You can’t trust anyone in Washington. Politicians never keep their word. And there’s nothing we voters can do about it. Or so we’re told.
Well, it’s true enough that trust is in short supply in Washington. And I can’t say much good about most politicians. But those who go to Congress under self-imposed term limits aren’t regular politicians in my book. They’re citizen legislators. It’s also true that most elections don’t give voters much of a choice. But we voters can do something about OUR government, and we must continue to try.
Consider what’s happened in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1992, Rep. Tillie Fowler ran for Congress on the term limits issue and made a clear promise that she would serve no more than 8 years in Washington. She repeated the pledge on the floor of the House of Representatives. Yet, as the time for her to step down approached, she began to waffle. But Fowler’s constituents didn’t waffle. They insisted that Fowler keep her word. Everywhere Fowler went, she couldn’t escape the issue of her term limits pledge. A year ago, Congresswoman Tillie Fowler, the 5th ranking member in the House Republican Leadership, showed every indication that she would break her term limits pledge to step down this year. The firestorm from her constituents obviously had an impact. We the people had an impact. Tillie Fowler has now announced she will keep her word.
We now know that she can be trusted. We also know that you and I can make a difference.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.