General Discussion

in that the longer you hang around in either House, the more power you tentd to amass. A Senator in that term limited second term is just not going to get those plum assignments that can either shove legislation out of committee or kill it stone dead.

That's why term limits, while a good idea, were never going to work.

Perhaps a hard and fast retirement age of 80 might be a better idea, nerve conduction slowing markedly in all of us during out 70s even when the brain stays sharp, none of us is at our best after 80 and government should demand our best. Elder statesmen can still be useful in advisory capacities, just not the actual jobs. Something has to be done to evict fossilized butts from chairs they have gotten entirely too comvfy occupying long after any ability or desire to do what's right for the country just because too many voters vote for a name they recognize over one they don't.