Advantages and Disadvantages of Incumbency

588 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on democracy and elections

“Incumbency is the time during which a person holds a particular office or position.” (Incumbency) An incumbent candidate is a candidate who is returning to a position or office. The president can serve only two four year terms. Senators and legislators can serve an unlimited amount of six year terms. Since George Washington was president, presidents usually served two terms. However, Franklin D. Roosevelt served four terms. This resulted in the 22nd amendment limiting the amount of terms to two. The 22nd amendment was passed by congress on March, 21st 1947 and ratified by the states in February 27th, 1951.
The idea of terms has been around for a while. Terms were used in ancient Greece and Rome. This was to prevent a person from gathering power and forming a non-democratic regime. “In many countries, including the U.S., term limits are imposed on presidents or other executive-branch officials for the same reasons. Many U.S. states restrict the number of terms their governors may serve in a succession as well.” (Term Limits)
One important reason Americans want to limit terms of their elected representatives is because they are likely to blame what they observe as professional and almost permanent ruling elect of career politicians for a majority of the country’s ill. Supporters of term limits claim the advantages of incumbency are so overpowering that they instead decrease representative democracy and diminish the effectiveness of the government. “Since 1950, about 90% of all incumbents in the House have won the reelection. The 10% who do not return includes both retiring members and those defeated in reelection attempts.” (Term Limits) “Proponents term limits argue that elected officials in Washington eventually become estrang...

... middle of paper ...

...ureaucracy and can strike quickly. For example, when providing a press release or a draft fundraising letter for an incumbent, I can wait weeks or even months for approval. Most of my challenger candidates respond within 24 hours.” (Robichaud) Also, incumbents can sometimes become desensitized to citizens needs overtime and not care about their issues. Whether an incumbent candidate or not, both an incumbent candidate and a challenger candidate will have their disadvantages and advantages when it comes to time for them to run for office.

Works Cited

"Incumbency." Merriam-Webster. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
Robichaud, Holly. "Challengers Have Many Advantages in Campaigns."
Winning Campaigns. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
“Term Limits." Facts on File: Issues and Controversies. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar.
2014.
"22nd Amendment." LAWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014

Show More
Related

  • Presidency Success and Efficiency in the Theories of Neustadt and Skowronek’s

    1894 Words  | 4 Pages

    Examining the conceptualizations and theories of Neustadt and Skowronek’s in comparative perspective, this essay makes the principal argument that both of these theories only represent partial explanations of how success and efficiency is achieved in the context of the Presidency. With Neustadt focusing saliently on the President’s micro-level elite interactions and with Skowronek adopting a far more populist and public opinion-based framework, both only serve to explain some atomistic facets of the Presidency. As such, neither is truly collectively exhaustive, or mutually exclusive of the other, in accounting for the facets of the Presidency in either a modern day or historical analytical framework. Rather, they can best be viewed as complementary theories germane to explaining different facets of the Presidency, and the different strengths and weaknesses of specific Administrations throughout history.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Mayhew: What Motivates Members Of Congress

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is not uncommon to find members of Congress who have genuine goals of spearheading, designing or even just supporting good public policy. It would be harsh to say that every member of Congress is against good policy. However what is difficult for members of Congress is deciding what is more important, the wishes of their constituents or national policy. Although it is rare, members of Congress vote against the popular opinion of his or her district in order to make what would be considered good policy in the national interest. This hinders their chance of re-election but is necessary for America. In very rare cases members of Congress have gone against the wishes of their constituents for moral reasons like in the aftermath of 9/11. When voting on the 2002 Iraq War Resolution, I am certain that the last thing of the minds of members of Congress was re-election. A very conservative House of Representatives member Jimmy Duncan said ‘‘when I pushed that button to vote against the war back in 2002, I thought I might be ending my political career.” In times of crisis members of Congress have decide between what is right, not what their constituents believe is right. Another goal other than re-election that members of Congress have is their own future. For many, being a members of The House of Representatives is a mere stepping stone in their career on the way to better things. Therefore for some members of Congress, re-election does not worry them and gives them the freedom to act in an environment striped of the constant pressure of re-election. However, considering that most of the members of The House Of Representatives goals lie within the Senate or high executive positions, re-election is still on their mind, all be it in the form of a different

    Read More

  • Major Accomplishments of President Ronald Reagan

    1817 Words  | 4 Pages

    Every four years, there is an election to elect a new President of the United States. In some cases, if a President is well liked, they may be reelected to serve another term but may only be in office for two consecutive terms (8 years). One of the few Presidents that held off a total of 8 years was President Ronald Reagan. He was the 40th President to be sworn into office, and at the time was the oldest to ever serve this country. When Reagan took office in 1980, he had many hopes and dreams to turn America into a great nation, and get America back on track.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Presidential Power

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    Presidential power has become a hot topic in the media the in recent years. There has been extensive debate about what a president should be able to do, especially without the involvement of Congress and the American people. While this debate has become more publicized since the Bush administration, similar issues of presidential power date back to Truman and the Korean War. As with much of the structure of the U.S. government, the powers of the president are constantly evolving with the times and the executives.

    Read More

  • The Politics of Jimmy Carter

    1546 Words  | 4 Pages

    The United States has had several different presidents of which have been in office for 8 years because they have been re-elected by us the citizens. The story of James Earl Carter Jr. or better known as President Jimmy Carter, as every other president the United States has had is different. Jimmy Carter was in office as president of the United States of America for four years only. He was president from 1977 through 1981; during this time period many different event occurred.

    Read More

  • 22nd Amendment Essay

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 22nd Amendment creates a lame duck and which stops abuse of power3. Presidents in their second term have been seen to usually suffer diminished power, particularly after the second midterm elections. This diminish of power creates a lame duck. The president becoming a lame duck, stops him from being able abuse of power. The 22nd Amendment also stops the country from being a monarchy. US. Senators and Congressmen don’t have term limits because their voices are balanced by opposing parties in their chambers, the presidency is different. The president has no similar

    Read More

  • Term Limits In Supreme Court Justices

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Term limits could increase the quality of the Supreme Court nominees. One of the driving factors behind a Supreme Court nominee is their age (Ringhand np). Individuals over 60 years of age are less likely to be appointed. This means presidents intentionally exclude a large number of highly qualified individuals from serving on our nation’s highest court (Ringhand np). Term limits resolve this problem. Furthermore, the threat of a justice’s cognitive decline may be reduced, since there would no longer be a temptation to hold out for a strategically timed retirement.

    Read More

  • An Essay On The 22nd Amendment

    1708 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 22nd amendment was passed by Congress in 1947 and ratified by the states by 1951. In which this document or amendment limited the terms of the president to two four year terms. It helps limit the power the president can receive and prevent them from getting “king like powers” it from turning into a monarchy.

    Read More

  • Members of Congress Should Have Term Limits

    1810 Words  | 4 Pages

    When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty years, it is evident that tyranny has not necessarily been eradicated from the United States (Vance, 1994, p. 429). Term limits are a necessity to uphold the Founders’ intentions, to prevent unfair advantages given to incumbents, and to allow a multitude of additional benefits.

    Read More

  • Congressional Term Limits

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    Congressional terms have no limits. Controversy exists between those who think the terms should be limited and those who believe that terms should remain unlimited. The group that wants to limit the terms argues that the change will promote fresh ideas and reduce the possibility of decisions being made for self-interest. Those who oppose term limits believe that we would sacrifice both the stability and experience held by veteran politicians. They also point out that our election process allows the voter to limit terms, at their discretion. While experience and stability are important considerations, congressional terms should be limited to a maximum of two.

    Read More

  • Texas Governor Essay

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though, it would be refreshing to elect an official who remained focused on the best interest of their constituent, the reality is, special interest groups hold the purse. We must set term limits to prevent corruption and give the new comer on the block a fighting

    Read More

  • Juan Linz The Perils Of Presidentialism Summary

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Linz, term limits in presidentialism force a president to serve a country for a fixed period of time

    Read More

  • Drafting the Constitution

    2555 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...deralists voiced was their dislike of the “four year term with indefinite re-eligibility.” The Constitution called for the President to be elected by the “electoral college” which removed the concern of Congress “controlling” the Executive and the Concern the Executive would appease Congress to be reappointed. The election process would ensure the President was on his best behavior if he desired to be re-elected. By establishing the four year term the Constitution protected the office from becoming a monarchy due to the fact that if a President migrated too much toward monarchical rule they would simply not be re-elected. Another advantage of the four year term with the eligibility of being re-elected was stability, it allowed for the continuation of good Executive policy and the ability to change if the policy was in line with what the electors desired.

    Read More

  • The Watergate Scandal

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    Political leaders of the United States were, at one time, thought of as crucial members of our society. Ideally, their main goal was to represent and satisfy the needs of the American people. Unfortunately, over the last fifty years, our trust in our administrative representatives has drastically declined. Beginning with the great conspiracy theory that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 was actually planned by political leaders, America had, for the first time in history, begun to question its faith in its very own government. Consequently, the American people became extremely hesitant when it came to electing officials into office.

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Electoral College

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    Electoral College has been around for nearly 200 years. This system is used to vote for the next President and vice president. There are a total of 538 electors and 270 of the majority are needed to win. Each state is allowed one for each member in the House and two for the Senate. Like other things in government there are some advantages and disadvantages when it comes to Electoral College.

    Read More

More about Advantages and Disadvantages of Incumbency

Open Document