ThisIsCommonSense.org

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.

Two peas in a pod: Bill Clinton and Dan Rostenkowski. You might not think so at first, but they are.

Their appearance is different Clinton the smooth-​talking Rhodes scholar and Rostenkowski the Chicago-​tough, deal-​cutting politician. But they are both career politicians whose loyalty, in the end, goes not to the country or the people, but to their gang of career politicians. We’ve heard enough blather about Bill Clinton’s narcissistic search for a legacy. Well, for my money he cinched it when he gave a presidential pardon to Dan Rostenkowski. What a powerful statement to the nation that political crime pays! Clinton in addition to his own notorious shortcomings will forever be Rostenkowski’s partner in crime.

Rostenkowski ripped off the public from his lofty 36-​year perch on Capitol Hill. He pled guilty to two felony counts of mail fraud to escape from 15 other felony indictments. The judge who sentenced Rosty to prison said, “The guilty pleas don’t reflect the breadth of your crimes.” Don’t get me wrong. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. Had Dan Rostenkowski shown remorse for his widespread criminal enterprises in Congress, a pardon might have been warranted. But Rosty never apologized. He said, “I don’t think I’m isolated as the only one who did it. I’m not completely convinced that what I did was wrong. Dispensing gifts to some friends and hiring the children of others was my way of life.” Some way of life!

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

We all read the papers. We all know how one violent offender after another, even thugs who victimize children, are getting out of jail to wreck more innocent lives.

Our congressmen always say they’re going to get tough on crime. The scam is that most vicious crimes are state matters, not federal matters. And state legislators have responded poorly. Most of the criminal justice system reform has come about through citizen initiatives. But the feds just have no jurisdiction.

All the same, congressmen campaign as if they do have it, and make all kinds of esoteric crimes against the government punishable by the death penalty. No one’s been hung yet. Well, last year one congressman did find a way for the federal government to make a real difference in fighting real crimes.

When Matt Salmon of Arizona went to Congress in 1994, Washington know-​it-​alls said he couldn’t do anything especially since he term-​limited himself to six years in office. But he introduced legislation called Aimee’s law that denies federal money to states that release violent offenders who go on to commit further crimes in other states. This legislation does the one thing the federal government can do to help prevent the kind of violence that could tear apart your family or mine. It gives the states a financial incentive to get tough on violent crime. Matt Salmon passed it into law. You won’t find him in Washington anymore. He’s back home in Phoenix. And he got something done.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.