Politicians
and diapers must be changed often,and
for the same reason.
Mark
Twain
For
20 years, Mike Kim, the owner of Grubb’s Pharmacy in Washington D.C., has
filled scripts and hand delivered pharmaceuticals to the Office of the
Attending Physician (OAP). Members of Congress pay a little over $600 per year
to have access to the OAP and deliveries from Grubb’s. In an October 2017
interview, he described this cozy relationship that provides Congress with
health care far superior to and far cheaper than that which the average
American receives. This in and of itself is egregious, but what he said next
was nothing less than shocking. Kim described his relationship with Congress,
saying, “At first it’s cool, and then you realize, I’m filling some drugs for
some pretty serious health problems as well. And these people are running the
country.” Kim listed Alzheimer’s as one of the conditions treated by the drugs
he delivered to Congress. He added, “It makes you kind of sit back and say,
Wow, they’re making the highest laws in the land and they might not even
remember what happened yesterday.”
An
obvious question is, if someone in Congress is suffering from Alzheimer’s or
another form of dementia, why doesn’t their staff help them make a quiet,
dignified exit? That is what would happen in the private sector. If a senior
partner in a law firm or a high ranking executive in a large corporation
started to exhibit signs of failing mental capacity they would be slowly moved
to less and less responsibility. Even if an individual’s mental capacity is
still in remarkable shape as he or she ages, that person is accommodated with a
reduction in duties and activities. Others move up the ladder to fill in the
gaps.
In
the private sector, it is in the best interest of the company to not have
people with diminished capacity in positions of power. Congress doesn’t work
this way. Unlike the private sector, it is in the best interest of
Congressional staffers and lobbyists who have enjoyed a good working
relationship with a member of Congress to keep that person in power, no matter
what. If they expose failing mental capacity then they lose the seat along with
all the power and influence that goes with it. If the Senator or Representative
resigns or chooses not to seek reelection, then a new person steps in to fill
that seat. The new person will bring in a new staff. The old staffers are out.
Lobbyists will need to cultivate new relationships with the newly elected or
appointed official. If the seat changes parties in an election, then the newly
elected official may not be sympathetic to the views the lobbyist represents.
No good comes to the staff or lobbyists through change. The status quo works
fine for them. Diminished mental capacity in the elected official can actually
help the staff and lobbyists. When the elected official is confused their
trusted chief of staff is there to steer their vote in the right direction.
This direction may benefit the staffers and lobbyists, but is not necessarily
in the best interests of the citizens. No matter the circumstances, when asked
if an elected official should retire, their staff will encourage them to press
on with reelection. Otherwise, their staff joins the unemployed or, heaven
forbid, has to work like the rest of the country. They are loath to give up the
power and privilege that working inside the Beltway provides.
An
even more disturbing aspect of the way Congress works is the lack of a
meritocracy. Merit and accomplishment are secondary to seniority. The chairs of
the plum committees are often assigned based on the length of tenure in
Congress. The motto of the reality show Survivor could well be adopted by Congress as its motto: “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast.” If
you merely last longer than other members of Congress you’ll rise to the top.
Few wish to resign or retire when they are so close to the powerful chairs they
have coveted since their first election to office. This results in the most
powerful members of Congress also being some of the oldest. The chair of the
Senate Finance Committee was 84 year old Orrin Hatch. The chair of the Senate
Armed Services Committee was 82 year old John McCain. The chair of the very powerful Senate Appropriations
Committee is 84 year old Richard Shelby.
The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee is 84 year old Charles Grassley. The vice chair is 85
year old Dianne Feinstein. She
will be 91 when her term expires. Do you feel comfortable having the incredible
power of the Senate in the hands of folks in their 90’s?
A
council of elders is a wonderful thing. Their wisdom and life experience is
invaluable; however there are limits to this. At 100 years old and still
casting votes on the Senate floor, surely Strom Thurmond exceeded these limits.
Term limits would fix this problem. The chances of a candidate being elected to
the Senate for the first time at the age of 90 are slim to none. Without term
limits, as people live longer and longer, the professional politicians will get
older and older. Many will enter into the stage of life where some form of
diminished mental capacity is probable.
How
can we evaluate the mental health of our elected officials?
How can we know if
they are suffering from deteriorating mental capacity? The truth is, we can’t.
Currently the only mechanism to remove someone from office is to vote them out.
As will be shown later in the book, the power of incumbency is so great that it
is very difficult to vote an established politician out of office. In a
gerrymandered partisan district, it becomes nearly impossible to remove an
incumbent, even if the politician is suffering diminished mental competency.
Their staff can cover for them on bad days. They can alter their reelection
campaign strategy to minimize the risk of exposing their mental issues. They
can remain in office as long as their staff can cover for them. This is one of
the multitude of reasons we must enact term limits as soon as possible.
Most
people look forward to retirement. Retirement to ordinary citizens means it’s a
time to enjoy the fruits of a life well lived. They look forward to fewer
headaches from work, less stress, and more time for the grandkids. If you ask
your spouse and family if you should retire, most will encourage you to do so.
In Congress it is just the opposite. All those dependent on you fear the day
you leave. They know when you’re gone, they’re gone. They encourage you to
stay. For most it doesn’t take much encouragement. The power, privilege, and
prestige that come from being a U.S. Senator or Congressman are intoxicating
and addicting. When retiring from the Senate, a person goes from being one of
the most powerful people in the world to being someone who used to be someone.
Overnight people stop asking for your advice and help. People stop showing you
the deference you have grown accustomed to receiving. Now that you no longer
have a vote, you are no longer the important person you were. You are no longer
exempt from the laws you have passed. When you retire, you have to live among
the governed instead of those who govern. The ability for a professional
politician to stay in office until they are 90 years old has transferred power
from the people to the political elite. Term limits will bring the power back
to the people, where the founding fathers intended it to be.
Two hundred and forty years ago, the
American colonists had had enough of the oppression of the King. They had had
enough of being dictated to by an out of touch government that did not have the
best interests of the colonists in America in mind. They started a revolution
that eventually established the United States. Today we find ourselves in much
the same situation. Those who govern are out of touch and no longer have the
best interests of the citizens of the United States in mind. Today we are not
advocating for armed revolution. We don’t have to. The framers of the
Constitution showed great wisdom in creating provisions to change the
Constitution. They knew that values, traditions, and customs would change and
the country would need to adapt.
Term limits were not included in the
Constitution for the President or for Congress. The founding fathers envisioned
a voluntary relinquishing of power as legislators returned to private life. Our
government was never intended to be run by the same small group of people for
decades. Our current government has been hijacked by those who use it for
personal power and enrichment.
The Term Limit Revolution is not
about violence and anger -- quite the contrary.
The Term Limit Revolution is
about the citizens of the United States coming together peacefully to alter our
government and take back the power that has been usurped by the political elite.
The only way to take back this power is for the people within the revolution to
be diverse, united, and committed. One political group or party can’t
accomplish this alone. The people must unite and stand together. A revolution
has the best chance for success with a united populace.
During the American Revolution, the
colonists risked everything to fight against the British. If they had lost the
war, they would have been tried for treason and executed. During World War II,
enormous sacrifices were made. Soldiers risked and lost their lives. Parents
lost their sons and daughters. Everyone made sacrifices by rationing everything
from fuel and tires to clothes and food. Much smaller sacrifices are required
to bring about the changes the Term Limit Revolution seeks. No one will be
asked to risk their life. No one will need to ration or sacrifice their way of
life. Due to the wisdom and foresight of our founding fathers, all that is
required of our revolutionaries is their vote.
Make no mistake, this is a revolution.
The professional political elite will fight to preserve their positions of
power. When we are occupied fighting amongst ourselves, the professional
politicians benefit by accomplishing two things. First, we remain distracted as
they continue to write laws to benefit themselves. Second, they make themselves
indispensable. While we are busy fighting over the issues, the career
politicians can claim they are the only protection their voters have against
being overrun by the other side. These professional politicians portray
themselves as essential to keep the other party from ending life as we know it.
By creating emergency after emergency, they keep themselves relevant and
indispensable to manage these self-inflicted crises.
Our founding fathers were wise
enough to give us the tools to make changes as our world changed. We will be
using the tools the founding fathers gave us to take back power from those who
have taken control. It is up to us to empower the citizens instead of the
political elite.
Our
democracy is not perfect, but it is the best system of governing there is, a
sentiment echoed by an Ethiopian cab driver in Seattle who had just received
his citizenship. His love for his new country was evident as he spoke of coming
to the United States. His love for our democracy and our way of life oozed from
every sentence he spoke. His analysis of the United States was eloquent and
powerful: “In this country, the people control the government. The government
does not control the people, no matter if the president is a good person or he
is a bad person. No matter if the president is honorable or not, they come to
power by the vote, not at the end of a machine gun. In many countries, the
president comes to absolute power at the point of a machine gun and he stays
until someone with more machine guns kills him. If the president is a good
president, in four years we can keep them in power. If the president is a bad
president, they cannot do anything they want to do. They do not have absolute
power. We have Congress to protect us from a bad president. If in four years we
find we made a mistake and that the president is a bad president, we can remove
them from power, with our votes, not with machine guns. In eight years, they
will be gone no matter what. I am grateful to live here and to raise my family
here. The system is not perfect. It can become tarnished. But the people can
fix that. From time to time, it just needs a little scrubbing.”
The
Term Limit Revolution provides for that “little scrubbing.” Join the revolution
and help us clean house.
I
hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing,and
is as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.
Thomas Jefferson
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