I don't know if this is actually true, but I have heard that the short term limits in California's congress is a big part of why special interest groups have such outsized power in this state. The method of action is supposedly that inexperienced congresspeople do not know how to navigate the processes in Sacramento, and the lobbies come along to help them out.

Like I said, I don't know if it's true, but I don't really see a mechanism by which single term limits will help the situation. In fact, they may make it even worse by making it hard for politicians to distinguish themselves by a record of actually doing good. Instead, the public will have absolutely nothing to go on besides advertisements, which are paid for by guess who.

For the record, I have heard this said from both sides of the aisle. I'm not standing by its truthfulness because government brokenness is a complex issue, but it certainly seems like a valid explanation to me.