Category: Common Sense

Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home again.” But Vice-President Al Gore is desperately trying to go home.We’d love to help him.

The only problem is: where’s home?

Let me tell you why I’m a little confused. First, Gore attacks his Democratic opponent, former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley, for leaving Washington. Then Gore turns around and, with great fanfare, moves his presidential campaign headquarters out of Washington.

You see the point of the switcheroo, don’t you? Americans would rather have a President who hasn’t spent his whole career cloistered in Washington. The GOP front-runner is a Texan, and nobody thinks of him as a creature of the Beltway.

Bradley, Gore’s Democratic opponent, served three terms in the U.S. Senate, but then retired. One minute Gore attacks Bradley for leaving Washington and the next Gore moves his campaign headquarters to Tennessee to distance himself from Washington.

But Gore has lived most of his life in Washington, not Tennessee. He grew up in D.C. and already has a 24-year career as a politician. Gore isn’t alone among career politicians in finding it hard to figure out where home really is.

Many remain in Washington, D.C. after they retire, never returning to live in the states they hold so dear. Former Speaker Tom Foley never returned to Spokane. Kansas Senator Bob Dole isn’t in Kansas anymore. The only home career politicians know is in the heart of power. For citizen legislators, home is where the heart is.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

It was career politicians against the people.

The case was U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton . Back in 1995 in a controversial 5 to 4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 23 state laws limiting congressional terms.

Most of these laws did not actually stop incumbents from being reelected. Instead they limited incumbents from having their names on the ballot. A number of people have been elected to Congress through write-in campaigns.

But the High Court said the effect of the laws would be to “hobble” powerful incumbents, reducing their chances of winning. That could not be allowed.

Now the Court’s decision in the term limits case is being raised again, this time in a case where challengers are being hobbled. The Missouri Legislature passed restrictive limits on campaign contributions. The effect of these limits, whether intended or not, is to make it much harder for challengers to raise the funding necessary to take on powerful incumbents.

A group called Shrink Missouri Government sued to overturn the law. They say it violates the First Amendment rights of candidates and voters. They argue that contribution limits don’t reduce corruption. Instead, they tilt the field against challengers.

Many national advocacy groups, including U.S. Term Limits, have weighed in to support ending these restrictions that hinder challengers, and thus give us less competitive elections. The Court should not allow restrictions that hurt challengers.

We need more democracy, not less. Challengers need a fighting chance.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities begins with these famous words, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . .”

But Dickens’s immortal words come in handy today.

Arkansas is experiencing a tale of two Houses. You see there is a very big difference between Arkansas’s two legislative chambers. The House, where term limits went into effect in 1998, is more than half freshmen lawmakers. The Senate is still home to crusty old politicians. After the House finished this year’s session, their work was praised even by many who were originally skeptical of the Legislature’s ability to handle the massive turnover from term limits.

The worries turned out to be unfounded. It was a model session. The Senate had more experience in how government works, but that turned out not to be a good thing. Federal prosecutors issued 133 felony indictments against several powerful long-serving Senators in the most sweeping corruption prosecution in Arkansas history.

These senators knew the system, all right well enough to steal more than $1.3 million from Arkansas taxpayers. The so-called “experienced” legislators have a pretty sorry record. But Arkansas’ Senate gets a fresh start when term limits hit next year.

Then, paraphrasing Dickens, “It will be a far, far better legislature than they have ever known.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “In free governments, the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors and sovereigns.”

Our country’s founders believed in the people and our ability to govern ourselves. While the rest of the world denied the rights of the individual, America affirmed them. We put our faith not in kings or experts, but in the common sense and decency of the average person. And in doing so, we moved from a poor backwater nation to become the richest, most powerful country in the world.

But what about today? Do you really think today’s Washington power elite see the people as their superiors? Do they view us as capable of self-government?

A recent Pew Research Center poll asked government officials this question: “Do Americans know enough about issues to form wise opinions about what should be done?” The response from our so-called servants in government, if not surprising, is certainly troubling. Thirty-one percent of congressmen said yes, but 47 percent said no, the public is uninformed.

Of Washington bureaucrats, 14 percent said yes but 81 percent said no. Frankly, the government in Washington doesn’t think you or I know very much. Little wonder then that Washington doesn’t listen to us or think we can govern ourselves.

But Washington is wrong. Self-government made our country great. Let’s remind them we’re the boss.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Yankee Stadium in New York is called “the house that Ruth built.”

Babe Ruth became a legend in his own time, selling enough tickets to make the Yankees a very successful team, not only in the record books, but also on the team’s bank statement. Ruth brought the fans, fans bought tickets and the Yankees built a great stadium. Those were the days.

Today it’s different. Oh, the games are as fun as ever, but when it comes to building stadiums, a political rip-off is taking place. You see wealthy owners today don’t build stadiums. Increasingly, you build them. That’s right, it’s your money that’s taken in taxes to pay for most of the new stadiums whether you like sports or not. Now, I love sports, but I hate political rip-offs.

It happened in Milwaukee. Voters said no for a publicly financed stadium, but the legislature stiff-armed voters, raising the sales tax to pay for it.

Pittsburgh voters turned down a plan for a new park, but the politicians are still subsidizing it.

In Seattle, voters said no to forking over $285 million for a new stadium, but the state legislature is clipping them with higher taxes and doing it anyway.

People love sports, which generate a lot of money. But when sports teams raking in millions of dollars get in bed with politicians to rip-off the taxpayers for huge subsidies it’s just flat wrong.

We don’t need an instant replay to make the call. “They’re out! Caught stealing.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

On too many tough streets it’s a jungle where young people are often pressured into joining gangs. One place you don’t expect gang activity is the halls of our nation’s Capitol.

Yet, in Congress pressure to join the gang is enormous. The congressional gangs are organized by the leadership of both parties. If you question the analogy between the congressional leadership and a street gang, consider the experience of Representative Bob Schaffer of Colorado.

Schaffer is a different breed who pledged to limit his time in Congress. His short-term status in Washington helps him keep his common sense and integrity. He was singled out by the National Taxpayers Union as the most frugal congressman for spending the least tax dollars on his office. Believing Congress is violating the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits Congress from taking a salary increase without first standing for re-election, Schaffer sued to stop the automatic pay raises career politicians keep giving themselves.

Boy, that really angered the gang in Congress! They kicked Schaffer off the Republican Policy Committee as punishment.

You see, fighting for reform in Washington, doing what you believe is right, and not becoming a career politician is against the rules of the gang.

Now, young people should think for themselves and stay out of gangs. It’s tough to fight peer pressure, but it’s critical that they reject the corruption the gangs bring to the neighborhood. Doesn’t the same go for our congressmen?

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

We send good people to Washington, but after they get there they seem to change.

That’s one reason voters support term limits. They feel that representatives under term limits, imposed by law or by their own conscience, will be truer to their convictions. Focused on returning home and resuming their former lives, rather than staying in Congress forever, these members won’t be captured by special interests.

Now there’s more than a gut feeling among voters. There’s proof.

The National Taxpayers Union studied the legislation introduced and supported by members of the class of 1994. These congressmen came in like lions. On taxes and spending, the NTU study found those with self-imposed term limits kept faith with their original commitment to people back home. They stayed as strong as lions supporting a cut in government spending even after their first term.

Those seeking a congressional career behaved far differently. They broke faith with taxpayers by supporting 4 times more federal spending after their first term in office. They changed into lambs.

National Taxpayers Union President John Berthoud said, “When politicians plan a career in Washington, they will change their behavior . . . captured by the forces inside the Beltway advocating bigger spending and a larger federal government. Lawmakers who keep their pledge to limit their own terms appear to keep other promises as well lower spending and less government.”

Want representatives who keep the faith? They’re the term-limited ones.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. hated prejudice. He said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

It’s wrong to prejudge people because of their race or creed or nationality. But is discrimination wrong in and of itself?

Every day we discriminate for and against people because of what they say, how they act in short, because of their character. And well we should. Martin Luther King thought we should all be judged on the basis of the content of our character.

The Miss America Pageant is changing its standards to allow women who have been divorced or had abortions to compete for their title. The story is a troubling one. It doesn’t have to do with where you stand on abortion or divorce. It has to do with the freedom of any private organization to promote what it believes in.

The Miss America organization says it changed its rules to avoid being sued under New Jersey’s discrimination law. As a private organization, Miss America has a right to set the standards for character that they deem important. And to do so without being harassed by the New Jersey legislature.

While it’s profoundly wrong to prejudge others by their race, sex or religion, it is every bit as wrong not to reward people of high character. Our country’s very future depends on rewarding good behavior. When it comes to character, let’s discriminate.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Another shooting spree leaves more people dead, this time in a church in Ft. Worth, Texas. What can we do to stop these acts of violence?

Darn good question. First, though, let’s stop blaming ourselves. A headline in my paper screams, “America the Violent.” These acts are not the fault of society at large. You and I are part of society. I’m not to blame for these shootings. Are you?

Stop blaming guns. My state representative sent me a letter saying, “I voted for no guns at school.” Idiotic. Did anybody vote to put guns in schools?

Stop blaming the media and video games and movies. Some of this is offensive, but it doesn’t put a gun in someone’s hand and pull the trigger for him.

When it comes to politicians I admit it’s tempting to blame them. Politicians do their darnedest to screw up an awful lot of things. But these shootings are not the fault of politicians. In fact, most agree that none of the gun laws or other measures being emotionally debated in Congress would have prevented any of these killings.

Who is to blame? The killers. That’s where moral responsibility lies. They’re the ones that did it.

The hallmark of a civilized society is individual responsibility. When we blame others for what criminals do, we send the wrong signal. It’s not society’s fault. Let’s teach our kids that everyone is responsible for his or her own actions, good actions or bad.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

99

If you think we have only 12 months in a year and January comes after December, you must live outside Washington.

Politicians bristle at the notion that they don’t live in the real world. But when it comes to controlling the spending of our tax dollars and staying within a budget, the politicians in Washington prove they’re from a completely ‘nother planet.

Looking for some scheme to spend more tax money without breaking their own promised budget caps, the career politicians will try almost anything.

Almost anything, except keeping their promise, that is.

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, in Congress for 20 years, admits the obvious, “We all know we engage in a lot of smoke and mirrors.” The latest scheme they’re offering: a 13-month yearly budget! 13 months. That’s right. 13.

Not 12. 13.

Now, to us common folk it seems there are only 12 months in a year. But the congressional leadership refuses to trim the increases in their spending so the calendar has to bend a little. And there ain’t no ‘controlling legal authority’ out there to tell ’em, “Hey, only 12 months in a year, bubba.”

That’s another full 30 days of spending for the Martians in Washington. Let’s put the new congressionally fabricated month right after December and before January. Since it’s a creation of career politicians in Washington designed to get around reality; perhaps we should call the new 13th month “Deceptuary.”

“Deception” plus “January” “Deceptuary.” What else would you expect from Planet Washington?

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.