Hold the shovels for a moment
Before we start trying to reroute a river or two to clean out those Washington stables, let Jennifer state the case for not throwing out incumbents:
I know most of my readers work for a living. What if your boss came to you and said that you would no longer have a job as of this time next year? Would you continue to work hard and do your best? Hardly. You’d do just enough to get by. Maybe. You’d probably spend an awful lot of your work hours cleaning up that resume and networking. It’s something generally referred to as short timer syndrome, and it’s the last thing you want to afflict your representatives with.
Personally, I’d much rather they focus on their jobs than doing favors for lobbyists to secure promises of future employment. Do you really think anyone would push a vote on the constitutionality of the bill if they knew there was no way for them to get re-elected? I know, politicians and diapers need to be changed regularly and for the same reason, but we’ve got to commit to support the ones that are actually doing their jobs.
I dunno. I figure, any time they spend cleaning up that resume and networking is time they’re not spending trying to come up with more ways to make my life miserable.
And as P. J. O’Rourke says: “Term limits aren’t enough. We need jail.”
Jennifer »
23 December 2009 · 2:54 pm
Forget jail, try them for treason. At least the ones that spend all their time and my money making life miserable. They won’t need that resume.
Lisa Paul »
23 December 2009 · 6:18 pm
We have, and have always had, term limits. They are called elections. You don’t like them, throw the bums out. Ah yes, but that would require putting down the Pringles and getting off the couch. Maybe even reading up on the issues and trying to make an informed decision. I suspect most voters don’t even want to take this small responsibility.
CGHill »
23 December 2009 · 6:37 pm
Last time I immersed myself in issues, I got so sick I couldn’t even pick up the Pringles.
McGehee »
23 December 2009 · 7:24 pm
I disagree vehemently. Some may think I’m joking when I propose my constitutional amendment (“Congress shall make no law.”), but I’ve been getting more and more serious about it every day.
As for pandering to lobbyists, the problem is the current crop thinks that is their job.
Old Grouch »
23 December 2009 · 8:24 pm
Bravo! I told somebody about Pelosi’s junket to Copenhagen, and they expressed astonishment that congress-critters would be out of Washington at “such an important time.”
“H*ll,” I said. “If they’re in Copenhagen, they’re not in D.C. getting up to mischief. I’d have sent them ALL over… provided we made ‘em walk back.”
Old Grouch »
23 December 2009 · 8:39 pm
@Lisa:
True, but there’s a prisoner’s-dilemma aspect of throwing out your own bum… his replacement starts at the bottom seniority-wise, inferior to the other bums whose constituents are lazier/less responsible. Your guy may be a crook and a weasel, but if he’s been around long enough to steer goodies your way it’s greatly to your advantage to keep him. Assuring that everybody disappears after a fixed time addresses this.
My own objection to term limits is that, since no elected official would be around long enough to learn where the bodies are buried, it massively increases the power of the resident (unelected) bureaucrats. I can’t see that replacing the current system with an American version of “Yes, Minister” would produce the kind of gains the term-limiters are promising.
McGehee »
23 December 2009 · 10:37 pm
I’ve lived in districts with despicable incumbents of both parties, and right now I’ve got a congressman I wouldn’t trade in for a legion of Jimmy Stewart-as-Mr. Smiths. Losing him as my congressman would be very dispiriting.
But I’d still support term limits. The idea that “my” congressman is so good as to be indispensable is what keeps getting us into these messes.
Jeff Brokaw »
24 December 2009 · 11:15 am
Never mind term limits; even the election cycle isn’t enough any more.
Plum lobbyist gigs await those who help pass unpopular legislation. So the fear of losing political power is gone. And so is the voter’s hole card.
Democracy as we think we know it is dead, and has been dead for many years. It has taken the worst-case scenario–wildly unpopular and fatally flawed legislation–to hammer home who really runs the show: lobbyists and all the rest of the rent-seekers.
God help us. We’re going to need it. We’re in a power struggle with our hopelessly corrupt government, but lots of us don’t realize it yet. And that’s fine with Washington, the lobbyists on K Street, etc.
I hope I’ll be proven wrong, but there is no other conclusion that makes sense to me after watching this train wreck.
McGehee »
24 December 2009 · 6:20 pm
Jeff, I’ll worry when they start ripping out lampposts so they can’t be hanged from them.