Reader Question: Term Limits for Congress?

Charles S. Merroth in Pennsylvania asks:

"Are any presidential candidates in favor of term limits for congressmen? It is one move that would alleviate most problems of corruption, campaign funding, seniority,porkbarrel proposals, etc."

We turned to senior editor Dan Gilgoff for an answer:

"I'm not aware of any 2008 presidential candidates who are advocating congressional term limits, and certainly none of the frontrunners have spent much time discussing such a move on the campaign trail," Dan says. "Which isn't to say there aren't some term limit advocates in Washington. 1994's GOP Contract with America actually included a pledge to consider congressional limits to create a "citizen legislature." But some Republicans elected in 1994's Republican Revolution have since disavowed pledges to serve only a set number of terms, and the 1990s-era movement to amend the U.S. Constitution to introduce term limits is now all but dead. And with the presidential contenders looking to pick up endorsements from the House and Senate, don't look for the idea to gain steam any time soon."