ThisIsCommonSense.org

You can’t trust anyone in Washington. Politicians never keep their word. And there’s nothing we voters can do about it. Or so we’re told.

Well, it’s true enough that trust is in short supply in Washington. And I can’t say much good about most politicians. But those who go to Congress under self-​imposed term limits aren’t regular politicians in my book. They’re citizen legislators. It’s also true that most elections don’t give voters much of a choice. But we voters can do something about OUR government, and we must continue to try.

Consider what’s happened in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1992, Rep. Tillie Fowler ran for Congress on the term limits issue and made a clear promise that she would serve no more than 8 years in Washington. She repeated the pledge on the floor of the House of Representatives. Yet, as the time for her to step down approached, she began to waffle. But Fowler’s constituents didn’t waffle. They insisted that Fowler keep her word. Everywhere Fowler went, she couldn’t escape the issue of her term limits pledge. A year ago, Congresswoman Tillie Fowler, the 5th ranking member in the House Republican Leadership, showed every indication that she would break her term limits pledge to step down this year. The firestorm from her constituents obviously had an impact. We the people had an impact. Tillie Fowler has now announced she will keep her word.

We now know that she can be trusted. We also know that you and I can make a difference.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

Looks like our presidential candidates keep flunking their foreign policy exams. Question is, how much do we care?

Weeks ago, Governor George Bush failed a reporter’s pop quiz. He could name the leader of Taiwan but not the leaders of Chechnya, India, or Pakistan. More recently, a reporter tripped up Senator John McCain. McCain couldn’t recall the name of the Prime Minister of Ireland.

Of course, we do want Presidents who are knowledgeable. But they don’t need to be walking almanacs. There are plenty of smart people in the presidential race-​even those who don’t quiz so well. But the most important job requirement is strength of character. Yes, that’s right. Character. We voters care about honesty and integrity, and with good reason. Voters know that it makes a difference in times of trouble. Voters are looking for a person of character. To most Americans this means someone outside of Washington, or at least someone battling against the capital’s leaders.

Vice-​President Gore has lost so much ground against Bill Bradley, who is viewed as more of an outsider, that Gore moved his campaign headquarters out of Washington, DC to Nashville, Tennessee. Bradley recently chirped, “Only those who have never left Washington have missed the lessons of the last decade.” Maybe it is a good thing if a candidate can rattle off the names of foreign heads of state. But folks really want the next president to know a little bit more about America that is, outside of the Washington Beltway.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

One thing you can say about the political establishment in Washington is that at least they’re consistent. They consistently ignore what the American people think.

Consider public funding, or matching funds, given to presidential candidates. The program just doesn’t work. And the American people know it though Washington, DC isn’t paying much attention. First, the matching funds candidates were supposed to get aren’t there. Candidates are going to receive only half of the funds they were promised by the federal government. And why aren’t the funds available? Because the people don’t support the presidential matching funds program. Only 14 percent of taxpayers marked the box to provide public funds to presidential candidates, even though doing so doesn’t increase what a taxpayer owes the IRS. If 86 percent of Americans don’t support the program, why don’t our Washington representatives end it? Oh, I forgot they don’t listen to us.

The matching funds program certainly doesn’t help voters. Those who can raise enough money ignore the system. Those who can’t and feel they need the taxpayer funds to be competitive must agree to limit their communications to voters. How on earth does that give us better information? It doesn’t. It’s not surprising though. The campaign finance system is designed for the benefit of career politicians, not voters.

When it comes to presidential public funding, the politicians aren’t listening, but the voters have already spoken. No match.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

Don’t feel too bad if you didn’t get your representative in Congress a Christmas present. Because the congressmen gave themselves a big one-​with your money. Yes, another pay raise. They’ll stroll into the new millenium pulling down a cool $140,000 minimum. Happy holidays.

More than 80 percent of Americans think congressional pay should be cut, not boosted. Yet the career politicians ignore the people and pad their own pockets anyway. This latest pay hike blatantly disregards the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits Congress from increasing their compensation without first facing the voters in a new election.

Back in 1989, a midnight pay raise was made possible by a signed agreement between the Republican and Democratic parties. They agreed to take the pay raise issue off the table in the campaign. Any candidate who failed to play along would lose the financial support of his party. A Democratic challenger who might have narrowly beaten Newt Gingrich in 1990 attacked Newt’s pay raise vote. He lost the election by less than a thousand votes when his own party cut off his funding.

The debate over congressional pay has helped draw a clear distinction between two very different kinds of congressmen. Those serving under self-​imposed term limits nearly all oppose raising congressional pay. But the professional politicians keep scheming to enrich themselves with pay, perks and million-​dollar pensions. They make up the self-​gifting Congress. Ho, ho, ho.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. Old-​fashioned I know, but I think it’s right. Don’t care any less about winning. The point is to care most about playing by a high standard, which makes winning truly worthwhile.

Today, too often, we see a different standard in play: win at all costs. My team right or wrong. This morally degrades our society. Many Republicans were amazed that the country didn’t stand up behind them in the impeachment and trial of President Clinton. But polls throughout the scandal showed that most voters thought Mr. Clinton’s morality was about average for politicians in Washington. Had those in Congress held any true moral authority with the public it might have gone differently.

Take George Nethercutt from Washington State. He said Clinton should resign for breaking his word and misleading the country. But then Nethercutt broke his commitment to the voters to step down after three terms. Illegal Chinese money poured into the 1996 Clinton/​Gore campaign. We were shocked by it, but again there was no trust in Congress to investigate. Similar illegalities occurred in Republican Jay Kim’s 1992 race. A third of his campaign funds came from illegal contributions. Yet GOP leaders didn’t expel him; they supported him. Rep. David Drier said, “His plight has not diminished his effectiveness here in Congress.” What a rotten bunch! Given a choice, Americans will rally to those who play the game with honor and justice. Given a choice.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

Mark Twain was a smart man. You know he didn’t like Congress very much. “It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress,” Twain once said.

Well, the more things change the more they stay the same. A new report by the journalists at Capitol Hill Blue, an Internet site, details a large amount of criminal behavior by our esteemed representatives in Congress. They report that in recent years members of Congress have gone to jail for child molestation, fraud and other charges. Some of the stories belong in Ripley’s “Believe-​It-​or-​Not.” Did you know that Rep. Barney Frank’s roommate ran a prostitution ring out of their Washington townhouse? The report goes on to say 29 members of Congress have been accused of spousal abuse. Twenty-​seven have a record for drunk driving. Nineteen members have been accused of writing bad checks. Eight have been arrested for shoplifting, seven for fraud, four for theft, three for assault and one for criminal trespass.

Even after surviving the millenium, it’s enough to make you want to head for the hills. Sure, some go to Washington to cash in on a career riding the gravy train. But there are those who don’t. Those who come to serve for a limited time and then return home. They are far less likely to sink into corrupt activity. So don’t give up. Southern Illinois University political scientist George Harleigh says the answer is simple, “Congressional service should be just that service, not a career.”

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.