When you have open seats, women and minorities have a better chance of getting elected. The term-limits sentiment, of course, was exploited for political gain during the election. But now that the G.O.P. is ensconced, the party is discovering that the movement is a class-action suit against every politician. A Supreme Court decision against the Arkansas law will, for the moment, calm the nerves and further the ambitions of officeholders. But that merely moves the battle to another site.
Support there is spotty - and certainly less than heartfelt.
While Newt Gingrich's Contract with America features a term-limits constitutional amendment, a parallel agenda, which is set forth by senior Senate Republicans, does not mention the issue at all. Mere lip service by Congress won't assuage the national temper tantrum. Now they've broken out in serious dramatic ways, and Congress isn't equipped to deal with them. More legislative inaction will merely heighten what Dodd calls the crisis of legitimization that taints officeholders and encourages widespread sentiments in favor of term limits. The movement seems to spring spontaneously out of the lower depths, producing autonomous local chapters with minimal nurturing required.