Beto O’Rourke Wants Term Limits For Congress And The Supreme Court
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Beto O’Rourke said that as president he would push for a constitutional amendment to create term limits for senators, representatives, and Supreme Court justices, part of a sweeping voting rights and government reform plan released Wednesday that highlights fault lines in the Democratic field.
As part of the platform, O’Rourke would also restore the ability to vote to felons who have served their sentences and push for a wish list of other Democratic voting rights priorities — including making Election Day a national holiday and using the federal government’s power to fight gerrymandering and voter ID laws. It would not give voting rights to prisoners currently serving their sentences — an issue that has divided Democratic presidential contenders, with some, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, arguing those rights should never be stripped from citizens. In response to questions about the plan, O’Rourke’s campaign said he would as president sign a bill now stalled in Congress that would restore voting rights in federal elections to formerly incarcerated people.
Any changes to term limits would require a constitutional amendment — a steep task in any political climate. O’Rourke said Wednesday that he would limit members of Congress to serving 12 years and create 18-year Supreme Court terms.
The issue of term limits in Congress has some bipartisan support, but, like voting rights for prisoners, it starkly divides Democrats. Former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Sanders all oppose instituting them for members of Congress. Warren has argued that term limits, like the 12-year terms proposed by O’Rourke, make politicians “dependent on lobbyists,” loosening their loyalties to their constituents.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has also proposed changing the Supreme Court through a constitutional amendment, expanding its size and limiting the terms for some justices. O’Rourke is among the first Democratic candidates to push for voting rights as a central pillar of a presidential campaign, though House Democrats pushed a voting rights bill similar to much of O’Rourke’s plan as their first piece of legislation early this year.
On the campaign trail, O’Rourke frequently talks about his efforts to increase voter turnout in Texas in 2018, when he narrowly lost the Senate race to Ted Cruz but was widely credited with helping drive turnout, particularly among young people.
O’Rourke’s vision for government reform, which includes a lifetime ban on lobbying for federal elected officials and limits on contributions to PACs and political parties, has many similarities to Warren’s broad anti-corruption proposal , which has become the keynote issue of her presidential campaign.
Initial image: Kimberly White / Getty Images
Duh.
Just making it a national holiday is not going to get more people to the polls. Many people I know would potentially take a Monday vacation day and make it a 4 day weekend, and there are many people who's jobs don't close for holidays so this wouldn't change anything for them.
Actually I would prefer they move away from a Tuesday election day and move it to the weekend. I would support elections that run Saturday and Sunday in an attempt to get more people to the election sites. Yes it would cost a bit more money but I think it would help to get more people out to vote.
In Belgium, not voting gets a fine. Unsurprisingly, turnouts are high.
yes, but voting in Belgium is mandatory as in another 21 countries. In America voting is a right. So a fine would not work in the US. While mandatory voting is an interesting conversation, I would ask if it's so great why is it not law in more countries around the world?
Not that Congress will ever pass this; but I am sure it would be fought up to the Supreme Court and ultimately smacked down.
If you want pie in the sky policies that will never come to pass- look no further than the Dems. Each one is promising more outlandish things than the last.
What "promise"?
Are O'Rourke's ideas good or bad? Why? Let's discuss ideas, not insults.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the proof, I think. She's hanging on, opposite McConnell's massive packing.
Term limits would eliminate the individual justice's need to participate in the farce.
term limits on the supreme court is insane.
long term legal stability would be replaced with endless political insanity.
as such, im sure anarchists approve of this idea...
good news? never gonna happen.
the founders got it right, we will keep the court like it is.
cheers
she better hang on another 6 yrs.
didja know the biden rule is off the table?
making election day a holiday is one thing but term limits on congress and the supreme court will take amendments to the constitution, making those promises undeliverable by a mere president... only we can do that.
trump also supports term limits on congress. is a great idea and could easily find public support for an amendment.
term limits on the supreme court is beyond stupid and will never fly. but I guess any idea that can flip the court left is a great idea to the left.
that said... beto will not be president in anyones lifetime. so it all matters not.
cheers
Well now you've done it. Once word gets out that Trump supports term limits the idea will die an ugly death on the left.