“The only way to permanently reform Washington and discourage corruption is to pass a term limits amendment to the Constitution,” said Senator DeMint. “Our founders warned us about creating a class of career politicians who amass personal power instead of fighting for the people they are supposed to represent. Decades of permanent politicians has left us with a $15 trillion debt, and a federal budget and tax code that favors special interests with the highest paid lobbyists.”

Senator DeMint also strongly supports an amendment by U.S Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) to permanently ban earmarks.

“The earmark favor factory was at the root of Washington corruption and wasteful spending for decades. We can’t allow a return to the era of trading earmarks for bribes or bridges to nowhere and teapot museums.”

“Enacting term limits and banning earmarks are two of the biggest steps we can take to reform Washington to focus on national priorities instead of special interests and personal gain,” said Senator DeMint.

Thomas Jefferson argued in favor of term limits saying they were necessary “to prevent every danger which might arise to American freedom by continuing too long in office.”

In the Virginia state convention on ratifying the federal Constitution, George Mason debates the issue of term limits and says “Nothing is so essential to the preservation of a republican government as a periodical rotation. Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his constituents as the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate their burdens.”

Read entire article at:

http://www.demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&C...

April 14, 2011

Republican Senators Introduce ‘Term Limits for All’ Constitutional ...

Amendment would limit every House member to 3 terms, every Senator to 2 terms

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, was joined by ten Republican senators to introduce an amendment to the United States Constitution that would apply term limits to all members of Congress. The legislation, S.J. Res. 11, would limit U.S. Representatives to three terms and U.S. Senators to two terms in office. As an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, it would require a two-thirds majority vote approval in the House and Senate and must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Cosponsors include Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire), Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), John Ensign (R-Nevada), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), and David Vitter (R-Louisiana).

“If we’re ever going to permanently change Washington, we must change the process that encourages career politicians to amass personal power instead of making the hard decisions for the nation,” said Senator DeMint. “We need true citizen legislators who spend their time defending the constitution, not currying favor with lobbyists. We need new leaders continually coming to Congress to ensure every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely, not wasted on Washington special interests. We must end the era of permanent politicians that has led us to a $14 trillion debt and a pending fiscal crisis”

“If ever there was a time to enact such meaningful legislation, it’s now as we’re facing trillion dollar annual deficits due to the wasteful spending habits of Washington fixtures,” said Senator Vitter. “Term limits are something I successfully fought for in the Louisiana legislature – where we’ve since seen real reforms – and I will continue fighting for them in Congress.”

“And let me be clear that term limits will only succeed when the same rules apply to everyone. Self-term limits are a recipe for self-defeat, as the career politicians simply wait out the true reformers. We must have term limits for all or term limits won’t succeed,” said Senator DeMint.

Read entire article at:

http://www.demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&C...

Senator Jim DeMint is also heading up the Senate Conservative Fund that is vetting conservatives for elections in the Senate: http://senateconservatives.com/site/about

RESULTS OF VOTE FOR TERM LIMITS:

Term Limits

February 02, 2012

The vote was on whether Congress would adopt a Constitutional Amendment limiting the number of terms for Members of Congress. The conservative vote was "Aye".

It is telling that the senators who voted against term limits have been in the Senate for an average of 13.6 years compared to just 6.4 years for those who support them. The longer people are in Congress, the more power they get, and the more they lose touch with the voters who elected them.

112^th Congress, 2^nd Session, Vote #11
Conservative Votes — 24 Yea
Liberal Votes — 75 Nay
Required — 3/5 Majority
Result — Amendment rejected

View Source File

LIBERAL

CONSERVATIVE

Yea
Yea	NH	Ayotte, Kelly	R
Yea	MO	Blunt, Roy	R
Yea	AR	Boozman, John	R
Yea	MA	Brown, Scott	R
Yea	OK	Coburn, Thomas	R
Yea	TN	Corker, Bob	R
Yea	SC	DeMint, Jim	R
Yea	SC	Graham, Lindsey	R
Yea	IA	Grassley, Charles	R
Yea	UT	Hatch, Orrin	R
Yea	NV	Heller, Dean	R
Yea	TX	Hutchison, Kay	R
Yea	NE	Johanns, Mike	R
Yea	WI	Johnson, Ron	R
Yea	UT	Lee, Mike	R
Yea	WV	Manchin, Joe	D
Yea	KS	Moran, Jerry	R
Yea	KY	Paul, Rand	R
Yea	OH	Portman, Robert	R
Yea	FL	Rubio, Marco	R
Yea	AL	Sessions, Jefferson	R
Yea	SD	Thune, John	R
Yea	PA	Toomey, Patrick	R
Yea	LA	Vitter, David	R

Nay
Nay	HI	Akaka, Daniel	D
Nay	TN	Alexander, Lamar	R
Nay	WY	Barrasso, John	R
Nay	MT	Baucus, Max	D
Nay	AK	Begich, Mark	D
Nay	CO	Bennet, Michael	D
Nay	NM	Bingaman, Jeff	D
Nay	CT	Blumenthal, Richard	D
Nay	CA	Boxer, Barbara	D
Nay	OH	Brown, Sherrod	D
Nay	NC	Burr, Richard	R
Nay	WA	Cantwell, Maria	D
Nay	MD	Cardin, Benjamin	D
Nay	DE	Carper, Thomas	D
Nay	PA	Casey, Robert	D
Nay	GA	Chambliss, Saxby	R
Nay	IN	Coats, Daniel	R
Nay	MS	Cochran, Thad	R
Nay	ME	Collins, Susan	R
Nay	ND	Conrad, Kent	D
Nay	DE	Coons, Chris	D
Nay	TX	Cornyn, John	R
Nay	ID	Crapo, Michael	R
Nay	IL	Durbin, Richard	D
Nay	WY	Enzi, Michael	R
Nay	CA	Feinstein, Dianne	D
Nay	MN	Franken, Al	D
Nay	NY	Gillibrand, Kirsten	D
Nay	NC	Hagan, Kay	D
Nay	IA	Harkin, Thomas	D
Nay	ND	Hoeven, John	R
Nay	OK	Inhofe, James	R
Nay	HI	Inouye, Daniel	D
Nay	GA	Isakson, John	R
Nay	SD	Johnson, Tim	D
Nay	MA	Kerry, John	D
Nay	MN	Klobuchar, Amy	D
Nay	WI	Kohl, Herbert	D
Nay	AZ	Kyl, Jon	R
Nay	LA	Landrieu, Mary	D
Nay	NJ	Lautenberg, Frank	D
Nay	VT	Leahy, Patrick	D
Nay	MI	Levin, Carl	D
Nay	CT	Lieberman, Joseph	I
Nay	IN	Lugar, Richard	R
Nay	AZ	McCain, John	R
Nay	MO	McCaskill, Claire	D
Nay	KY	McConnell, Mitch	R
Nay	NJ	Menendez, Robert	D
Nay	OR	Merkley, Jeff	D
Nay	MD	Mikulski, Barbara	D
Nay	AK	Murkowski, Lisa	R
Nay	WA	Murray, Patty	D
Nay	FL	Nelson, Bill	D
Nay	NE	Nelson, Ben	D
Nay	AR	Pryor, Mark	D
Nay	RI	Reed, John	D
Nay	NV	Reid, Harry	D
Nay	ID	Risch, James	R
Nay	KS	Roberts, Pat	R
Nay	WV	Rockefeller, John	D
Nay	VT	Sanders, Bernard	I
Nay	NY	Schumer, Charles	D
Nay	NH	Shaheen, Jeanne	D
Nay	AL	Shelby, Richard	R
Nay	ME	Snowe, Olympia	R
Nay	MI	Stabenow, Debbie Ann	D
Nay	MT	Tester, Jon	D
Nay	NM	Udall, Tom	D
Nay	CO	Udall, Mark	D
Nay	VA	Warner, Mark	D
Nay	VA	Webb, Jim	D
Nay	RI	Whitehouse, Sheldon	D
Nay	MS	Wicker, Roger	R
Nay	OR	Wyden, Ron	D

Not Voting
	IL	Kirk, Mark	R

Please Note that Senator Mark Kirk recently suffered a stroke and surgery.

See completely vote at: http://senateconservatives.com/site/votes/112/2/11?c=5R4F2B4F9B3A137

Also at: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vot...

Comment by JL Gawlik on February 4, 2012 at 9:34am: Apparently my post was too, long. Here is the last of it:

Truly amazing what really is going on and the people are ignoring or unawares.

Our Constitutional Republic has been allowed to turn into a Democracy that is very corrupted with massive waste and fraud costing us our future for generations to come.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Comment by JL Gawlik on February 4, 2012 at 9:33am: Amanda, should we repeal the term limits on the President that were passed earlier last century because of blatant abuse?

It is people of dishonor and dishonesty who abuse the system period.

FDR abused the system.

If you are even familiar with the US Constitution and all the Founding Fathers Charters of Liberty and Freedom, you can see clearly that they did not intend people to make careers out of being members of Congress, they set it up so the Senators were the seniority member with 6 years term and the members of the House would come in with freshness and be guiding by the Senate for two to four years. The Senate use to be voted in by NOT WE THE PEOPLE but by each state.

LOOK how completely off track and perverted it has become. It encourages a career with the high pay, the cadillac benefits... look at Gabby Giffords, she stayed on for over a year. Still has coverage and by staying on for over a year after her shooting she qualifies for a pension, she had to be invested for 5 years. Her fifth year was this year. I am not saying she does not deserve it but elected representatives are clearly gaming the system for their advantage not the American people.

This USE TO BE CALLED SERVING YOU COUNTRY.

They should ALL be receiving MILITARY PAY.

THEY are the people who created the problems by their actions.

WE THE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SIT AND WAIT FOR 2, 4 or 6 six years for their term to end, period while they sit up there doing more damage. Then they come back and lie to the people for votes.

Another great law would be IF they break their oath of office, they are immediately removed...

Another one would be IF they lied to the American people or other elected representatives serving in the peoples' seats or a government employee about the facts, they are immediate removed...

These people have the power to make decisions and appointments on their own about the spending of our tax dollars and look what mess it has become because of lack of integrity, honor, etc..

Look at what happened in the 110th and 111th Congress and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is still practicing the tactics both him and Nancy Pelosi used and that he is still using in the 112th Congress, of shelving budgets and new bills if they do not want them to come to the Senate floor for a open debate. He has come out and stated that he would NOT allow a budget to be pasted this year.

The man should not have the power to stop the voices of the people... the press/media is aiding their moves.

Speaker Boehner has changed the House rules back to open debates on the House floor, allowing any Congressman to come forward. They have passed hundreds of jobs bills, bills to repeal regulations and mandates, budgets, even a Cut, Cap and Balance bill that would of saved our country from being down graded last August.

The House has greatly slowed down the spending from the Senate. But the Senate constantly berates them and blames the Republicans. Talk to a true conservative Republican in the Senate and they are shocked at how Reid has closed door meetings all the time with back room dealing with just his majority all the time...

The press/media does not report that... and many people are not aware unless they watch the: http://www.speaker.gov/

http://www.majorityleader.gov/

http://majoritywhip.house.gov/

http://www.house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

… and then the majority leader in the House site for tracking bills being held up by the Senate:

http://www.majorityleader.gov/jobstracker/

... etc., you can also see all the information on Facebook and Twitter.

Truly amazing what really is going

Comment by amanda choate on February 2, 2012 at 2:54pm: We have term limits, they are called elections. Not worthy of Constitutional convention.

Comment by Peggy Hall on February 1, 2012 at 8:26pm: I just scanned this and must read in detail, but it sure sounds good.

Term Limits Bill was voted down, contact ALL of your elected Congressional members and spread the word:

February 1, 2012

DeMint to Force Vote on Term Limits

April 14, 2011

Republican Senators Introduce ‘Term Limits for All’ Constitutional ...

Amendment would limit every House member to 3 terms, every Senator to 2 terms

Term Limits

February 02, 2012

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