On Limited Terms

I saw this Internet meme on a facebook page called "Conservative Patriots of America".

It appears to be true:   75% of Americans responding to a Gallup poll in January of 2013 say they would vote in favor of term limits. (Although the specifics of the limits are unclear.  Perhaps two terms, the same as the President?)

So 'debunking' the meme is finished quickly; it's accurate. But who are the people pictured behind the words of this meme and why were they particularly chosen as the poster children for the issue of congressional term limits?

The woman is Nancy Pelosi and the man is  Harry Reid, both long standing, high profile members of Congress. It seems the creator of this meme wants us all to promote the idea of term limits so that these two will be forced off Capitol Hill.

A quick perusal of the 113th Congress shows many members way over what anyone might consider being exempt from a measure to limit terms.  Pelosi and Reid are not even the two that have been there the longest, but they both happen to be Democrats, so I suppose the  Conservative Patriots consider them too liberal, too much in support of the Obama administration.

Pelosi is the House Minority Leader and Reid is the House Majority Leader, so between the two, they wield a significant amount of power and influence. It is understandable that frustrated Republicans want them removed from the legislative process.

So does this mean that the Conservative Patriots are proposing terms limits only for Democrats?

Or are they are unaware that there are some Republicans who have been in power as long or longer than these two Democrats?

Are they willing to give up their own entrenched elder statesmen in order to get rid of those on the opposite side of the aisle?


Nancy Pelosi is 72, a Representative from California who has been in the House since 1987.
Harry Reid is 73 years old.  He has been serving as a Senator from Nevada since 1987.

Mitch McConnell is 71 years old, a Republican from Kentucky, currently serving as the Senate Minority Leader. He has been in congress since 1985.

John McCain, also a Republican, is 76 years old and has been serving as a Senator from Arizona since 1987.

John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio and currently the House Majority Leader, has been on Capitol Hill a bit less time, arriving on the scene in 1991. He is only 63 years old, but I imagine he'd be asked to step down if a term limits measure was enacted.

And Orrin Hatch, a powerful Republican from Utah, has been representing his state in the House since 1977. He is 78 years old.

I will leave you to explore further and to draw your own conclusions about the motives behind the creation of the meme, but it seems to me that this issue of term limits is truly bipartisan.  Republicans may stand to gain from such a measure, but not without sacrificing a few of their most powerful politicians to the cause.

Perhaps the Conservative Patriots ought to be careful what they wish for.