"Thomas Jefferson warned about the tyranny of an oligarchy, and if we surrender our democracy to the tyranny of a congressional oligarchy, we've made a terrible mistake."   -- Pat Robertson

There is very real evidence that over the past century or so our United States Congress has consistently sought to override the system of checks and balances embodied in our federal system, so carefully crafted by the framers of our Constitution, and consolidate increased power in the federal government.

Lead by its ruling cadre of lifelong congressional careerists of both major political parties; since the end of World War II we have seen Congress and its illegitimate bureaucratic offspring steadily work to erode the powers of others -- the powers of state governments reserved to them by the Constitution; and the sovereign, individual rights and liberties reserved to the American People -- and increase the federal government's jurisdiction over every facet of our daily lives.

This consolidation of oligarchic power was so feared by our nation's founding fathers that, when writing the Constitution, they carefully designed Congress as a "Citizen Legislature" to ensure that our government would never be too far removed or too insulated from the People, and thus prevent Congress and the federal government from usurping power from the states, and rights and freedoms from the People.

We believe that the growing dominance of our federal government -- and the powers of Congress specifically -- present a very real danger to the states rights to govern themselves, and of the Peoples rights and liberties guaranteed by our Constitution.

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."    -- Thomas Jefferson

We believe that limiting terms of congressional service will help restore the system of checks and balances that prevent usurpation of power by our federal government, or any single branch of government, and restore control of Congress to the People.

We also believe they will break down the barriers Congress has erected to separate and insulate us, the People, from the workings of our federal government.

This will be achieved by steadily removing the current congressional careerists from office; increasing legislative turnover and opening more congressional seats to election of more political outsiders who are solely beholding to, and representative of, the People who elected them; and forever eliminating the possibility of a Congress controlled by corrupt lifelong career politicians.

REASON II
CONGRESS MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO THE PEOPLE

"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt businessmen and corrupt politicians is the first task of the statesmen of the day."   -- Theodore Roosevelt

In an age where scores of federal agencies and wealthy special interests continually lobby for funding and favors, there is very real evidence that members of Congress have become corrupted by a culture that is too familiar with the intrinsic bureaucracy, too focused on amassing prestige and power, and too insulated from the real needs of the citizens they are supposed to represent.

We believe that by limiting the terms Congress may serve, we also limit the influence of wealthy special interests (i.e. big corporations, labor unions, financial institutions, etc.), and dilute their monetary investments in supporting the perpetual reelection campaigns of their favorite congressional careerists.

If they knew their favorite candidates were only going to hold office for a term or two instead of the rest of their lives, the special interests might not invest so heavily in their election campaigns or in currying favor during their terms of service. As it is now, the special interests know that once they buy a candidate they will have a friend in Congress for life who will propose and influence legislation favorable to them.

All members of Congress; and particularly senior congressional leaders, must be held solely accountable to, and responsible for, the people who elected them to represent their interests. This is obviously not the case today and cannot be allowed to stand!

REASON III
END THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION IN CONGRESS

"It could probably be shown in facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress."   -- Mark Twain

Under our current system of unlimited service, there is real evidence that the longer members of Congress remain in office the more likely they are to be influenced by corrupt practices and to overlook the needs of their constituents while lining their own pockets with special interest money and favors.

Needless to say, Congress is on the downswing of a cycle that has been observed for quite some time. Abuses of office run the gamut from neglecting their constituencies to engaging in self-serving practices, including the misuse of eminent domain, earmarking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracting in return for personal gain and campaign contributions, having inappropriate ties to lobbyist groups, and incorrectly or incompletely disclosing financial information and failing to pay taxes on their illegitimate income.

Who hasn't heard the stories of special treatment; of congressmen accepting bribes, taking expensive trips, receiving sweetheart mortgage deals, and being lavishly courted and entertained by one special interest group or another?

In 2006, a congressman who had served almost twenty years in Congress, was caught with $90,000 cash in his home freezer that he couldn't explain. Money that was actually paid to him as a bribe in an FBI sting operation (the FBI actually gave him $100,000, but he probably blew ten grand on a Rolex before they could bust him).

In a more recent case, another congressmen who chairs a powerful House committee was discovered to own homes and other real estate worth millions of dollars that he couldn't possibly afford to buy solely on his congressional salary -- a salary he has received from Congress for almost forty years -- and neglected for many years to pay taxes on hundreds of thousands of dollars in rental income he earned.

We wonder, where did the money to buy all these properties come from? Could it possibly be special interests buying his votes?

While the former was arrested by the FBI and recently convicted on eleven criminal counts including bribery, racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud; the latter has never even been censured by his peers, removed from his committee chair or disciplined in any way by House leadership; proving once again that tenure pays.

Could it be that he has gained so much seniority, power and influence that he is now totally immune from penalties?

These are just recent examples of corruption in Congress. There have been numerous such situations that were discovered, reported and prosecuted over the years, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. We wonder; how many other congressmen are guilty of similar crimes that have never been uncovered or disclosed?

"It's a sad day when members of Congress, who are literally criminals, go undisciplined by their colleagues. No wonder people look at Washington and know that this city is broken."   -- Senator John Kerry

This flourishing culture of corruption too often leads to pork barrel spending, ill-conceived and hastily passed legislation, partisan excesses, a skewed work ethic, political graft and moral turpitude.

All of these impede the legitimate purpose of our government and contribute to public dissatisfaction with congressional leadership. It's no wonder that public approval of Congress is at an all time low.

We believe that term limits will significantly reduce congressional corruption by minimizing the influence of wealthy special interest groups that regularly bribe, extort and cajole members to influence legislation that achieves their self-serving goals.

REASON IV
RESTORE MORE HONESTY AND INTEGRITY TO CONGRESS

"We cannot afford to differ on the question of honesty if we expect our republic permanently to endure. Honesty is not so much a credit as an absolute prerequisite to efficient service to the public. Unless a man is honest, we have no right to keep him in public life; it matters not how brilliant his capacity."   -- Theodore Roosevelt

The culture of corruption extends much farther than the back rooms of Congress and the corrupting influences of wealthy special interests. It has much broader and darker consequences for all American society.

We Americans have been exposed to so much disreputable and unethical behavior by members of Congress for so long that it has become a longstanding popular joke:

"How do you know when a politician is lying?    His lips start moving!"

Such behavior is so common that we have actually come to expect it from our leaders in government. All of us have been exposed to so much political perfidy for so long that we've become callous to it and hardly give it a second thought.

However, if it's expected that members of Congress will lie, cheat and steal to achieve their selfish political ambitions, what message does that send to the rest of the world, to our fellow countrymen -- and most particularly, to our children?

Whatever happened to honesty among our leaders and positive role models like George Washington and his famous line, "I cannot tell a lie", that we were taught as kids in school?

This may seem a trivial or frivolous issue to some, but think about it; our condonation of unethical behavior by our elected representatives -- our national leaders -- has far-reaching, unintended consequences.

All Americans, and most certainly our children, regularly see the perfidies of our congressional leaders paraded endlessly before us on the 24-hour television news channels. Aren't they teaching our children by example that's it's OK to be dishonest?

Doesn't it seem likely that the "culture of corruption" trickles down from Washington, permeates everyone in its path, and leads to widespread corruption in every facet of society? What sort of role models for our kids are we condoning?

We often hear candidates for political office making proclamations like, "it's time to restore honesty and integrity to government", but regardless of who wins the election "business as usual" in Washington never seems to change.

One can argue that it's not the fault of our current leaders, because as children and at every stage of their careers, they were also exposed to the corruption and dishonesty of their predecessors who showed them -- by example -- how the game is played.

In the words of the late Sam Rayburn, who served seventeen terms as Speaker of the House, "If you want to succeed in Congress, you have to go along to get along."

As a side note, this congressman from Texas -- who died in 1961 after serving forty-eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives -- was known for his honesty and integrity. He refused to accept money from special interests and often paid his own expenses on congressional trips, even though our government should rightfully have paid them.

We are not saying that there are no honest people in Congress. We're sure that there are, because we know some are too rich to be bought. It's just tough to sort the others out when so much corruption has compromised the once respected title of "congressman".

We believe it is time to restore honesty and integrity to a Congress that has so obviously abandoned its ethical principles. Term limits may not entirely dismantle this cult of dishonesty and deceit, but they will most definitely end careerism in Congress and open our government to rehabilitating influences from political outsiders who have not been fully indoctrinated into the culture of corruption in Congress.

"Our government teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy."
   -- Louis Brandeis

REASON V
END THE ERA OF CAREERISM IN CONGRESS

"Today we need term limits to free us from career politicians who judge and enact policies and laws not on their merits, but on what they can do to promote and ensure perpetual incumbency."   -- Patricia Starke

The United States was founded with the intent of having of a citizen legislature composed of people who would go to Washington and do their duty to serve the interests of the people who elected them, and then return home to resume their lives and careers.

For three quarters of American history Congress managed to help shape the growth and prosperity of the greatest nation on earth under this principle. Until the early twentieth century, members typically served a term or two, did their duty and went home; vacating seats that others sought election as their civic duty to fill.

Today however, Congress is mostly composed of career politicians who haven't lived a day in the real world for way too long. For many years -- and all too often, for many decades -- they haven't run a business, made a payroll, faced the daily grind of working for a living, or dealt with the myriad issues that confront most Americans every day.

To achieve a Citizen Legislature it is imperative that our representatives in Congress, particularly those in the House -- which our founding fathers clearly intended to be the arm of government closest to the people -- cannot be too far removed or too far insulated from the people and the real world in which they live. After all, that's precisely who they are elected to represent.

A citizen legislature cannot exist in a Congress composed of professional politicians who do not live the lives of everyday citizens.

Many of our senior members have held congressional office for several decades; most have also held lesser elected office, or a government job of some kind or other, for the majority of their adult lives.

A cursory review of all five hundred and thirty-five members of Congress would reveal that the vast majority of have worked their way up through the election process over the course of many years or decades; from local, to state elective offices; to the House of Representatives; and for many, from the House to the Senate.

Our oldest serving congressman and President Pro Temporare of the Senate, Robert Byrd of West Virginia -- often referred to as "The Prince of Pork" for his prodigious use of ear marked appropriations to curry favor with wealthy special interests and his electorate -- is ninety-one years old and has continuously held Senate office for over fifty years!

We ask how this purely political, lifelong career experience can possibly be conducive to maintaining real world perspectives, depth of understanding for the private sector, and the concerns of everyday Americans? Isn't it more likely that these career politicians have a greater sensitivity for the direction of the political wind in Washington than for the pressing needs of their own constituents?

We believe that limiting the terms that members can hold office would provide Congress inescapable, bracing reminders of what life in the real world is like by forcing them to return to private life from time to time, to live among their constituents and learn what the real issues of the day are.

We are not saying they should be banned from ever serving again; quite the contrary. We simply propose that once they leave Congress they should be required to sit out for a period of years to reacquaint themselves with their constituents and real world issues before running for congressional office again.

Ensuring that members are more frequently exposed to life outside of Congress and Washington is healthy for our democracy. It will instill a much better understanding of the logic and limits of federal regulation, and render them more sensitive to the real needs of the people they represent.

We believe that our elected representatives must be required to live under the very same laws they pass, just like the rest of us.

REASON VI
LESS POLITICAL TALK AND MORE LEGISLATIVE ACTION

 "Ninety percent of politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation."
   -- Henry Kissinger

Under our current system, members of Congress are forced to spend entirely too much time, effort and money on perpetual reelection campaigns so they can climb the ladder of congressional seniority, power, prestige and privilege that unrestricted terms of service fosters. Although not everyone is Congress is a careerist -- it appears there may be a few who aren't -- the majority of members are concerned in one thing above all others; i.e. getting themselves reelected.

This self-serving motivation colors every decision congressional careerists make; from the legislation they propose, to the legislation they support; from their friendships and party allegiances within Congress, to the persona they present to the outside world; from the places they eat, to the color of socks they wear; everything they do is predicated on one overriding goal; continuous and perpetual reelection.

By limiting terms of service, members are freed from the pressures and corrupting influences of perpetual reelection campaigning -- particularly during the daily course of conducting our nation's business -- and will enjoy more liberty to focus on promoting effective legislation that actually serves the national interest and the interests of the people who elected them.

We believe that term limits will relieve much of the burden for continual, nonstop reelection politicking.

When members of Congress are released from the obligation to prostrate themselves before senior members, party leaders, special interest groups, and others who might influence their reelection prospects in return for for political favors; much of the bitterness, bickering and backbiting between members of opposing political parties will abate, promoting a more congenial and effective Congress.

REASON VII
MINIMIZE UNFAIR INCUMBENT ELECTION ADVANTAGES

"All elections revolve around and are often resolved by who raises the most money. That's unfair. I'd like to see that process changed, but it seems that once you win and get to Congress, that doesn't happen."   -- John Murray

We believe that reform is necessary to correct the inequalities that inevitably hinder legitimate challengers in elections for Congress and unfairly facilitate incumbents' reelection campaigns. The best way to accomplish this is mandating increased congressional turnover by limiting the number of terms that incumbents may serve.

Each serving member of Congress receives over a million dollars per year to pay for franked (free) mail, staff salaries, office expenses, travel and more. While they are campaigning for reelection incumbents continue to receive salaries upwards of $174,000 a year, which typically dwarf the incomes of challengers who often must resign from their jobs to run for office.

When these benefits are added to such inherent incumbent advantages as better name recognition, greater media access, higher campaign contributions, and financial support from wealthy special groups, it's no wonder that so few challengers ever succeed in unseating their incumbent opponents.

Most challengers simply cannot afford to outspend their incumbent opponents and face a long uphill battle for election. The inequalities built into our election system, many of them engineered by Congress over the course of several decades to perpetuate their own positions, discourage many potential candidates from ever running for office.

Who knows how many truly viable candidates -- people inspired by civic duty with great ideas and worthy legislative goals -- have never sought election due to the almost impossible prospects of winning?

During the last few decades, fewer than five per cent of House incumbents who run for reelection -- and most do -- were unseated by challengers, thus perpetuating the careerist congressional culture.

We must break this cycle of perpetual incumbency and open our Congress to participation by more everyday Americans who will bring their common sense and real world practical experience to Washington, and utilize their skills to govern our country instead of constantly maneuvering for reelection.

"Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated."   -- Will Rogers

REASON VIII
REFORM THE CONGRESSIONAL SENIORITY SYSTEM

"Most of the real work in Congress is done in and by committees; the chairmen of these committees have vast, often dictatorial influence over the legislation that falls within their realms. With almost no exceptions, these chairmen have gained their exalted positions for the simple reason that they have been on their committees longer than anyone else in the majority party, thus giving the U.S. the peculiar distinction of having the only legislative gerontocracy on the globe"   -- Gerald Clarke

We believe the current congressional seniority system, combined with corrosive partisan political maneuvering, is the single greatest impediment to a Congress that could otherwise work more harmoniously to enact meaningful legislation for the benefit of all Americans.

In Congress today, members who have held office the longest control the legislative agenda through higher rankings in committees and caucuses. Committee chairman and ranking members run their committees like personal fiefdoms. They hold almost dictatorial powers over their more junior colleagues, the entire political process, the path of proposed legislation, and they wield tremendous power and influence over almost every facet of our government and our own daily lives.

As a result, we too often see policies and legislation that hold no benefit for the People, but are designed instead for assuring the continued dominance of whichever political party holds the majority and the self-serving perpetuation of individual political careers.

We don't believe that congressional seniority automatically grants better judgment or necessarily implies greater wisdom or ability. Nor does it imply greater compassion for the welfare of the American People, or more loyalty, nobility, responsibility, or any other positive attribute.

Seniority in Congress only demonstrates more astute navigational abilities within a cryptic organization whose traditions, rules and modes of operation are so arcane, mysterious, secret, and nonsensical that it often takes freshman congressmen several terms in office just to learn the rules of the game.

With more frequent rotation of congressional seats, the omnipotence of seniority is reduced, arcane rules will change, and the playing field is more level for all members.

This new paradigm will promote more independent thought and action, more concern for the interests of the electorate, and provide greater incentives for members to propose and fight for their own legislation, while increasing their willingness to cross party lines to support beneficial legislation proposed by others.

REASON IX
END PORK BARREL SPENDING

Pork Barrel - "Literally, 'a barrel for storing pork'; used figuratively to mean 'a supply of money; a source of rich pickings, the source of one's livelihood'. Also, 'the nation's financial resources regarded as a source of distribution to meet regional expenditures; especially appropriated for local projects designed to please special interests and the electorate, and win votes."
   -- The Oxford English Dictionary

Term limits will significantly reduce wasteful special interest earmarks and pork barrel spending. Once the pressures for perpetual reelection are eliminated, members incentives to dispense wasteful and corrupt appropriations to special interests, in return for their political support and campaign contributions, will be significantly reduced as well.

Pork barrel appropriations are provisions attached to, and hidden within, other necessary legislation. Legislators employ this practice to perpetuate their political careers by inappropriately funding projects for their special interest supporters, or by sending large amounts of our tax dollars to their home states or districts for local use, in effect buying votes by demonstrating to their constituents that they are receiving something of value in return for their political support.

Pork barrel spending has become so institutionalized that very few in Congress want this practice to cease. it seems that everyone in Congress wants to use our money for their own benefit.

In fact, pork barrel spending is so popular, we even have a name for it, "log-rolling". Log-rolling means that everyone in Congress votes for each other's pork barrel spending appropriations so they're own pork barrel legislation gets approved.

Everyone in Congress winks at these ear marked provisions hidden in other meaningful legislation and tacitly overlooks the deceit. The American people are the only real losers since it's our tax dollars they are spending. What a great country!

We wonder; how much of this inappropriate spending actually reaches the intended recipients, and how much travels under the table and into the politicians' pockets?

We believe that the use of these discreditable tactics is a major cause of citizens declining respect and dissatisfaction with our government.

Term limits will arrest the decline of congressional legitimacy by ensuring that members are less influenced by the wealth and power of special interests, and more sensitive to their constituents concerns in the daily course of conducting the nation's business, not just at election time.

We also believe that when Congress seeks to spend taxpayer dollars for any purpose, they should propose appropriate legislation and seek a vote, instead of furtively concealing self-serving pork barrel spending provisions within other legitimate bills that address issues more relevant to the American People and our national interests.

We can virtually eliminate this inappropriate spending by removing the incentives to buy votes for career perpetuation. When members of Congress know that term limits prohibit their positions from becoming permanent, they will cease to employ these underhanded methods to purchase reelection.

REASON X
RESTORE MORE REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT

"The problem, quite simply, is that our representatives are no longer representative of the people. They are a separate ruling class, identifying their interests with those of the government, not the people. When the interests of the government in which they serve and the people they putatively serve conflict... they invariably side with the government."
   -- Eric O'Keefe, Sam Adams Alliance

More frequent rotation in Congress would create more vacant seats during each election cycle and encourage more Americans from a broader range of social, occupational and educational backgrounds to run for congressional office; bringing fresh blood, new ideas and increased vivacity to an aging and corrupt body badly in need of revitalization.

Imagine the depth of experience that would come into play if Congress were composed of more people of differing ages, more women, more ethnic minorities, and more professions other than lawyers.

Congress needs people from more diversified occupations like butchers, bakers and candlestick makers; more people who know how to create, build, and run things like construction foremen, engineers, software designers, airline pilots and firemen; and more farmers, small business owners, housewives, physicians, and military officers.

Then we would have a Congress that truly represents the amazing richness and diversity of the American people; a Congress that benefits from a much broader range of practical knowledge and basic common sense, and a Congress much better equipped to manage our country and get things done for the good of the People!

"If Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, produce nothing, and talk by the hour?"
   -- Thomas Jefferson

Our Constitution doesn't specify that one must have prior experience in government, have a college degree or be a lawyer to serve in Congress.

Quite the contrary; it simply states that those elected to Congress must have reached a certain adult age, must be U.S. citizens for a certain period of years, and must live in the state they represent.

If one meets these basic constitutional requirements, then presumedly the only other prerequisites for election are a desire to serve and a good reason for the people to cast their votes in one's behalf.

Currently, roughly half of the members of Congress are attorneys, over forty per cent are millionaires, the average age is fifty-six -- some are in their eighties and at least one is over ninety -- and the vast majority are white males.

This should not imply that we are biased against rich, old, white, male lawyers; rather it should suggest that a more diverse Congress would be much more representative of all the American people and more effective as a governing body.

Furthermore, we believe that term limits are a vital political reform that will, by mandating more frequent legislative turnover, bring new perspectives to Congress, stimulate members to be more concerned with the interests of the people it serves, and diminish incentives for wasteful election-related federal spending that currently flourishes in our careerist congressional culture.

REASON XI
INSPIRE OUR BEST AND BRIGHTEST TO SERVE

"The citizen can bring our political and governmental institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable, and keep them honest. No one else can."   -- John Gardner

There is way too much deadwood in our Congress that must be removed so others with great ideas, and the vitality and tenacity to turn their ideas into legislative action, can be elected to serve. Too many in Congress are just hanging onto office long enough to serve their twenty years and retire with full lifetime pensions.

These members "serve" -- and we use that term with tongue in cheek -- in virtual silence, contributing nothing and creating nothing; drawing generous salaries and enjoying the perks of their office while keeping a low profile and hoping that no one will notice that they aren't doing anything.

There are millions of Americans, our best and brightest among them, who would like to serve the American People in Congress, but incumbent barriers to entry and the realization that it will take many years to gain enough seniority, power and influence to accomplish anything worthwhile discourage them from even attempting election.

This is a particularly sad state of affairs! Who knows what great feats government could accomplish if it wasn't run by career politicians who care about nothing more than their next reelection?

We need people who want to serve out of a sense of civic duty, not for the prospect of a lifelong congressional career and a lifetime government pension, but would rather live their lives and build their careers in the private sector, holding productive jobs in civil society outside of the world of politics.

Such individuals might be willing to spend two, four, or even six years in Washington, but not if the legislative agenda is being set by others who've gained their authority through congressional careerism, unmerited seniority and unfair election advantages.

We believe that the turnover forced by congressional term limits will remove most entry barriers, change the nature of the existing seniority system, and open Congress to greater participation by congressional outsiders with the desire and talent to actually serve the interests of the people who elect them.

What's more, term limits will demonstrate with absolute certainty that they will not be starting a lifelong congressional career; and will inspire them to go to Washington with their ideas and agendas, work to see those ideas turn into effective legislation, and then go home to resume their private careers.

They may also decide to use the congressional experience they acquire to continue their service to the American People in other elected offices -- also restricted by term limits -- such as a governorship or the U.S. Presidency. Congressional term limits do not prohibit political aspirations, just congressional careers.

REASON XII
RESTRAIN PARTISAN GAMESMANSHIP AND EXCESSES

"Under our democracy, one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule; both commonly succeed, and both are ultimately right."   -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Our current two-party system is too often the root cause of many of the excesses in government that we've seen since the latter half of the twentieth century.

Partisan struggles between whichever political party holds the majority and whichever is the minority are almost as endemic as the age old struggles between the world's great religions. It too often seems like unrestricted political warfare between Democrats and Republicans, and the American People are its casualties.!

For example; in 1994, the "Republican Revolution" that began with their "Contract with America" brought the Republicans their first majority in Congress since 1952.

Long suppressed, Republicans rushed to advance legislative agendas denied them by the Democratic majority for over forty years. After a time, spending excesses resulted, along with other unfortunate and unintended consequences; leading the American People to reject Republican candidates later on.

Then in 2008 Democrats regained majorities in both Houses of Congress -- and the White House -- and rushed to advance their own political agendas which were too long stifled by the Republican majority. Again leading to huge spending excesses and extremely unfortunate unintended consequences.

The result for the American People is a violent whiplash effect, and a polarized Congress that seeks to press legislative agendas based on individual political ambitions and party allegiances, rather than for the good of the governed.

Most of these political agendas involve furthering politicians' self-serving career goals; to ensure their own seniority, their party's majority, and thus cementing their own power, privileges and prestige.

We believe that term limits will open the door for people of more diverse political perspectives to seek congressional office, and thereby diminish the hegemonistic tyranny of our two main political parties.

Quite simply, Congress desperately needs great infusions of diversity, and that means attracting more Independents, Libertarians and others with differing political perspectives to produce a more independently functional legislature and free our government from the reactionary excesses of our rigid two-party system.

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WE CALL ON CONGRESS TO PASS OUR AMENDMENT NOW!

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."   -- John Adams

We call on Congress to spare the American people a fight to reform our government, and secure an honorable and venerated place in American History for yourselves.

We are our rightful rulers!   Spare us the fight for real representation and our right to govern ourselves!

We call on you, Congress to voluntarily pass a constitutional amendment that defines congressional term limits and restore accountability in our government to the People!

No one wants a fight. We Americans want to get along with our lives the best we can. We would rather use our energies caring for our families, our homes and our communities. We want Congress to take care of the business we sent you to Washington to accomplish so we don't have to.

But make no mistake, we are the American People! We are the legitimate successors of the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution! Our ancestors -- our brothers and sisters, our husbands and wives, our sons and our daughters -- have fought and died on battlefields around the globe to vanquish tyranny, restore liberty to the oppressed and shield our people from those who sought to destroy us.

We are definitely not afraid to fight for our rights under the Constitution our founders bequeathed to us!

We will not stand idly by and witness the destruction of our great nation from within because of your self-serving political ambitions, your corrupt zealotry for wealth and power, and your shameful neglect!

Congress, don't forget; you work for us! We hired you, and we can fire you!

We don't seek a fight with you, but fight you we will to restore our government to its founding principles and compel you to place our interests above your own self-serving career ambitions.

"Do not separate the text from its historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government."
   -- James Madison

You swore an oath, "to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic".

To us, that means you should also support the ideals of our Constitution's framers who believed our country would be best served by a citizen legislature composed of members who are representative of the people who elect them. How can you argue that you are such people when so much evidence proves otherwise?

We are now concerned that Congress itself has become one of the domestic enemies that you are supposed to defend us from. Our founding fathers would be appalled if they could see our Congress ruled by self-centered careerists like you!

Act now, Congress! Spare us all the fight that the we the People will ultimately win.

In the name of the American People, we hereby demand that you pass a constitutional amendment immediately to limit your own terms in office or we will fight to see it done in spite of you!

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"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do    for your country."   -- John F. Kennedy

We must unite as American patriots and work as one to reform Congress and restore accountability to the People again.

Together we can and will redeem the confidence and respect that our democratic government rightly deserves!

Remember, one person like you can make a real difference and help determine the future course of human events.   Each and every one of us holds this incredible power in our hands!

Please support our efforts with your generous contribution of $10, $25, $50 or more, and please be sure to sign our petition for congressional reform, then either mail or email copies of this petition to your state and federal legislators!

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