As the media saints the recently departed Teddy Kennedy,  the reality of his life sometimes does get past the gatekeepers of the "mainstream media" once in a while.    ABC Buries Harsh Kennedy Obit,  One That Labels Him a 'Failure' in the Middle of the Night.   Of course it was in the middle of the night so even fewer people saw it, and this brave reporter will undoubtedly be shown the door shortly.

I can go over the many failures of Teddy Kennedy,  but there are many places you can find that kind of history of him,  so I won't (they are there, just don't bother with the mainstream media).    I am not like one of those liberal blogger's who slander and are vile when a well known conservative passes.   So don't look for it here.

But the biggest fact of Teddy Kennedy's life remains.    That he was in the U.S. Senate from age 30 to his death at 77.    That is a loooooonnnng time.   Way to long!  

Yes,  he isn't the only one.   That record belongs to the still serving Democrat Senator Byrd of West Virginia  at 50 years, 7 months.   If I were a resident of West Virginia I wouldn't be too happy he hasn't stepped down.    Since he hasn't been in the Senate much lately due to his bad health.   Like he has much of a chance of getting better!    So that state has really only had one senator lately (and I use the word late lightly).   Of course the other senator is John Rockefeller so they don't have the best and brightest to begin with.   Byrd has been in office longer then Hawaii has been a state!  

There have been a total of twenty-five senators that have been in office more then 33 years!   All but two served during the twentieth and/or into the twenty-first  century.    Don't get me wrong since most of the long servicing senators were Democrats,  long serving senators are bad from any party.    I think it has lead to some of the problems we have today.   The founding fathers would have never  wanted long serving politicians,  the average voter probably doesn't either,  but it's  hard to remove a long-timer, even a relatively unpopular one.   

The founding fathers  envisioned the citizen legislator.  The guy that takes time from his business or job to serve his country in Congress. The guy that  then goes back to what he was doing before that,  after a short time in office.   We really don't have that at the federal level anymore.  Most of these guy's have never had real jobs or businesses.   I think that is as bad as the fact that most are lawyers as well. 

Some states like Texas and Indiana do better at not creating the carrier politician.   Others like Illinois are as bad as Washington.    Indiana statesmen are part time,  and the pay is low so you have to have a real job.   Texas legislation only meets once every two years for a mandated time, and they can't run over.    The time needs to be very limited to keep these guys from becoming Teddy Kennedy's.   

The point is that nobody should be a carrier politician.   Or at least a lot fewer of them.  Congress becomes too much like a college campus where reality and facts become faint and distant.     They become so they don't understand the problems they are causing people with stupid tax laws and regulations.   They don't understand they are the main reason why many places in our country like Gary and Detroit get left behind. 

The longer one is in Washington D.C.  the easier it is to do what they do in that town.    Things happen that would never happen if you had gone back home already.    It becomes your reality,  which is not reality anywhere else.   Notice how many, when they are "retired",  don't go back to their "home" district.   They take jobs as  lobbyists, etc in D.C.


So what should those  limits be?

I have been thinking about that.     The House is easier,  since the terms are only two years.   Maybe no more then three terms.     The Senate is harder since the terms are six years.   Since it's that long and two terms gives you 12 years in Washington,  one term may be the limit.    Of course the hard part is the one that wants to move up from the House to the Senate,   there should be limits on both House and Senate terms,  because even under my plan,  one can be in Washington 12 years.   Maybe Senate terms should be shorter.    

Or maybe a lifetime total of ten years.   So if you have served for three terms in the House you can only serve part (4 years) of a Senate term, opening up even more spots for new blood for the other 2 years.  

All this gives more people the opportunity to serve.  We could have some fresh ideas.   I can't image Kennedy had a fresh idea in decades.   These long-termers block more talented people from ever setting foot in Congress.    Terms limits have kept presidents from serving longer then eight years (thankfully we never have to have another day of a Bill Clinton presidency).   So why not Congress?

So what do you think?  


Heres a list of long time Senators (from the Senate website)

Senator       

Dates of Service       

Length of Service
   

1. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV)
       
Jan 3, 1959 to present
       
50 years, 7 months, 25 days
   

2. Strom Thurmond (R-SC)       

Dec 24, 1954 to Apr 4, 1956
and Nov 7, 1956 to Jan 3, 2003
       
47 years, 5 months, 17 days
   

3. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)       

Nov 7, 1962 to Aug 25, 2009
       
46 years, 9 months, 19 days
   

4. Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI)
       
Jan 3, 1963 to present
       
46 years, 7 months, 25 days
   

5. Carl T. Hayden (D-AZ)
       
Mar 4, 1927 to Jan 3, 1969
       
41 years, 9 months, 30 days
   

6. John Stennis (D-MS)
       
Nov 5, 1947 to Jan 3, 1989
       
41 years, 1 month, 29 days
   

7. Ted Stevens (R-AK)
       
Dec 24, 1968 to Jan 3, 2009
       
40 years, 10 days
   

8. Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC)
       
Nov 9, 1966 to Jan 3, 2005
       
38 years, 1 month, 25 days
   

9. Richard B. Russell (D-GA)
       
Jan 3, 1933 to Jan 21, 1971
       
38 years, 9 days
   

10. Russell Long (D-LA)
       
Dec 31, 1948 to Jan 3, 1987
       
38 years, 3 days
   

11. Francis E. Warren (R-WY)
       
Nov 18, 1890 to Mar 4, 1893
and Mar 4, 1895 to Nov 24, 1929
       
37 years, 2 months
   

12. James Eastland (D-MS)
       
Jun 30, 1941 to Sep 28, 1941
and Jan 3, 1943 to Dec 27, 1978
       
36 years, 2 months, 24 days
   

13. Warren Magnuson (D-WA)
       
Dec 14, 1944 to Jan 3, 1981
       
36 years, 20 days
   

14. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE)
       
Jan 3, 1973 to Jan 15, 2009
       
36 years, 13 days
   

15. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM)
       
Jan 3, 1973 to Jan 3, 2009
       
36 years
   

16. Claiborne Pell (D-RI)
       
Jan 3, 1961 to Jan 3, 1997
       
36 years
   

17. Kenneth D. McKellar (D-TN)
       
Mar 4, 1917 to Jan 2, 1953
       
35 years, 10 months
   

18. Milton R. Young (R-ND)
       
Mar 12, 1945 to Jan 2, 1981
       
35 years, 9 months, 22 days
   

19. Ellison D. Smith (D-SC)
       
Mar 4, 1909 to Nov 17, 1944
       
35 years, 8 months, 13 days
   

20. Allen Joseph Ellender (D-LA)
       
Jan 3, 1937 to Jul 27, 1972
       
35 years, 6 months, 24 days
   

21. William Boyd Allison (R-IA)
       
Mar 4, 1873 to Aug 4, 1908
       
35 years, 5 months
   

22. John McClellan (D-AR)
       
Jan 3, 1943 to Nov 28, 1977
       
34 years, 11 months
   

23. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT)
       
Jan 3, 1975 to present
       
34 years, 7 months, 25 days
   

24. Walter F. George (D-GA)
       
Nov 22, 1922 to Jan 3, 1957
       
34 years, 1 month, 13 days
   

25. George Aiken (R-VT)
       
Jan 10, 1941 to Jan 3, 1975
       
33 years, 11 months, 2 days
   
 


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