Washington is primarily composed of old, arrogant, white men. If you watched any part of Trump’s sham impeachment trial you might have seen men in their 70’s and 80’s violate the Constitution to protect their criminal-in-chief. These old and useless men ended 243 years of democracy in America and once and for all and decided to accept fascism in America.

Our government has been dysfunctional for more than 10 years and the primary reasons are the poor decisions of voters to reelect men and women who promise to support the American people, and when elected serve special interests.

The leader of these useless, failed politicians is Moscow Mitch McConnell who is 77 years old; he will be 78 in eleven days. “The Turtle” has been in the senate for 35 years; nearly six full terms.

Chuck Grassley is 86 and will be 87 before election day. He has lived on taxpayer money for nearly 60 years in the House and Senate.

Richard Shelby is 85; in office since 1987.

Jim Risch is 76; Pat Roberts, 83; Jim Inhofe, 85; Lamar Alexander, 79; Mike Enzi, 76; and there are many more in their early 70’s and late 60’s.

Two facts explain why Washington has failed for decades and why congress is out of touch with most Americans.

First; the average age of all Americans is 38.1 years of age. Women dominate the population with 51 percent but occupy only 23.5 percent of congress. Old, white men cannot serve or understand the needs and wishes of a young America which has more women than men.

The 2018 midterm elections began a change which must continue. Younger candidates were elected in local, state, and federal elections. The biggest change in the House involves women. 101 of the 435 members are now female; the most in history.

Second; the President of the United States has a 10-year maximum term limit. This rule’s origin is in politics, but its purpose is logical and inline with the intent of our founding fathers. They wrote into the Constitution rules to prevent America having a monarch by giving congress impeachment powers over the executive branch; the president.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to a fourth term in 1944, Republicans sought an end to Democrat’s dominance of the executive branch. Today a president may only serve two full terms and two years of a previous president’s term in office, for a total of 10 years.

Why does the same rule not apply to Representatives and Senators? The answer is simple. Congress must vote for term limits but refuse to do so. They are desperate to retain their positions of power and wealth.

Power is the key word and the problem. Remaining in office for multiple terms allows men and women in congress to amass great power, and power corrupts. For proof, look no further than Moscow Mitch, Chuck Grassley, Lindsey Graham, and others. Their rejection of public opinion and acceptance of the demands of special interests have destroyed the American government. No longer do both sides of the aisle use diplomacy and deliberate the laws of our nation, nor are they willing to compromise and do the right thing for the American people. The word from The Hill is that they seldom talk to each other in 2020; and after the impeachment trial debacle I doubt they even look at each other.

The problem with our government could be immediately solved with the implementation of term limits. Two term for senators; 12 years; and four or five terms for representatives; 8-10 years; is enough. If they can’t get something done in a decade, they need to be replaced; there are better people available who are likely younger and more intelligent and definitely more in touch with a younger population.

The Truth Lives Here

Op-ed by James Turnage

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