to stability and happiness.

The votes on referendums are always held on a Sunday, typically three or four times a year, and in most cases, the votes concern several referendums at the same time, often at different political levels (federal, cantonal, municipal). Referendums are also often combined with elections. Voter turnout is around 40% to 50%, unless there is an election. The decisions made in referendums tend to be conservative. Citizens' initiatives are usually not passed. The federal rule and referendums have been used in Switzerland since 1848.

Article #22 [term limits] makes some sense for the Executive branch, as a single person (along w/ VP) comprises that entire branch of United States federal government.

For our federal legislature, a body of hundreds, term limits is merely a reduction in choice.

Yes, this is something needed here too. Too many of our representatives don't represent the people, they represent
themselves.

The US Constitution has a provision for impeachment. That is pretty close to a recall, except only the House can start it.

There is also a provision for the states to call a "Continental Congress" like they did the first time when they formed the union. That is pretty close to a referendum or ballot initiative except only the states can do it. (ARTICLE V. of the Constitution.)

The biggest dread the elected officials at the federal level have is that the states will get fed up and call a Continental Congress, which the feds will have no ability to control. If the states did that, they could revoke the income tax amendment, pass a balanced budget amendment, and do whatever else they liked to get the federal government under control. The problem is those in the state houses often have desire to run for Congress and they do not want to make things harder for themselves down the road.

It is all a matter of self interest.

Conrad, the Swiss has a homogeneous population of 8 million people. Compare that to the current heterogeneous U.S. population of 319 million people of all races and backgrounds. You would need a referendum of 2 million people to have any impact, going by the ratio of Swiss 50,000. Is this even feasible? The countries which are not largely populated have an easier time of managing their laws and their people. The more densely populated a country becomes, not to mention the melting pot, the more difficult the process.

Doesn't matter!We have four Official Languages!
It's as feasible as it is here,since the Communes run the Voting!
The US has become way too centralized,something we are in Danger of here as well!

Don't hold your breath waiting for them to start impeaching themselves. You'll be a purple corpse long before there's any such action from them.

And senate!

But a one time purge would suffice.
And that wouldn't be too tough to arrange.

If I were a few decades younger, I'd do it myself, go to law school, and then affect the remedy.

There are many crimes in the U.S.
Jaywalking, illegal parking, etc.
Rape, kidnap, and murder are all quite serious crimes.

BUT !!

There is only ONE crime that's actually defined in the United States Constitution.
Only one.

That is Art.3 Sect.3
the crime of Treason, the crime the Founders knew was the most serious crime, because it's the one that threatens the State, and the whole People.

Please note:
This section lists two independent definitions.
EITHER definition is treason, according to our Constitution.

And most members of congress (MOC), w/ few possible exceptions such as Ron Paul perhaps, are party to treason, conspirators to treason against the United States of America;
if they ever voted to fund the Drug War.
And their votes are recorded in The Congressional Record, an official United States federal government document.

It's not a war against drugs. It's a War against the People, citizens of the United States of America. It is a martial usurpation of the Creator endowed, Constitutionally enumerated, unalienable right of Liberty.

As Nobel Laureate economist Dr. Milton Friedman explains, our Drug Warriors increase the (black market) profits of our ostensible enemies by ceding control of the commerce to them.
That covers the "giving them Aid and Comfort" part.

I hope the "levying War Against them" part needs no explanation.

So most MOC are conspirators to treason.
And while the Constitution specifies that it is Congress that decides the punishment for treason,
it also specifies that no citizen convicted of such crime can hold public office.

There you have it.

It would be as complete a purge of Capitol Hill as we could get, without nuking the capitol while both houses were in session.

And it is all 100% perfectly and exquisitely legal.

that, and get rid of lobbying as well... or at least stop letting corps/people pay to have laws changed...

And how about term limits for an elected Supreme court as well.

A petition alone is an exercise in futility.

everyone should have term limits....