This book considers whether term limits help curb careerism in the US state legislatures. Term limits are popular among the public and have been overwhelmingly successful once on the ballot. Despite this, very little is known about the long-term effects of these institutional rules. If term limits were sold to the public to remove entrenched incumbents from office, how do they alter the careers of legislators and what are the implications? Butcher suggests that term limits do not end careers but instead, lawmakers have become more creative in their pursuits. She finds that the presence of term limits has created a new career system unique to those states that have limits. In each chapter, there is a quantitative analysis, followed by qualitative interviews to better understand the underlying motivations of members.

Legislative term limits remain a controversial feature of the American political landscape. Term Limits and Their Consequences provides a clear, comprehensive, and nonpartisan look at all aspects of this contentious subject. Stanley M. Caress and Todd T. Kunioka trace the emergence of the grassroots movement that supported term limits and explain why the idea of term limits became popular with voters. At the same time, they put term limits into a broader historical context, illustrating how they are one of many examples of the public's desire to reform government. Utilizing an impressive blend of quantitative data and interviews, Caress and Kunioka thoughtfully discuss the impact of term limits, focusing in particular on the nation's largest state, California. They scrutinize voting data to determine if term limits have altered election outcomes or the electoral chances of women and minority candidates, and reveal how restricting a legislator's time in office has changed political careers and ambitions. Designed to transform American politics, term limits did indeed bring change, but in ways ranging far beyond those anticipated by both their advocates and detractors.

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This book considers whether term limits help curb careerism in the US state legislatures. Term limits are popular among the public and have been overwhelmingly successful once on the ballot. Despite this, very little is known about the long-term effects of these institutional rules. If term limits were sold to the public to remove entrenched incumbents from office, how do they alter the careers of legislators and what are the implications? Butcher suggests that term limits do not end careers but instead, lawmakers have become more creative in their pursuits. She finds that the presence of term limits has created an new career system unique to those states that have limits. In each chapter, there is a quantitative analysis, followed by qualitative interviews to better understand the underlying motivations of members.

Exploring the factors that lead some presidents to hold on to power beyond their term limits

As a new administration takes office, what are the biggest issues facing the country? The Brookings Institution offers answers to that question in this volume, which continues the Brookings tradition of providing each incoming administration with a nonpartisan analysis of the major domestic and foreign questions confronting America. On the domestic front, Brookings scholars tackle topics ranging from health care and improving economic opportunity to criminal justice reform, lawful hacking, and improving infrastructure. The alliance system, the relationship with China, nuclear weapons, terrorism, and the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Syria among the foreign policies issues addressed. Throughout, Brookings scholars share their individual ideas on how best to address the agenda that awaits the new administration.

Eighty percent of the American people say congressional terms should be limited. Fifteen states have already done so, and efforts are spreading to more states and hundreds of cities. Would term limits be a good idea? Would they be constitutional? The Politics and Law of Term Limits presents both sides of the issue and lets the reader decide. Contributors include syndicated columnist George F. Will, League of Women Voters president Becky Cain, Thomas E. Mann of the Brookings Institution, constitutional scholar Ronald D. Rotunda, and former White House counsel Lloyd Cutler, among others. The Founding Fathers did not include term limits in the Constitution because they thought citizen legislators, not professional politicians, would be the rule, and an overwhelming number of voters from every demographic group in the nation believe that should be the case today. Problems such as the burgeoning federal deficit indicate that careerism and legislative "experience" may not be all they are cracked up to be. Proponents of term limits argue that abolishing careerism would open the political process to a new type of candidate - the aspiring citizen legislator - who wishes to take a brief time out from his or her work to make a contribution to society. But opponents of term limits counter that such a change would induce an unhealthy dependence on congressional aides and professional lobbyists. Who is correct? You decide.