Originally Posted by alaskaguy 
It is difficult to throw an incumbent out even if he is a bum due to seniority clout and the barriers to entry. By seniority clout I mean that many voters do not want to unilaterally cede the power their congressman has amassed.
Term limits would result in the following:
1)Elections would be more competitive
2)More people would be encouraged to run for political office (since their chances of winning an election would improve)
3)Congressional power would be diffused
All of the major lobbyists/special interests oppose term limits. They are literally the only parties that donate heavily to defeat this issue. What special interest groups fear most is a continuing influx of new politicians, who neither know nor care to learn the rigged rules of the game, and the constant leadership turnover that will result.
Serious campaign finance reform/publicly financed election would accomplish the same thing while also having the added benefit of removing the whole idea of buying a candidate.
Even with term limits, if candidates are required to raise millions of dollars, many of the same problems continue to exist.
