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The Public Policy
A Real Term Limit
When a pol admits she’s been around too long…
What are advocates of term limits trying to accomplish? If they are trying to keep government from being run by career politicians, whose top priority is getting themselves reelected, then term limits on given jobs fail to do that.
When someone reaches the limit of how long one can spend as a county supervisor, then it is just a question of finding another political office to run for, such as a member of the state legislature. And when the limit on terms there is reached, it is time to look around for another political job — perhaps as a mayor or a member of Congress.
Instead of always making reelection in an existing political post the top priority, in the last term in a given office the top priority will be doing things that will make it easier to get elected or appointed to the next political post. But in no term is doing what is right for the people likely to be the top priority.
Those who favor term limits are right to try to stop the same old politicians from staying in the same old offices for decades. But having the same career politicians circulating around in the same set of offices, like musical chairs, is not very different.
In either case, we can expect the same short-sighted policies, looking no further than the next election, and the same cynical arts of deception and log-rolling to get reelected at all costs.
There are undoubtedly some high-minded people who go into politics to serve their community or the nation. But, in the corrupting atmosphere of politics, there are too many who “came to do good and stayed to do well” — especially if they stayed too long.
Recently, California’s Senator Dianne Feinstein gave a graphic demonstration of what can happen when you have been in office too long.
During a discussion of Senator Feinstein’s proposed legislation on gun control, Texas’ freshman Senator Ted Cruz quietly and politely asked “the senior Senator from California” whether she would treat the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment the same way her gun control bill was treating the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms.
Senator Feinstein never addressed that question. Instead, she became testy and told Senator Cruz how long she had been in Congress and how much she knew. Watching her get up on her high horse to put him in his place, recalled the words of Cromwell to Members of Parliament: “You have sat too long for any good that you have been doing lately…. In the name of God, go!”
Those who oppose term limits express fears of having government run by amateurs, rather than by people with long experience in politics. But this country was created by people who were not career politicians, but who put aside their own private careers to serve in office during a critical time.
When President George Washington was told by one of his advisors that an action he planned to take might prevent him from being reelected, he exploded in anger, telling his advisor that he didn’t come here to get reelected.
As for the loss of experience and expertise if there were no career politicians, much — if not most — of that is experience and expertise in the arts of evasion, effrontery, deceit and chicanery. None of that serves the interest of the people.
If we want term limits to achieve their goals, we have to make the limit one term, with a long interval prescribed before the same person can hold any government office again. In short, we need to make political careers virtually impossible.
There are many patriotic Americans who would put aside their own private careers to serve in office, if the cost to them and their families were not ruinous, and if they had some realistic hope of advancing the interests of the country and its people without being obstructed by career politicians.
Is any of this likely today? No!
But neither the Reagan revolution nor the New Deal under FDR would have seemed likely three years before it happened. The whole point of presenting new ideas is to start a process that can make their realization possible in later years.
COPYRIGHT 2013 CREATORS.COM
About the Author
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His website is www.tsowell.com. To find out more about Thomas Sowell and read features by other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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Robert Nowall | 3.20.13 @ 6:31AM
I worry that term limits, and sending elected officials to Washington for limited amounts of time, would shift power into the hands of unelected, life-appointment bureaucrats and judges---unresponsive to the voters, unanswerable to the people.
chuck| 3.20.13 @ 7:54AM
The power already lies in the hands of the bureaucrats. Where do you think all the stop regulations come from? Congress has ceded too much power in an attempt to protect themselves from the repercussions of an out of control federal government.
chuck| 3.20.13 @ 7:56AM
Term limits for office holders, and sunset clauses on all legislation and regulations. And make Congress vote on each new regulation. Individual vote on each, so there is no hiding from the responsibility.
alice921| 3.20.13 @ 12:27PM
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Wizard| 3.20.13 @ 8:50AM
Our current system actually does a great deal to encourage precisely this sort of behavior. Government transfers and regulations tend to be something of a zero-sum game, with gains for some coming only at a cost to others. Elected officials, wanting to keep being elected, like to take credit for the gains, but naturally want to avoid blame for the costs. Thus, they pass laws with noble and beneficent titles, but leave it up to largely anonymous bureaucrats to work out the nuts and bolts. Once people find out the true costs of those wonderful-sounding laws, Congress can blame those naughty bureaucrats. Since they don't have to run for re-election, they're usually willing to play scapegoat. It's a symbiotic relationship; congresscritters get to enjoy the trappings of power, bureaucrats get to enjoy the real exercise of power, and both get to avoid much of the responsibility for their actions.
If anything, I think derailing political careerism might actually improve the situation. With less of an eye on the next election, officials might actually be a little more willing to make hard decisions, instead of looking for clever ways to hand them off.
Von Mises Jr| 3.20.13 @ 7:23AM
The problem of revolving political careers is already a problem in corrupt States such as New Jersey. The Director of OPA in New Jersey bragged that he was an ex-Mayor. For those that understand finance and use critical thinking, one must realize TWO PENSIONS. One particular story was that a public employee retired at a Deputy level, applied for his pension and then took the next higher job in the progression collecting a pension and earning a higher salary.
Christie railed against some cops in Parsippany that I believe four retirees collected about $1.1M dollars combined in sick pay. The city had to take out a loan to pay the cops to retire.
To Governor Christie's credit, he has put a stop to some of this at the State level. But corrupt politicians are great for finding a new strategy to exploit the system and I am sure we will be in for more surprises in the future.
chuck| 3.20.13 @ 7:51AM
And the idiot voters keep electing the crooks who set up the systems that allow things like that to happen.
We need a better class of voters.
Nancy in NC| 3.20.13 @ 8:32AM
We need a better education system.
R Martin| 3.20.13 @ 9:11AM
"We need a better class of voters."
Or at least a class of voters who only vote once or while alive.
Von Mises Jr| 3.20.13 @ 9:22AM
I saw on FBN yesterday that a software company discovered that the FL voting system was hacked and 2,500 fraudulent votes were at stake. In a close election such as 2000, it could have fraudulently elected algore.
Apparently the GOP agreed some thirty years ago not to sue over election fraud. I believe Allen West lost with 108 Democrat turnouts in his District. So it is not simply a software problem, but a real problem.
Believe it or not, the software was set up without basic security of User and Password. Our government is either filled with dumb SOB's or very corrupt ones.
SUBVET| 3.20.13 @ 9:34AM
Check out the video....... Hacking Democracy this might open a door you don't want to go through.
crankitup| 3.20.13 @ 9:16AM
We need , we need, we need, we want, we want,
what we should do is stoping asking these shyts to do our dirty work, as we look for someone to blame. Man up, take your head out of the hole it's in and take charge of your destiny with constitutional government, honesty and freedom, no more professional politicians in government,term limits no exceptions.
Murl| 3.20.13 @ 9:49AM
Is that what you are doing by blowing hot air here?
Anthony| 3.20.13 @ 9:31AM
I agree Dr. Sowell with much of what you have posited. I am a supporter of Term Limits but I acknowledge your premise that a career hack will only look to the next office to run for.
Bloomberg of NY is the perfect example, even willing to bribe city council members to extend Term Limits. Fortunately for us, Bloomberg has no limited options in either state or national politics.
Unfortunately for us, there is no end to the ways creative and power hungry people will engage to remain in power. That, unfortunately, is human nature at its worst.
One way to avoid career pols from playing political musical chairs is for we the people to reject these types out of hand, no questions asked.
However, we have become conditioned to the lies of the left and the establishment that equate longevity in politics with wisdom and know how. Joe Biteme is the perfect example. The system is rigged to insure incumbancy and to insure career hacks with a flow of cash. Throw a dart at any pol in congress and you have your poster-child for that premise.
If we want to end incumbancy, we need to offer no financial incentives to remain in office. That means minimal salaries, no pensions, and no heath care. It should be understood that public service is a sacrifice for the common good, do your job and get the hell out for the next guy.
We must eliminate the corruption of career pols by eliminating these cushy well paid positions of power with perks.
We need citizen-legislators, not career hacks.
Al Adab| 3.20.13 @ 9:36AM
When she told Cruz she was so much wiser than he because she had been around for 20 years, my response (as his should have been) was that is part of the problem.
loulou| 3.20.13 @ 9:38AM
Yes, GO!
The hag Feinstein showed that she's just as stupid as her buddy Boxer. I did not know that--until her idiotic tantrum. Ted Cruz quietly demolished DiFi. Can we get a retirement announcement a la Carl Levin?
Murl| 3.20.13 @ 9:51AM
Feinstein < The Grim Reaper. I say we force California to secede from the nation and let the incestuous narcicists out there kill each other off.
JD| 3.20.13 @ 10:42AM
I am surprised to see Sowell support term limits.
They're a red herring. An attempt to solve the problem of stupid voters by banning stupid votes. No different than Bloomberg and cups over 16 ounces.
You can't save people from their own stupidity. The best you can do is make it clear that their suffering is their fault, and what they did to earn it. Then you hope they change.
Zeppo| 3.20.13 @ 12:25PM
Absolutely right. As the party of government, the Dems will also always have a much deeper bench. Conservatives who have solid principles, political smarts and a stomach for the fight are a rare commodity. If Jesse Helms wants five terms, more power to him.
John Navratil| 3.20.13 @ 4:53PM
JD,
I beg to differ. You can help save people from their own stupidity by making them, perhaps foolishly, select a successor. After all, can four random idiots from California be as bad as four terms of Feinstein? It beggars belief. The good news is, that at almost 80 years of age, terms limits are in her future.
Zeppo| 3.20.13 @ 5:38PM
They'll replace her with someone worse.
Petronius| 3.20.13 @ 11:04AM
This is just circle jerkery. But it's all there is in a country that has become perpetually immature.
JeffB| 3.20.13 @ 11:04AM
The whole thing is best summed up in the third paragraph. Doing what it takes to get reelected, rather than what's good for the people. In a sane world those two would be the same thing but the clueless, apathetic, uninformed and disengaged public will be the death of us all.
BShep| 3.20.13 @ 11:08AM
I have often wondered how much experience it takes to vote “NO”?
I am fully in favor of Term Limits. In fact, along with term limits as outlined by the good Doctor, I would also like to see all pensions and benefits removed as recompense for any office. We can allow a politician the opportunity to buy health care from the federal system out of his own salary and that’s it.
They should all have to fly coach anywhere they go. No military or private jets for any of them. If the president is going out of town he does not need the services of Air Force One to keep his finger on the pulse of the world. He can just leave the VP in charge until he gets back. No one is indispensable. They can all stop disrupting traffic everywhere they go too.
And while we are at it, how about dropping secret service protection for ex-presidents, their families and such? Why should the taxpayer be on the hook for this for the rest of the lying scum thieves’ (sorry, politicians’') lives? Do we really think someone is going to kidnap ex-president G. H. W. Bush and extract secrets from him or hold him for ransom?
Enough already.
Jim Adcox| 3.20.13 @ 11:44AM
Feinstein used the "What difference does it make?" defense, as well as "anything you can do, I can do better" mantra. What was more troubling in those moments when Cruz was "attacking" the Senior Senator came with Durbin saying, "None of these rights are absolute." As decided by whom?
Real Deal| 3.20.13 @ 11:44AM
We need a limit of 12 years on a Congress-critter. That's 2 terms in the Senate, 6 terms in the House, or 3 in the House & 1 in the Senate. In addition they cannot participate in lobbying or run for another public office for the same number of years as they held office.
Finally we need someone to watch the watchmen. Congress should not be policing its own, wrong doing or ethical issues on the part of Congress-Critters needs to be overseen by a jury. There also needs to be real consequences to wrong doing on the part of Congress. Don't pay your taxes? You lose your seat, are barred from all public office, and are fined 10 times the amount if financial or serve time in a maximum security prison if something not financial. It shouldn't just have teeth, it needs to have great big bloody maw filled fangs so that they keep on the straight and narrow.
sickofit5| 3.20.13 @ 12:39PM
I am sure there is an upside and downside to both sides of the argument. Somehow I have to believe that if they knew they had to get job following their stint maybe they wouldn't do so much to screw up the economy while there.
Controse| 3.20.13 @ 1:19PM
Any system can be successfully gamed by those born with a genius of succeeding at greed. So far our republic has been sustained by the minority that enter public service to serve the public rather than themselves. Our only salvation is to prevent any system from closing out such patriots completely. The vote at the Republican National Convention last fall that 1) did not follow the Party's own rules to be approved and 2) now permits the unelected to deny the elected admission to future national conventions is a big step in the direction of closing out the selfless patriots completely.
Longdrycreek | 3.20.13 @ 2:57PM
Many of the senators and representatives, Republican and Democrat, need to go home or go away.
Their presence and pretense is not refreshing or useful.
Senator Feinstein's attempt to put Senator Cruz in his place, as I watched, did not achieve her intention, but demonstrated she had not considered any constitutional question. Hence: No response in answer to Senator Cruz's question.
The question lingers, and no answer. At 75 and counting, Senator Feinstein needs to return to sunny CA and its enviroment and live our her days in the splendor of what she and her fellow Democrats have wrought in CA and in the Nation.
Close her office, dismiss the staff, and say, "Good nIght, Diane."
cicero| 3.20.13 @ 3:58PM
Many of these problems could be solved by the simple remedy of making elected government service true public service. Salary at reasonable amounts, yes. Pensions and lifetime health care, no. Pensions for all government workers should commence when they reach 67 years of age, and not before. All government pensions should be so structured so that a government worker gets one pension only. No stacking. In my area we have people that work for the state and county that go from state/county job to job, stacking a pension from each job. I don't see G.M or Ford paying a separate pension for each postion a worker climbs to.
We are allowing ourselves to be pillaged and plundered by our "public servants". Maybe we should have a two week hunting season on retired government workers. They have to wear white, and run through the woods for two days each during a two week perios. A bounty could be paid. That may be the only to bring this fisaco to a halt.
7-08| 3.20.13 @ 6:40PM
Absolutely brilliant. Thank you Mr. Sowell.
Stan Redmond| 3.21.13 @ 5:38PM
Di Fi is a disgusting human being. Di Fi has blood on her hands helping Richard Ramirez, aka "the night stalker" escape justice by telling the press all the evidence they had collected from murder scenes. Did she do it to help the people??? Nope, she did it to get her bitter ugly mug in front of the cameras to further her political carreer. What a disgusting ghoul of a woman. California has that other disgutsting hag senator Ma'am. Way to go california. Forward!