Dems don’t want term limit question on November ballot is the title of an AP article in today’s Argus – Dispatch (A-D). The AP does not choose the title so we have to credit the A-D for cutting to the chase. The AP article is straight forward enough.
Those not familiar with Illinois politics of late as compared to its reputation (OK there is no difference but I needed a lead in) should know that Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner was behind the effort to collect sufficient petitions to get a term limits measure on the ballot in the fall. The effort succeeded famously.
Of course such measures generally enjoy 75% support among the citizenry. Democrats operatives of course oppose such measures and in Illinois, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Democrat, filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the measure. As the AP reports:
Madigan, who was first elected to the Legislature in 1970 and has been speaker since 1983, is chairman of the state Democratic Party. The suit also challenges an effort to put on the ballot a measure asking voters to endorse an independent mechanism for redrawing election district lines after every U.S. census.
Boys and girls that’s 44 years in the Illinois legislature for Madigan, a Chicago pol, 31 as Speaker. It is probably argument enough for term limits but we support it for a variety of reasons, not merely corruption and bad government exemplified in Illinois where half the people want to get out. Among or reasons are general political science arguments, and the confidence that the conservative bench will always be intellectually stronger than the socialist bench. Politically it works to reduce the effective influence of machine politics.
We reject the idea that term limits leaves bureaucrats in charge. The fact that the legislators will have to go home and live with the laws and regulations produced will result in less government quicker than the system now, which produces career politicians intent on gaming the system to insure their sinecures. As a general concept, here are some more visceral reasons:
The organization U.S. Term Limits is the preeminent organization focused on promoting term limits. We note that former U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, a favorite of ours, now with the Heritage Foundation, is a term limits supporter and has championed a Constitutional amendment to that effect. We encourage readers to go to the linked site where many essays in support of term limits are available. Tomorrow we will have a few comments on the implications of a chart featured on the site which shows the amount of money necessary to defeat incumbents.
By the way, a call for term limits had been part of the Scott County Republican Platform since at least 2006. That 75% “big tent” feature was removed by the leadership of the local organization. Not one of them spoke up when the Platform Chairman Chairperson Chair insisted indeed challenged everyone that everything in the old was covered in the new “its in their” being his general claim. It was a false statement, charitably ignorant, delivered with impunity by someone who did not seem to have a handle on the document.
Of course our comment line is available if anyone wants to defend the Scott County platform and its process. We will feature an “official” response. That is true of every commentary we have made about Scott County Republican matters. R Mall
