Missouri State House: ME FIRST!

It can't be said that politicians never take an unpopular stand based on principle. At least, not when the important principle at stake is their own power and prestige.

Look at Missouri. Desperate politicians there are making another stab at defeating 8-year legislative term limits. On March 5, the Missouri House passed HJR 4, which would weaken term limits to a meaningless 16 years in either house. The bill is headed to the Missouri Senate.

HJR 4, introduced by Rep. Myron Neth (R-Liberty), would essentially negate the 1992 referendum which initiated the 8-year limits, in which 75 percent of voters gave the new limits the nod. The voters haven't changed their minds. Polling from 2011 shows that 77 percent of Missourians support the current 8-year term limits law and oppose weakening them.

And well they should. A recent study shows that term limits have been effective in some of their major aims.

First, term limits in Missouri have largely erased the surge in tenure in the Missouri legislature that marked the later 20th Century. Second, in the Missouri House, rotation in office due to term limits has created a more representative body comprising a far broader range of experience. Third, the intended division between the upper and lowers houses of the legislature has been improved. While the House has been transformed into a far more representative body, the percentage of the Senate with significant legislative experience remains very high, as many or most Senators serve first in the House. Hence, the balance – previously skewed toward professional politicians – has swung back more toward the center, balancing the value of experience and improving the representation and participation of the citizens.

This empowerment of the ignorant citizenry was supposed to lead to calamity. But in spite of all the grave pronouncements of self-interested politicians and special interests in Jefferson City, Missouri ranks among the best-run states in the country. The respected biannual "Rich States, Poor States" study by the American Legislative Exchange Council -- no friend of term limits -- ranks all the states by results, using the same metrics for all 50 states. ALEC ranks Missouri at #7. Nationwide, term limited states are crowded in the top half of these rankings.

So why are the politicians so desparate to gut the limits? The answer is obvious and the voters know it.

In the 2011 poll referenced above, a full 78 percent of the Missourians said that lawmakers who voted to lengthen the terms at that time are "primarily interested in keeping themselves in power," including 65 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of Republicans and 89 percent of independents.

Time and time again, legislators come up with creative ways to keep themselves in office longer and HJR 4 is just another of these craven power grasps. The people of Missouri are best served by citizen legislators, and the state Senate needs to just say no to HJR 4.

 

 

DeMint may be gone from Senate, but term limits bill isn't

When Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina announced his retirement from the Senate, term limits activists were worried. After all, it was DeMint's name on the Congressional term limits bill.

But on Jan. 22, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would limit the number of terms that a Congress member may serve to three in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate. That is, the same bill.

DeMint may not be done with term limits. He left the Senate to take the helm at the Heritage Foundation where he can be enormously influential in advancing the issue. With the Cato Institute firmly behind the reform, there may be another policy powerhouse on the term limits case.

Sen. David Vitter has reintroduced the Congressional term limits bill in the Senate and a House companion bill is expected imminently.

Term limits for members of Congress has been spotlighted in recent weeks as former Senator and Vice Presidential nominee Joe Lieberman announced that after reflection on his 24 years in office that he now supported term limits.

The Lieberman statement was followed by a polls conducted by the Gallup Organization released in January showing that the American people would vote for congressional term limits by a 75 – 21 margin.

To become part of the U.S. Constitution, the amendment requires a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress and ratification by three quarters or 38 out of 50 states. This will not happen without pressure from us. Please sign the online petition now.

2012 ELECTION RESULTS: Americans speak with one voice on term limits

Is it fair to call a 97% victory a mandate for term limits?

For all the talk of bitterness, polarization and division in what turned out to be an electoral muddle, voters in red and blue states across the nation united on Nov. 6 in their decisive support of term limits in both small-town and statewide referenda.

We’ve uncovered 91 jurisdictions so far where term limits appeared on the ballot – either calling for new limits or defending existing ones from politicians’ attacks – and term limits won in 88, or 97%, of them.

As lopsided as it is, even this figure obscures the magnitude of the victory for term limits nationwide. After all, victories included voters establishing 8-year term limits in Florida’s mammoth Miami-Dade County, Nebraska voters statewide fending off a legislative attack on their popular 8-year term limits law, and school board term limits being established in 67 Louisiana parishes in 67 separate referenda. Losses were limited to term limits being lifted on the coroner and sheriff in Delta County, Colorado, and weakening existing city council term limits in Hammond, Louisiana.

The election results conform with election results in 2010 and 2008 as well as recent national polling suggesting that some 70-83 percent of Americans support term limits on their elected officials.

These are the referenda we were following this year. If you know of any others please let us know and we’ll update the list.

BROOKSVILLE, FL -- Weaken 8-year term city council limits
28% YES
72% NO -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

BUELLTON, CA -- Place term limits on city council
YES 77% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 23%

CANFIELD CITY, OH -- Place term limits on city council
YES 61% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 39%

CANFIELD CITY, OH -- Places term limits on mayor
YES 58% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 42%

WEST VIRGINIA (STATEWIDE) -- Repeal sheriff term limits
YES 47%
NO 53% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

COLUMBIA COUNTY, GA -- Places 8-year term limits on county commission
YES 86% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 14%

DELTA COUNTY, CO -- Repeal sheriff term limits
YES 73% -- TERM LIMITS LOSE
NO 27%

DELTA COUNTY, CO -- Repeal coronor term limits
YES 81% -- TERM LIMITS LOSE
NO 19%

DUNEDIN, FL -- Places 8-year term limits on mayor and city council
YES 70% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 30%

EL PASO COUNTY, CO -- Restoring 8-year county commission term limits, reverses deceptive 2010 referenda
YES 58% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 42%

HAMMOND, LA -- Adds an additional term for city council
YES 58% -- TERM LIMITS LOSE
NO 42%

HERMOSA CLIFF, CO -- Repeal term limits for board of directors
YES 47%
NO 53% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

JOHNSTOWN, RI -- Places 8-year term limits on mayor
YES 72% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 28%

KETTERING, OH -- Places 8-year term limits on city council, mayor
YES 62% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 38%

KNOX COUNTY, TN -- Conforms commission district and commission at large seats under
term limits law
YES 86% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 14%

LOMBARD, IL -- Places term limits on all village officers
YES 81% -- TERM LIMITS WIN
NO 19%

LOUSIANA (67 individual districts) -- Places term limits on local school boards
YES 70-85% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 15-30%

MANSFIELD, OH -- Abolishes term limits for elected officials
YES 72%
NO 73% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL -- Establish 8-year county commission term limits
YES 77% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 23%

NEBRASKA (STATEWIDE) -- Add extra term for state senators
YES 35%
NO 65% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

OAKRIDGE, OR -- Places 8-year term limits on city council
YES 71% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 29%

SAN JOAQUIN, CA -- Allow for a third term for Board of Supervisors
YES 41%
NO 59% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

SANTA ANA, CA -- Place 8-year term limits on city mayor
YES 77% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 23%

THOUSAND OAKS, CA -- Places term limits on the city council
YES 78% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 22%

TINLEY PARK, IL -- Advisory Measure to term limit village board
YES 71% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 28%

Eleven more USTL Pledge signers headed to Congress!

Eleven candidates for Congress who pledged, if elected, to cosponsor and vote for congressional term limits of three two-year terms for U.S. House members, two six-year terms for U.S. Senate members, won their contests on Nov. 6. Here are the 11 victorious signatories of the U.S. Term Limits Pledge:

Matt Salmon. The former three-term congressmen, who stepped down in 2000 to honor his term limit pledge, now returns to the House as representative of Arizona's fifth district. Taxpayer watchdog groups gave him high marks during his first stint in Congress.

Thomas Massie. The former judge-executive of Lewis County, Massie will serve Kentucky's fourth congressional district. "Our founding fathers never envisioned the out of-touch career politicians of today," he says, "or the extent to which incumbents would use the influence of their positions to remain in office."

Kerry Bentvolio. A design engineer, teacher, farmer and military veteran, Bentvolio offers himself, in the words of one campaign ad, as "a citizen statesman with a soldier's honor who, like most Americans, is tired of what we've been getting from Washington and is determined to rein in the deficit spending, balance the budget, and get America back to work." He will represent Michigan's eleventh congressional district.

Ann Wagner. Wagner will represent Missouri's second congressional district. She is a former chairwoman of the Missouri GOP and has served as ambassador to Luxembourg.

Richard Lane Hudson. Hudson, a speaker at the 2012 Republican convention, is a marketer who has served as a congressional chief of staff. He will represent North Carolina's eighth congressional district. He won a five-way nomination contest in which three of the five GOP aspirants were signers of the USTL Term Limit Amendment Pledge.

Robert Pittenger. A real estate investor and former state senator, Pittenger will represent North Carolina's ninth congressional district.

Debra Fischer. Cattle rancher and state legislator Fischer defeated former governor, former U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate Bob Kerry to win the Nebraska U.S. Senate race. In its endorsement, the Omaha World-Herald declared that she had had no trouble getting up to speed as a state lawmaker. "In this era of term limits, she arrived in Lincoln with a solid understanding of the Legislature and its ways...." (Unlike politicians who insist that they need several years to get up to speed.)

Markwayne Mullin. Mullin earned the endorsement of U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, who once served in the second-district congressional seat in Oklahoma that Mullin will be taking over. "Markwayne is committed to being a citizen legislator, not a career politician," Coburn said. The bio page at Mullin's campaign web site declares that he is "A rancher. A businessman. Not a politician!"

Beto O'Rourke. O'Rourke believes that most congressmen "are career politicians who are more concerned with the next election cycle than in making these tough decisions. They put personal considerations, party loyalty and payback to lobbyists and big donors before principle." He will represent Texas's 16th congressional district.

Ted Cruz. Tea-Party-backed Ted Cruz cruised to victory in Texas's U.S. Senate race, winning 57% to 41% after having beaten establishment favorite Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in the GOP primary. On Fox News, Cruz declared that he had "no interest in being in office for decades. I strongly support term limits. And in fact I have committed to cosponsor a constitutional amendment to limit every member of the U.S. Senate to two terms, every member of the House to three terms.

Mick Mulvaney. A freshman in the House, Mulvaney will return to Congress for a second term representing South Carolina's fifth district. In a page about term limits at his campaign site, the congressman says he has changed his mind about term limits while in office. Now, "having seen government up close, I have learned my lesson. I support term limits."

Their victories follow twelve USTL Pledge signers who won in 2010, including Dave Schweikert (AZ-5), David Rivera (FL-25), Michael Pompeo (KS-4), John Sullivan (OK-1), Frank Lucas (OK-3), Tom Coburn (OK-SEN), Tim Scott (SC-1), Jeff Duncan (SC-3), Mick Mulvaney (SC-5) and Ralph Hall (TX-4), Joe Walsh (IL-8) and Rocky Raczkowski (MI-9).

 

Monkey See, Monkey DC!

I am still working on my Election 2012 roundup. In the meantime, enjoy this from U.S. Term Limits friend and supporter Leigh Coburn:

"If you start with a cage containing five monkeys and inside the cage, hang a banana on a string from the top and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water.

After a while another monkey makes an attempt with same result ... all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put the cold water away.

Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys, replacing it with a new one.

The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment -- with enthusiasm, because he is now part of the "team."

Then, replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by the fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs he is attacked.

Now, the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs. Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, not one of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana.

Why, you ask? Because in their minds...that is the way it has always been!

This, my friends, is how Congress operates... and this is why, from time to time: ALL of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME.

Incumbents Ribble, Mulvaney join term limits team

Over the past year, the mailbox at the U.S. Term Limits offices in Fairfax, Va., has been filling up with signed pledges (over 188 so far) from Congressional candidates that promise to cosponsor and vote for 3/2 term limits bills like those introduced by Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rep. David Schweichert of Arizona.

But over the last week or so we've been pleased -- maybe a bit surprised -- to find written commitments from a couple of incumbents.

The first arrived from Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina's 5th Congressional District, a signed U.S. Term Limits pledge. Interestingly, Rep. Mulvaney didn't support term limits until he was elected, an unusual phenomenon. As the second-term Congressman notes on his website, "Before I got into government I opposed term limits ... Having seen government up close, I have learned my lesson. I support term limits."


Welcome aboard!

Then we received a letter from Wisconsin's Rep. Reid Ribble, 8th District, in which he pledges support for 3/2 term limits legislation and offers an idea for getting it done.

"As you are aware, I am a firm believer in term limits for Congress. I believe many of the systemic problems that our government faces would be reduced or eliminated if politicians did not make their time in Congress a career."

Rep. Ribble notes that the big hurdle is getting Congress members to term limit themselves, so he suggests that a grandfather clause be added to get it through Congress. If this is enacted, he writes, "Over time, serving in Congress will again be a privilege, not  a career, similar to the way the Founding Fathers originally intended."

Mulvaney and Ribble join a growing minority of incumbents on the Hill taking action on this issue. After November, as our stack of pledges indicate, there will be a lot more.

 (Top left, Rep. Reid Ribble's term limits letter; Right, Rep. Mick Mulvaney)

Term limits ad propels veterinarian past veteran Florida Congressman

Yet another political newcomer has left a professional politician in the dust -- and he used a hilarious term limits ad to do it.

Rep. Cliff Stearns of North Central Florida's 3rd District, which includes Gainesville, was a big spending Republican with a social conservative bent. His 24-year spending record proved to be his weak spot after large animal doctor Ted Yoho highlighted it in the best TV ad so far in the 2012 election season.



The ad features WWE wrestler Dustin (Rhodes) Runnels and shows professional politicians in suits eating from a pigs' trough and throwing mud at one another. At the end, Yoho pledges to serve eight years and come home.

Stearns had been endorsed by Republican bigwigs including Rep. Paul Ryan. Yet Yoho, who raised very little money, unexpectedly won the election by about 800 votes.

Yoho will face Democrat J.R. Gaillot in the general election, but the seat is considered safely Republican. It looks like another term limits supporter is going to Washington.