Posted on 01/13/2003 1:23:38 PM PST by John Farson
There may be a few grizzled Republicans from the Gingrich revolution who still carry next to their hearts a laminated pocket copy of the Contract With America. This was the blueprint for the 1994 revolution that swept the party into control of the House. High on the agenda was a call for term limits on politicians. But no Republican was seen waving the contract in the air in protest last week when the new Congress convened with a gavel-quick rules change quietly eliminating the four-term limit on the House speakership.
The Republican speaker, Dennis Hastert, was one of the original proponents of term limits, with its panacea approach to politicking. Now his postrevolutionary peers are buttressing their Establishment inclinations and sparing him the future threat of the lame-duck guillotine.
This nod to the value of experience on the job might be applauded but for the underlying hypocrisy. With similar guile, the G.O.P. majority quietly changed a more recent rule championed by fiscal conservatives that mandated a direct vote in order to raise the national debt. With the brief era of budget-surplus politicking gone, the change allows lawmakers to accept the deepening red ink implicitly with each vote they cast on budget measures that are far more pleasing to constituents. No further need for revolutionaries to stand up and be counted.
Thats cra*. I remember seeing the vote in the house for term limits and the great majority of Republicans voted for it, while maybe one or two democrats voted for it. Meanwhile, the New York Times had written (and continues to write) articles against term limits because they feel that term limit laws threaten democrats powerful political machines.
With similar guile, the G.O.P. majority quietly changed a more recent rule championed by fiscal conservatives that mandated a direct vote in order to raise the national debt. With the brief era of budget-surplus politicking gone, the change allows lawmakers to accept the deepening red ink implicitly with each vote they cast on budget measures that are far more pleasing to constituents.
I'm not sure that's really accurate (although the editorial clearly states that...)
Seems to me the only "fiscal mandate" the Congress has is a direct vote on raising taxes (which may or may not affect the national debt)...
FWIW, I've never favored "term limits" myself...that's what elections are for!
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