Common Sense with Paul Jacob

When it comes to elections, the local career politicians in New York City and Washington, D.C. would no doubt tell you that “every vote should count.”

But if they told you that’s the way they personally try to govern in their cities, they’d be flat-out lying.

Instead, when it comes to their own political careers, these politicians are eager to trash the voters’ clear desire for term limits. The voters of New York City passed term limits for their mayor, city council and borough officials in 1993. There was no scandal that drove support for limits it was just good public policy, a way to open the political process to new people and keep current politicians a little closer to their communities.

In 1996, New York City politicians put a measure before the voters to lengthen term limits and delay them from going into effect. The voters said NO loud and clear.

Now these same politicians think they have found a legal loophole to repeal the limits without having to let the voters have a say on the matter. They are threatening a repeal as I speak.

In 1994, Washington, D.C. voters passed term limits by nearly two to one it won in every single ward of the city. Now as those limits are about to go into effect, the D.C. City Council is talking about repealing the people’s term limits law.

A Washington Post editorial urged the politicians to ignore the people on the issue and gut term limits. Seems that some folks think every vote should count only if and when that vote is for them.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Pardon me; I thought I’d said enough about former President Bill Clinton. But his use of the presidential pardon power is in many cases just wrong — pardoning people merely on the basis of political connections and large campaign contributions.

“The quality of mercy is not strained,” Shakespeare tells us, but Mr. Clinton strains and reaches and contorts. As an attorney for several of those pardoned said, “You had to be on the inside.” Some even speculate that had the scandal-ridden Clinton not been able to cut a deal with the independent prosecutor on his last day in office, he might even have pardoned himself.

Why does that not seem far-fetched? The whole disgusting spectacle has led some to say we should end the presidential pardon altogether.

I disagree, and say to our new president: Use the pardon. But not as a sneaky means of bailing out cronies and contributors and the connected.

President Bush, use it to help the victims of injustice. Our justice system is the best on the globe, but every day it makes mistakes. And there are cases where a crime has been committed but the punishment meted out isn’t serving anyone.

Mr. President, use the presidential pardon in a way that will show us what is in your heart, not just who is “on the inside” of your Administration. Let the quality of mercy be not strained. And let it be guided by justice.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Remember that line on your tax return that asks you whether you want to donate any of your taxes to the cause of giving face time to pious incumbent politicians?

Oh, don’t remember that line?

Well, the folks in power are helping themselves to your tax dollars to help themselves politically . . . whether you approve or not. Leave it to John Stossel to point out what seems to slip right past the radar screens of most of his colleagues.

In a recent installment of his “Give Me a Break” segment, which airs Fridays on “20/20,” Stossel reports on the avalanche of anemic public service announcements starring incumbents across the land. For example, former Arizona governor Fyfe Symington appeared in a public service announcement reminding citizens to “avoid the sun from 10 to 4.”

Then there’s New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman, who tells viewers that “summers in New Jersey are full of surprises.”

Ohio Governor Bob Taft reminisces about how “My family and I have many beautiful memories of Ohio state parks.” Thanks Bob.

Perhaps the most prolific public service self-advertiser is New York Governor George Pataki, who is eager to tell you that “New York lakes are full of life.” Oh, pack it in, Pataki!

Needless to say, all this taxpayer-funded self-promoting advertising can’t hurt come election time. The politicians say the ads “serve the public.”

Says John Stossel: “Come on! They’re using your money to serve themselves. Give me a break.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

One reason most Americans support term limits for members of Congress is that we see how the power of public office changes people. Not just political hacks, but thoughtful and dedicated people, too.

Now we have another example in Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota. Wellstone is known as a liberal Democrat. But in Minnesota the two major parties are relatively competitive and the governor is independent Jesse Ventura. So Wellstone’s reputation as an idealistic college professor who cares more about helping the little guy than a political career was key to his defeating a powerful incumbent and winning two terms in the Senate. And he said two terms would be all. That’s what Wellstone pledged to voters in 1990 and again in 1996: two terms and then he’d come home. Now he’s changed his mind.

Once again we see firsthand that good people can go to Washington and get co-opted. And when it comes to breaking one’s word, true bipartisanship reigns. Republican House member Ron Lewis of Kentucky announced he is breaking his word to step down after eight years in office. Lewis isn’t a teacher like Wellstone, but rather a Baptist preacher.

If idealistic teachers and idealistic preachers can be corrupted by power, how can we expect the average politician to stay the course? That’s why we need term limits.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

Oh, that crazy federal government! It just keeps growing and growing and growing! What to do?

Well, every new session of Congress, the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank, issues another edition of their Cato Handbook. The Handbook invites our representatives to take a look at what they’re doing and how they might do it better. The handbook is fatter than ever this time around. Cato says it’s because the government is fatter than ever.

Ed Crane, Cato’s president, says, “Washington now controls a $2 trillion budget, most of which it redistributes to buy votes, ‘reform’ problems it created, and keep the incumbents of both political parties in power.”

I am happy to report that, in addition to all its other fine proposals to fix things, the Handbook makes a solid case for term limits. After all, term limits would help increase the number of citizen legislators who give the other reforms a fair chance.

The Handbook surveys the successes in the 19 term-limited statehouses around the country and invites legislators in our nation’s capital to limit their terms voluntarily. It reports that it’s the self-limiters in Congress like Matt Salmon of Arizona and Mark Sanford of South Carolina who have proven the most willing to resist the culture of spending in DC.

Want to read all about it? Just visit the Cato website at cato.org. The entire volume is online. And be sure to tell your congressman to start reforming that crazy federal government of ours.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Buh-bye. Congressman Bud Shuster of Pennsylvania is resigning. Shuster was just spanked by the House Ethics Committee for breaking various rules. But his real crime is playing the same games all the career politicians play.

Shuster is neck-deep in the corrupt Big Dig project in Boston and he’s pushed terribly wasteful pork-barrel bills through the Transportation Committee he chaired. He has even bribed his colleagues by offering $25 million extra tax dollars for the district of each member of Congress who sanctioned all the pork.

How has Shuster been able to keep schussing down the track of the irresponsible career politician? In 28 years, he’s never had a competitive race for his solidly GOP seat, was often never even opposed for reelection. But now, after having just won his seat yet again, he quits. Why now? Well, it finally dawned on him that the term limits passed on committee chairmen back in 1994 are going to stand.

So he’s collecting his marbles and going home. Shuster had hoped for some sort of waiver from the GOP leadership to allow him to thwart the limits and stay at the pinnacle of power. But there is another reason too. Shuster plans to keep this seat in the family by handing it to his son. Had Shuster Senior resigned before the election, there would have been a very competitive race for this seat. Thanks to the timing, GOP insiders, not the voters, will choose his replacement. Say hello to the new boss, same as the old boss.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

Boy, the career-politician establishment in Nebraska is a tough nut to crack. But we did it. By golly, we did it. I hope.

As last November’s election loomed, Nebraska State Senator Dave Landis opined that voters, quote, “ought to have a broad of range of possibilities, the maximum number of qualified people able to run.”

Landis didn’t seem to understand that qualified people often don’t run at all when their district is monopolized by an incumbent. Then again, he’s been in office since 1978, so maybe he does get it.

Guy Curtis, who leads the Nebraska Term Limits Committee, says, “We’ve been trying to get legislators to enact term limits for years. But a hog won’t butcher itself.”

Voters passed term limits in Nebraska in 1992 and in 1994. Each time, judges found some flimsy excuse to declare the vote of the people null and void. Now, however, because of their actions, several of these judges have been chased from office.

And the good citizens of Nebraska just won’t take No for an answer. They did it all over again in the year 2000. Got all the signatures needed to post a ballot question. Crossed every legal “t” and dotted every constitutional “i.” Got it on the ballot. And got it passed. Again.

By a whopping margin Nebraska became the 19th state to term-limit their legislators. Will the courts try to throw out the will of the people a third time? Well . . . that might look a little suspicious.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Is it just me? Am I missing something here?

A while ago I complained about how the White House was vetting the network’s TV scripts for shows like “ER” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Under an agreement between the networks and the White House, the networks could get paid for any anti-drug messages in their shows, as a way to reduce their commitment to air public service announcements.

When all this first came to light, there was quite a hullabaloo about whether the federal government should be scanning TV scripts in advance of airing, then compensating folks for politically correct content. It’s a dangerous precedent. It sounds like what they do in dictatorships, where the Ministry of Culture or what-have-you checks everything first to make sure it’s kosher.The Federal Communications Commission looked into the matter. Now they have ruled. They aren’t imposing any fines, but they say the networks violated FCC rules, should have identified the federal government as a sponsor of the TV episodes in question, and must do so from now on.

Am I the only one who doesn’t get this? Isn’t there another and even more culpable party here, the federal government? The FCC says absolutely nothing in its ruling about whether the feds should be functioning as a Ministry of Culture, sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong. Rather than telling TV shows to list the government as a sponsor, let’s tell the feds to get out of the picture.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

Remember Bill Clinton’s pledge of eight years ago: that he would supply us with the most ethical presidential administration in U.S. history?

Well, just in case you don’t, let me recall to your memory an early presidential action that was supposed to prove that Mr. Clinton took his own promise seriously. It is the new chief executive’s first day in office, January 21, 1993. According to a White House press release, Clinton has, quote, “called on his White House staff to uphold the highest possible ethical standards and to put the needs of the American people ahead of personal ambitions.” Indeed, less than an hour after assuming office, the President issued an executive order banning government employees from lobbying government agencies for five full years after leaving office. This ban would curb the appearance of improper influence-peddling.

Eight years go by, and the patina of ethical purity has rusted a bit over the past eight years. So Mr. Clinton decides he might as well scrub it off entirely; after all, what’s one more violation of the public trust at this late date? And so, in the last days of his tenure, the President has reversed his own executive order with an unpublicized and furtive stroke of the pen. Of course, right and wrong hasn’t changed in these last eight years. But Mr. Clinton’s ability to appear ethical has changed.

So the Clinton gang need not wait five years to cash in on what they call their government “service.” Oh well. At least the guy is term-limited.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

Come on, boys and girls, your country needs you. 2002 is right around the corner. If you’re going to run for office as a Citizen Legislator, you’d better start planning NOW.

You’ve probably never thought about running for office. There are good men and women in all walks of life who feel they could make a valuable contribution as a legislator, but who never throw their hat in the ring. Why? Well, for one thing, you may not have any electoral opportunity to do so. The incumbent may have a lock on your district. But the other thing is this.

Regular citizens have little desire to hang around the old boys club for the amount of time it typically takes to have an influence. True, the experience in 19 state legislatures around the country shows how much more quickly new legislators can jump into action when everyone’s terms are limited. But if you want to serve in the U.S. Congress, the feeling is you’ll have to be there for quite a number of years before you can begin to make a dent.

Fortunately, Citizen Legislators like Congressman Matt Salmon, Tom Coburn and Mark Sanford have shown that this isn’t quite true. Even in an encrusted institution like the U.S. Congress, you can still rock the boat as a self-limited congressman, in just three terms or less. And if you get enough people rocking the boat, eventually you’re going to be able to steer a new course altogether. So what are you waiting for? Time’s a-wasting. Order the campaign buttons now!

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.