On November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony defied the law to vote, and was later fined $100.
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Finley Peter Dunne (“Mr. Dooley”)
An appeal is when you ask one court to show its contempt for another court.
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My Simpler Solution
Merry Election Day! Despite this weekend’s proposal, in the New York Times, to “Cancel the Midterms.” The authors, David Schanzer and Jay Sullivan, begin by lamenting the predictable pattern of midterm elections, especially in second-term presidencies. And then they say the very existence of midterms — the mere possibility of the House and a third of the Senate reshuffling every two years — “is harmful to American politics.”
The main impact of the midterm election in the modern era has been to weaken the president, the only government official (other than the powerless vice president) elected by the entire nation. . . . The realities of the modern election cycle are that we spend almost two years selecting a president with a well-developed agenda, but then, less than two years after the inauguration, the midterm election cripples that same president’s ability to advance that agenda.
The nut of the argument comes down to the notion that it would be best to rig the game to avoid conflict and dispute for as long as possible so that an “agenda” — whatever that may be — can be firmly put in place.
It’s the very opposite idea of the Founding Fathers’, who were trying to set up a system of checks and balances to preclude big, barely popular change. And who feared a powerful executive.
The Midterm Cancellation proposal gets absurd towards the end, where the authors tack on legislative term limits — an awfully generous 24 years — to counteract the extended terms their proposal requires.
Counteroffer: let’s start with term limits. Real ones.
Break up the incumbency power in our sclerotic Congress; don’t rob the people of biannual input.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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November 4, Will Rogers
On November 4, 1879, American humorist Will Rogers was born. Aside from his cowboy act, and his work as an actor in Hollywood, he gained much fame for being a topical comedian “just reporting what’s in the papers.”
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Finley Peter Dunne (“Mr. Dooley”)
Comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.
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Nov. 3, Continental Army
On November 3, 1783, its mission fulfilled, the American Continental Army was disbanded.
On November 3, 1969, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon made a television and radio appearance, asking the “silent majority” to join him in solidarity on the Vietnam War effort.
Maybe Burkina Faso, in northwest Africa between Mali and Niger, isn’t the easiest “Jeopardy” question for most of us in the U.S. But any place that’s seen massive protests because the head of state tried to escape term limits becomes pretty memorable to me.
In fact, the first region that pops into my head as a point of comparison and contrast is my own home state of Arkansas.
There are big differences in the respective battles over term limits, of course. In Burkina Faso, thousands clogged the streets after the 27-year presidential incumbent, Blaise Compaore, schemed to evade a constitutional term limit on his office. Facing unrelenting pressure, Compaore soon stepped down, not even awaiting the next election.
The furtive attempt to water down state legislative term limits in Arkansas hasn’t gotten as high on the radar there as the machinations in Burkina Faso. But the folks at Arkansas Term Limits (“vote AGAINST Issue #3”) have done much to publicize the scam, taking a wooden Trojan horse from town to town to vivify the point that the politicians bearing the “gift” of suspiciously eager self-reform have hidden a bomb at the bottom of the package: a doubling (or more) of their maximum permitted stay in a single legislative seat.
The media has started to pay attention. The story has gotten out.
Has it been enough? Have enough voters been reached to fend off the assault? When Tuesday’s results come in, we’ll know.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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November 2, Sam Adams
On November 2, 1772, Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren formed the first Committee of Correspondence.
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Townhall: Some Courage Required
Click on over to Townhall for what the next Congress — the country’s 114th — really needs. Hint: it isn’t cowardice.
Then come back here for more reading.
- Breitbart: True The Vote’s Lawsuit Against IRS Gets Tossed By Federal Judge
- NYTimes: Law Lets I.R.S. Seize Accounts on Suspicion, No Crime Required
- NYTimes: Statement of Richard Weber, the IRS chief of Criminal Investigation
- Real Clear Politics: “Special Report” Panel Reacts To New IRS Scandal Ruling
- WSJ: “Connecting the Dots in the IRS Scandal” by Bradley A. Smith
- Common Sense: Protecting the Guilty at IRS
- Common Sense: Learning Lerner’s M.O.
- Common Sense: The Dog-Ate List
- Townhall: New Emails Show Lerner in Contact With DOJ About Prosecuting Tax Exempt Groups
- USA Today: ‘Fake’ IRS scandal spawns real coverup
And hey: buck up. Courage isn’t just required for Congress.
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Video: A Wooden Horse in Arkansas
The most dishonest ballot measure in America is one from my former home state of Arkansas. Watch this short video featuring Bob Porto, co-chair of Arkansas Term Limits, explaining why this 22-page-long amendment to the state constitution is a “Trojan Horse.” His group has been touring the state with a rather large symbolic horse to dramatize the danger of Issue 3.
http://youtu.be/KcoN9rA8t44
The mobile horse symbol was donated to Arkansas Term Limits by Liberty Initiative Fund. I warn about Issue 3 in more detail here.