Incumbents
In William Eaton’s article “Democrats Appear to Retain Control of House as Incumbents Enjoy Edge” (Part I, Oct. 22), he raises a very important and disturbing question about our election process.
The article points out that incumbents enjoy almost an insurmountable advantage in national elections because of their preferred and easy access to public campaign funds. Availability of these funds makes it almost impossible for a challenger to unseat an incumbent officeholder. We hear so much about anti-trust and unfair competition. This is a perfect example. One might call it “incumbent monopoly.”
It took a long time to get the 22nd Amendment limiting the President to two terms. Now is the time to limit terms of congressmen and senators. A limit of four terms for congressmen (8 years) and two terms for senators (12 years) would seem reasonable.
The stranglehold by incumbents in the Congress is shared by Democrats and Republicans alike. The voting public should be concerned about it.
JOHN M. TRUDGEON
Rancho Cucamonga
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