There seems to be a renewed call among my acquaintances for term limits on Congressmen.
But why? We already have term limits in the form of elections every two years for Representatives and six years for Senators.
Wanting to codify into law term limits is the way lazy Americans who constantly bemoan the "broken" system want to get around being ...
well ...
lazy.
Codified term limits are a double-edged sword.
Sure they can be used to automatically remove career socialist politicians like Senators Kennedy and Byrd but they will also remove the rare birds who are good solid politicians who understand and seek to abide by the Constitution rather than usurp it and deserve to be reelected time and time again.
For every one of the latter there are nine of the former.
With those kinds of odds who do you think is most likely to replace the good politician when his or her term is up? We can't let our own laziness be a call for government to step in and do something.
That's how we got Social Security, Welfare, Medicare and many other big government programs for God's sake! It is an understandable reaction that citizens might consider term limits as a solution.
Especially in a day when being elected to government means that unless you assault a police officer on camera while trying to skirt by security without identifying yourself you aren't going to be to removed from office even through impeachment.
And of course even at that point it won't happen if you are a female, Democratic politician who just happens to be black.
Then even that is ok.
Right Congresswoman McKinney? Yes, I know our own politicians' non desire to actually hold their fellow politicians accountable as the Constitution says they should makes you want to take a step that punishes all.
But it creates a one size fits all solution akin to the ridiculous zero tolerance rules that get children suspended from school for bringing the two inch plastic gun from their GI Joe into the class room.
And don't we complain about that? So why would we sit around and bitch and moan when every two years we as Americans have the ability to get off our lazy butts, talk to our friends, make the argument and get the scum out of office? Why? Because we are lazy.
That's why.
And like every other lazy American we think more government regulation is the solution when it is not.
But why? We already have term limits in the form of elections every two years for Representatives and six years for Senators.
Wanting to codify into law term limits is the way lazy Americans who constantly bemoan the "broken" system want to get around being ...
well ...
lazy.
Codified term limits are a double-edged sword.
Sure they can be used to automatically remove career socialist politicians like Senators Kennedy and Byrd but they will also remove the rare birds who are good solid politicians who understand and seek to abide by the Constitution rather than usurp it and deserve to be reelected time and time again.
For every one of the latter there are nine of the former.
With those kinds of odds who do you think is most likely to replace the good politician when his or her term is up? We can't let our own laziness be a call for government to step in and do something.
That's how we got Social Security, Welfare, Medicare and many other big government programs for God's sake! It is an understandable reaction that citizens might consider term limits as a solution.
Especially in a day when being elected to government means that unless you assault a police officer on camera while trying to skirt by security without identifying yourself you aren't going to be to removed from office even through impeachment.
And of course even at that point it won't happen if you are a female, Democratic politician who just happens to be black.
Then even that is ok.
Right Congresswoman McKinney? Yes, I know our own politicians' non desire to actually hold their fellow politicians accountable as the Constitution says they should makes you want to take a step that punishes all.
But it creates a one size fits all solution akin to the ridiculous zero tolerance rules that get children suspended from school for bringing the two inch plastic gun from their GI Joe into the class room.
And don't we complain about that? So why would we sit around and bitch and moan when every two years we as Americans have the ability to get off our lazy butts, talk to our friends, make the argument and get the scum out of office? Why? Because we are lazy.
That's why.
And like every other lazy American we think more government regulation is the solution when it is not.
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