"The U.S. was never meant to have career politicians."
That is certainly true, George, but is it carved in stone and still viable and workable today? Can you be on top of something like the healthcare bill document as a parttime politician?
I believe that is unrealistic.
And whether congressional term limits make sense ... I have strong doubts.
Let's imagine a youngish Republican hopeful with slightly right of centrist, devoutly libertarian ideas. We''ll call him Carl Georgeston, he has a wife and two lovely kids which he wants to send to college one day. He has a dayjob that pays the mortgage on his house, his boss says he's doing well, but he's also spotted as a talent by the GOP, being the presentable chap and sharp conservative mind he is. (No dark spots on his CV either, yes, he was caught wearing women's clothes once, but that can be explained by the fact that "I simply woke up that way one morning". It was also very long ago. Rumors that some underground forum featured reflections of his private parts have remained largely unconfirmed.)
His party buddies are pushing Carl to run for the House of Representatives. He has a career decision to make. Give up his day job now and run for and eventually become a member of Congress, his ticket is a good one.
What will Carl's wife say when he reveals to her at dinner, "Honey, I'd like to run because people tell me I can really contribute something in Washington. It means that I will have to give up my job here. And unfortunately I won't be able to stay in Congress until the kids have finished college either, even if my voters are satisfied with me, because after two four-year-terms I'll be out and banned from running for the Senate in the immediate consecutive years. But we'll see what we'll do then when we get to it."
We don't know how much Carl's wife shares his political ideas, but she would have to be one hell of a convert to then still say:
"So what, Carl, I love you, do it. Kill your career here without really having the option of commencing another long term one in Washington. Our founding fathers never wanted career politicians anyway."