January 21, 2018

I was recently asked on Facebook how many terms made a person a "Career Politician?"
Here is how I responded:

I think that the question as to whether a person is a career politician is more than the number of terms he or she serves.

First and foremost it is an attitude. For example does the Congressman threaten a potential opponent not just once but twice? Are friends who are tagged in Facebook posts harassed by a family member of the elected official? Both of these have happened and both speak to the question of motivation.

Is the elected official into photo ops to help ensure his or her reelection? For example does he or she go down to a local post office to mow its lawn and make sure the media knows about it? That's not about service, its about drawing attention to one's self.  If it was about service he or she would just go and do it and not mention it to the media.

When a Congressman sees that his or her colleagues are choosing not to be paid during the government shutdown and so decides to do so as well, and then makes it widely known on Facebook... it again begs the question what is the motivation? And what did that member do in 2013 when there was another government shutdown?

Is holding office utmost in the person's mind? In my case, I could be a one or two or even a three term Congressman... that is not important to me. What is important to me is accomplishing some very important things for this district while I am in Washington and then coming home.

To answer your question directly, I support the idea of term limits. I think the maximum a person should serve is six terms in the House and no more than two terms in the Senate. When elected I will fight for term limits and personally I do not want to serve more than three terms -- although I jokingly tell folks that if I am asked to be Speaker of the House I might consider a fourth!

Hope this helps give you a perspective on where I am coming from.
It is about service and not about power, prestige or position.