Letters to the Editor: If ego won’t allow senators to step aside, then we need term limits

To the editor: This is a poignant op-ed on politicians not recognizing when to step aside, which describes just about any senator who has served more than two terms and is now past the age when the rest of us would retire (“Schumer’s political era is over. Democrats need a public servant to lead them,” Nov. 13).

Their egos will apparently not allow them to step aside and become mentors and advisors. They could easily coach a younger senator on the ropes of inside politics. Per columnist LZ Granderson’s example, today’s Senate seems to follow the ideology of President Biden, eventually mirrored by President Trump: “Only I can save the party, or the government, or the people.”

And then there are the senators who promise to move aside and don’t, such as Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) (remember, Rand has signed a pledge on term limits) and many more. There are the folks, also seemingly ego-driven, who just stay too long, not recognizing when it’s time to pass the baton: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and, again, many more

Solution: term limits.

Without term limits, the country will continue to have senators who truly do not pay attention regarding when it’s time to hand over the reins. With term limits, succession becomes part of the job instead of a threat.

Kurt Kurtti, Mission Viejo

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To the editor: Now that the midterms are behind us, I hope Democrats in Congress decide it’s time for new leadership in both the Senate and the House. I don’t think everyday voters should be shy about saying so.

As a Democratic voter in Palm Springs, I’ve told California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that I want to see different leaders for the next phase of Congress.

A change at the top isn’t disloyalty. It’s how a party renews itself and shows voters it’s listening.

Matt Ward, Palm Springs