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Law breaking by those who make the laws destroys respect for the rule of law. That’s why President Clinton’s perjury hurt our country as have the congressional scandals of Dan Rostenkowski, Bob Packwood, Wilbur Mills and a long list of powerful career politicians. Rostenkowski spent time in prison, but too often elected officials get away with it. Congress regularly turns the other cheek to misconduct.

Take the case of Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Schuster. Schuster is the king of pork barrel. He’s grabbed our tax dollars to build a highway in his district and, with all the humility and class of our political aristocracy, he has named it after himself. And there’s his $40,000 portrait hanging in the Transportation Committee room. An ethics investigation into Schuster’s relationship with a lobbyist who both represents clients with business before Schuster’s committee and who works for Schuster’s campaign found that Schuster, “engaged in serious official misconduct.”

Voters in Schuster’s Pennsylvania district don’t have much choice. Usually Schuster has been unopposed, like this year, and in ’98, ’94, ’92, ’90, ’88, ’86, etc. In 1996, Schuster outspent a rare challenger by better than 10 to 1. So what happens to Schuster? Nothing. Oh, the ethics committee sent him a letter saying he undermined the credibility of Congress quite an achievement. But he remains a powerful member of that body. He gets away with it.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Sometimes you find out the hard way who’s your friend and who’s your enemy. In 1998, the people of Florida passed term limits for their state’s delegation to Congress, eight years in the House and 12 years in the Senate. The measure passed with a whopping 77 percent of the vote a landslide.

In keeping with the voters’ desire, Representatives Charles Canady and Tillie Fowler endorsed the term limits initiative and pledged if elected to serve no more than voters had stipulated. Those eight years are now up and both are keeping their commitment. But U.S. Senate candidate Bill McCollum, a 20-​year veteran of Congress, is different.

Though he regularly boasted of being the nation’s leading advocate of term limits, he refused to support the citizen initiative that would actually limit his terms. What’s more, McCollum bristled at the suggestion that he should personally abide by any limits whatsoever. To McCollum, term limits is a debating position, not something to live by. So, fearful that Florida’s term limits law might force him from office a full decade before any constitutional amendment, McCollum introduced legislation to overturn the vote of his own constituents.

McCollum’s arrogance and phony support of term limits helped hinder our movement. His real intention is clear: he wants to rule, not take turns. That’s why McCollum is no friend of term limits. As Phil Handy, the leader of Florida’s term limits effort said, McCollum is just “not one of us. He’s really in the way.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Remember Mad Magazine and its fearless leader Alfred E. Neumann? His famous slogan, “What-​Me-​Worry?” increasingly seems to sum up our political elite from presidential candidates Bush and Gore to congressional leaders.

You see, when these career politicians act, thinking only about the next election and ignoring the long-​term health of our society, well, isn’t that a lot like the little kids who would spend every last dime for candy, or even a copy of Mad Magazine, without a thought about tomorrow? The presidential campaign has been about how to spend the surplus rolling into Washington these days, and taking credit for creating it.

But a new report from the Congressional Budget Office suggests the surplus exists not because of any change in policy Clinton and Congress long ago broke the promised spending caps but because of unexpected revenue increases from an innovative private sector. The CBO warns that as baby-​boomers retire the cost of Social Security, Medicare and other programs will shoot through the roof: “If the nation’s leaders do not change current policies … deficits are likely to reappear” and “drive debt to unsustainable levels.”

In other words, while Gore and Bush are telling us all they can do to spend this $5 trillion surplus well, it doesn’t exist. What are the career politicians in Congress doing? Spending money as fast as they can so they can take credit during their reelection campaigns. What-Me-Worry?

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

He nobly served the national interest, which he never defined as his own reelection,” so says National Review ‘s Kate O’Beirne about Rep. Mark Sanford. The South Carolina congressman is keeping his word to voters: stepping down after pledging to serve only three terms in Washington.

Sanford’s not a career politician. They equate the national interest with their political interest. The longer in power, the more they’ll do anything to stay in power. First the Lincoln bedroom becomes Motel 6, now ABC’s “20/​20” reports that big campaign contributors are being rewarded with lavish state dinners at taxpayer expense. Our First Lady defends the practice. When told how state dinners used to host folks “who’d contributed a lot to this country or the world,” Hillary was at no loss for words: “I think contributing to the Democratic Party is a contribution to the country.” So why shouldn’t she grab our hard-​earned tax dollars to reward the party faithful?

The Democrats are not alone. President Bush had fewer guests at state dinners, but a similar percentage of big donors. And now it’s okay for Republicans to throw around tax dollars in vulnerable districts in a blatant attempt to buy votes. “This is a battle,” says House GOP campaign head Tom Davis. “Both sides are using whatever assets they have … in a legal and dignified manner.” Perhaps in the no-​controlling-​legal-​authority world of career politicians, what they’re doing is “legal.” But spare us the spin about how “dignified” it all is.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Congressmen George Nethercutt and Mark Sanford both favor opening trade with Cuba. They oppose the totalitarian Castro regime. But they argue that engaging the Cuban people in trade has a better chance of rocking the regime than the embargo, which after four decades has not loosened Castro’s grip on power.

Now Congress has passed legislation allowing Americans to sell food and medicine to Cuba. So why does Mark Sanford say the GOP leadership acted [quote] “shamefully” while George Nethercutt hails the agreement as the greatest thing since sliced bread? Simple: term limits.

Nethercutt’s in trouble because he broke his word on term limits. He’s eager to show he’s “delivered” for wheat farmers in his district. The GOP leadership wants to hold onto his seat. As Appropriations Chairman Bill Young said, “We need to find a way to make Nethercutt look like a strong, powerful member of Congress.” But the leadership also wanted to derail other legislation that went much further in ending the embargo. So they gave Nethercutt the empty victory of authoring a watered-​down bill that won’t really increase trade with Cuba at all and won’t even allow travel to visit sick or dying relatives in Cuba.

Real citizen legislators, like Mark Sanford who’s stepping down under self-​imposed term limits, aren’t impressed by meaningless political charades designed to make politicians look good before an election. They want to do what’s right. Career politician Nethercutt likes the bill, because … well … it works for him. Or so he hopes.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

What if they held an election and nobody came? Well, it happened several weeks ago, in New Ashford, Massachusetts. But before folks start wringing their hands about voter apathy, they should take note of the fact that there wasn’t anything to vote for. Oh, sure, candidates were on the ballot for the U.S. Senate, Congress, state senate and the state house of representatives. Only thing is: there were no opposing candidates.

That’s right, not a single competitive primary race. Not one. Poor Richard DeMyer, the Town Clerk, opened the polls at 6:30 am and closed them at 8:30 pm. He spent 14 straight hours, alone, staring at the walls. To be sure, there are only 187 registered voters in New Ashford, but zero for 187 isn’t much of a batting average. Asked why he didn’t vote, DeMyer responded, “Why … should I? Nobody else did.” DeMyer told me he plans to vote in November, but only out of a “sense of duty,” not “interest.”

Says DeMyer, “There’s no competition.” There could be competition in Massachusetts this year like there is in California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and other states with term limits for their legislatures. Don’t blame Massachusetts voters. They passed term limits back in 1994, but the state courts blocked it. If they had term limits, there would be plenty of open-​seat races with plenty of competitive candidates to choose from. And there would have been something else it’s kind of nice to have in a democracy: voters.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.