Florida legislators on Thursday unanimously called on the U.S. Congress to approve and refer to the states for their consideration a constitutional amendment establishing term limits for senators and representatives For a movement that was betrayed and left for dead by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other Republican leaders in 1996, the term limits movement is today showing remarkable signs of revival. With the federal government careening toward bankruptcy, public approval of Congress at record lows, the economy staggering under a blizzard of costly new bureaucratic regulations, and professional politicians rigging campaign rules to protect their incumbency, the only surprise here is that anybody would be surprised that term limits is again climbing up the national agenda.

The Florida vote was preceded last month with introduction of a measure sponsored by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., that calls for congressional approval of a term-limits constitutional amendment. The DeMint-Schweikert proposal doesn’t specify how many terms would be permitted, but once agreement is reached and approved by Congress, the proposed amendment must then be approved by 38, or three-fourths, of the 50 states in order to be added to the Constitution. Skeptics would seriously err by assuming the new drive for term limits won’t get anywhere. “Florida is the first state to take this step, but it will not be the last. With term limits polling at all-time highs and the Congress at record lows, pressure is building around the nation for Congress to take action,” said Philip Blumel, president of U.S. Term Limits.