Posted on 08/12/2009 3:47:50 PM PDT by Loud Mime
BUMP! BUMP!
I don’t understand how Hamilton could’ve first said, “Enlighten the government, warn it to be vigilant, give it influence and arm it with force. To the people I have only one word – Obey” and then followed it up with, “Colonel Gilman, the more you increase the attractive force of power, the more you enlarge the sphere of liberty.”
What am I missing?
That was his big blind spot.
Check Post #17.
>>> Perhaps it’s now time to add term limits to the list, hmmmm? <<<<<
Absolutely.
The sociopaths and senile old coots on Capitol Hill - and I mean Democrats AND Republicans, all 525 of them - are completely out of control and must be stopped.
Even in your quotations above it is implicit that the Founders intended that limited tenure in office act as a primary bulwark against tyranny.
“...those intrusted with [political power] should be kept in dependence on the people, by a short duration of their appointments.” . . . . James Madison, The Federalist 37
“....elections, sufficiently frequent, is essential to a free government.” ... John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson, October 10, 1817
Years ago I wrote that the state-appointed senators were the guardians of the 10th Amendment. At least the State legislatures could stop the wastes of time and taxpayer money that we're seeing now.
My old congressman argued that term limits were a small part of the problem; the bigger part was the entrenched bureaucrats. He claimed that they controlled so much that they ended up calling some shots....and they had no limits.
>>>>> My old congressman argued that term limits were a small part of the problem; the bigger part was the entrenched bureaucrats. <<<<<<
I don’t believe this or agree with it.
The last thing a government bureaucrat wants is to be on the bad side of an elected official who’s term limited and has no particular interest in the bureaucrat’s career or future.
I wondered about that too, but realized that even though you may be a congressman you still have to deal with the bureaucracy. You have layer after layer; a couple of slowdowns can make your work, at best, harder.
In addition, can they be friends with other members of congress, or even a party? There is no doubt of that in my mind.
Fascinating!
ping
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