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Who’s the Boss?

Paul Jacob, Gary Johnson, FreedomFest, 2016, Nevada, illustration

This week, Republicans have chosen Donald Trump to be their standard-​bearer. Next week, Democrats will nominate Hillary Clinton as their presidential candidate.

But the only candidate on your ballot to take the U.S. Term Limits pledge is Gary Johnson, the Libertarian. Last week, I rubbed elbows with the former two-​term governor of New Mexico on a panel about term limits at FreedomFest in Las Vegas.

“I believe that if term limits were in effect that politicians would do the right thing as opposed to whatever it takes to get re-​elected,” Johnson told the capacity crowd.

The U.S. Term Limits pledge is straightforward, a commitment to use the bully pulpit of the presidency to help push Congress and the states to propose and ratify the congressional term limits Americans have been voting for and demanding for quite some time.

U.S. Term Limits Executive Director Nick Tomboulides asked me what it says about our democracy that even with overwhelming public support for many decades, Congress has blocked this reform.

Noting that Congress is thoroughly despised by the public, I pointed out that only one incumbent congressman has been defeated for re-​election so far this year. And that incumbent, Rep. Chaka Fattah (D‑Pa.), was under 23 felony indictments, including racketeering, for which he was later convicted.

I argued that term limitation “is a critical issue at the very core of governance. Are we the boss or are the politicians the boss? Today, I think we all have to be honest and admit the politicians are the boss.”

Adding, “And we have to do something about that.”

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

 

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Paul Jacob, Gary Johnson, FreedomFest, 2016, Nevada, illustration

 

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Term Limits Poster Boy #98,992,938

A Wisconsin lawmaker has changed his mind about term limits. Maybe.

Power that politicians shouldn’t have in the first place is easily abused. And it’s easy to see how incumbents who come to regard inherently abusive power over others as “normal” may succumb to other ethical laxities.

That is, power tends to corrupt. Lord Acton had a point.

On the other hand, some incumbents are morally derelict before they reach office — for example, with respect to the pledges they make to voters as a way of appealing for votes.Scott Krug

Which breach did Scott Krug commit? That of swerving from fidelity to the truth in 2010 about whether he would limit his tenure (“I’m for real.… Four years, done.”)? Or that of scuppering an “honest” pledge only after it dawned on him that if he kept his promise not to run again after serving four years, it would mean not running again after serving four years?

Does it matter? If Krug wasn’t lying back then, he’s lying right now when he expatiates about how his newfound appreciation of the Value of Experience trumps any formal vow.

I’m gratified, and not surprised, when candidates keep their term-​limit pledges. I’m saddened, but also not surprised, when others fail to. Krug’s cruddy conduct is just one reason I must dispute Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s recent pronouncement that although a hyper-​corrupt state like Illinois may need term limits, Wisconsin does not.

Acton’s principle is no respecter of geographic boundaries.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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term limits

Helter Keller

In 2000, Florida Congressman Ric Keller was just Citizen Keller, running for Congress for the first time.

An October 2000 news story states, “Regardless of whether Democrat Linda Chapin or Republican Ric Keller wins Orange County’s congressional battle, neither one of them will be in the seat past 2008. Both Chapin and Keller have signed pledges limiting themselves to eight years in office.”

Now, that was optimistic. But hey: I was optimistic too.

After Keller won his first term, I saw him speak at a conference sponsored by U.S. Term Limits. He was persuasive about the virtue of serving a few years, then stepping down. No big deal for him to leave Washington and return to Florida to enjoy balmy lakeside life. Keller was very aw-​shucks and folksy about it.

That was then. Now Keller has decided eight years in one political office is not enough, despite his pledge.

He’s telling reporters that as a “rookie candidate” he just didn’t understand the importance of seniority in Washington. Hmm. That’s funny. I thought one of the best reasons to support term limits was because we understand how seniority works in Washington!

There’s also the issue of integrity versus self-​interest. Other leaders have kept term-​limit pledges: Mark Sanford, now the governor of South Carolina; Tom Coburn, now a U.S. Senator; and Keller’s fellow Floridian, Charles Canady, who was just nominated to serve on the state supreme court. Unlike Keller they’ve succeeded and kept their integrity.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.