ThisIsCommonSense.org

We hear a little too often that we in the United States should change some policy simply because other countries do things another way. The implication is somehow that if most countries do things differently we in the U.S. must be behind the times.

I’m reminded of my Mother’s oft-​repeated admonition, “If everybody else jumps off a cliff, are you going to?”

Let’s remember that there is something special about America, something unique. We have freedom not because a king granted it to us, but because it is ours by birthright. In America, we created the government, and therefore we, the people, are the sovereigns.

The Declaration of Independence established our country as the first nation ever created on the principles of self-​government. It reads: “We hold these Truths to be self-​evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed … ”

We’re in charge. In no other nation are the people held to be the sovereigns. Talk to people in other countries, even the democracies of Western Europe, and you can see their attitude toward government is shaped differently than is ours.

It’s not that we can’t learn from other countries, we can. But it would be like jumping off that cliff my mother warned me about not to cherish our unique American heritage.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Term limits are taking effect all over the country and the results have been more competitive elections with new people getting involved in the process.

That’s a very good thing, unless of course you’re a career politician who hopes to stay in office forever.

Let’s face it, the people and the politicians just disagree on term limits. The politicians want to hide from the term limits voters enacted and keep on running. In Florida, incumbents have so monopolized the field that in most races no one even runs against them, and thus, voters have no choice at all about who represents them in the state legislature.

Yet, this lack of competition didn’t stop the politicians from launching a desperate lawsuit to overturn the term limits, opposing the will of 77 percent of the voters. In California, a recent poll showed 73 percent support term limits more now after 9 years on the books than when the law was first proposed. But that hasn’t stopped legislators from writing bills to repeal or weaken term limits.

The same is true in Oregon. In Maine, legislators were all set to weaken term limits. A bill passed the House by a vote of 76 to 71. But then radio ads alerted the public to the legislature’s actions and with the public up in arms, members reversed themselves defeating the very same bill 94 to 52.

Here’s the message for career politicians in every state: you can’t run and you can’t hide either. The people are watching.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Is $150,000,000 a lot of money to you? Or is it just chicken feed?

That’s how much of your money Rep. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma saved by blocking wasteful spending in recent appropriation bills. He stopped a 12 percent increase in the Agriculture budget, headed not to farmers but to the bureaucrats in Washington. He also angered colleagues by blocking a big increase in spending for Congress itself.

Money doesn’t mean as much to folks in the nation’s capitol as it does to you and me. They’re always spending other people’s money, namely yours.

The Washington Post referred to the millions Coburn saved as “chicken feed.” Our national government spends $40,000 a second. How long does a person have to be around such spending before losing all touch with economic reality?

While it’s frustrating that the political class in Washington doesn’t value the hard-​earned tax dollars American working people pay, it’s rewarding to see how frustrated they are at having to deal with a Tom Coburn. You see, Coburn limited himself to three terms and will not seek reelection next year. So there’s no way to threaten or bribe him.

“Government of, by and for the people” means sending representatives to Washington who will represent the taxpayers, rather than promote their careers by fattening special interests. Tom Coburn’s courage in holding the line on spending has led a Capitol Hill newspaper, to call him “the de facto leader of the House.”

That kind of statesmanship isn’t chicken feed, it’s priceless.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

It’s baseball season, but in Washington when you hear “three strikes and you’re out” it’s usually about getting tough on crime.

But is the principle of “Three Strikes/​You’re Out” really that tough? Some experts think it’s too tough on non-​violent offenders, but too lenient on violent predators. Why should a murderer, rapist or child molester get a second or third opportunity to destroy another person’s life?

We hear a lot of talk from politicians about getting tough on crime, but consider a few facts:

• The average time served by convicted rapists is only 5 and 1/​2 years.
• Convicted murderers average less than 8 years behind bars.
• And each year, murderers and sex offenders that have been released commit more than 14,000 murders, rapes and sexual assaults.

Representative Matt Salmon is taking action to stop violent criminals by providing incentives for states to keep violent offenders in jail. His legislation would require a state to compensate a second state if a murderer or sex offender they release goes on to commit another violent crime in another state.

The principle of “three strikes, you’re out” actually applies to Congressman Salmon. He’s limited his service in Congress to three terms. This has him working a little harder than his careerist colleagues, and on things that really matter.

Representative Salmon’s legislation isn’t as catchy as “three strikes, you’re out” but working to stop violent predators from destroying the lives of innocent people is more important than a media sound bite. And it’s not a game.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Representative Mark Sanford says: “Musical chairs is a great children’s game, but not one that I would recommend for committee chairmen.” Washington politicians often act like children and they’re doing it again when it comes to term limits for committee chairmen. Like spoiled brats they’re refusing to share power.

When Republicans took over the Congress in 1994 they promised to shake up the corrupt fiefdoms of powerful committee chairman and share the power through term limits. Those term limits on committee chairs were the most important reform they made. Now that the limits are coming up, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert announced that chairmen can simply swap committees so that the same small clique-​averaging over 20 years in Washington-​can keep their stranglehold on power. Self-​limiter Matt Salmon of Arizona called Hastert’s decision “slight of hand” and Joe Scarborough of Florida said, “This absolutely subverts the spirit of the term-​limit rule we voted for in 1994. A lot of things have apparently changed around here since then-​and not for the better.”

The House Republican leadership has found a way to thwart their own most trumpeted reform by playing musical chairs, so that power can be hoarded in the hands of a few career politicians. In so doing, they’ve once again become the very enemy that they claimed they would run out of town.

This game of musical chairs isn’t over. The Republicans have a very slim majority. Come the 2000 elections, Republicans may find the music has stopped and they’re short a seat.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

There’s a new word in the English language: to “Nethercutt.” To nethercutt means to go back on one’s word; to say one thing in order to get elected to public office and then to do the opposite once elected. It means to be dishonest, a hypocrite, an opportunist.

The word comes from Congressman George Nethercutt, who defeated the Speaker of the House on a pledge to serve no more than three terms in Congress. Nethercutt has now broken his word to the voters and plans to keep running to cash in on a career in Washington.

The Seattle Times defines “Nethercutting” as, “the cynical, self-​serving hypocrisy of someone who exploits others for personal gain.” In stark contrast to Nethercutt, Representative Matt Salmon and seven others who made term limit pledges have kept them. When asked about Nethercutt’s excuses for breaking his word, Salmon said bluntly: “I don’t buy those arguments and I can trump all of them with one card: if you give your word you ought to keep it end of story.”

The sports pages recently carried a story about the kind of integrity Mr. Nethercutt lacks. Felipe Alou is the manager of the Montreal Expos, a baseball team that has been down on their luck this year. Alou turned down an offer to go to another team, saying: “I always said I would not leave this organization … I had to keep my word. It doesn’t matter if you are winning games or losing games. We die with our word.”

No wonder people like sports better than politics. There’s less chance you’ll get “nethercutted.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.