ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
October 7, 2020
This is a letter to our friends –
Pondering term limits
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. [Wikipedia]
Franklin D. Roosevelt broke the “two term” tradition, set be George Washington, and won a third four-year term. Then he won a fourth term and died in office. This prompted the passage of the XXII (22nd) Amendment, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, …”
I believe this was the first term limit law. Since then many local and state laws have set term limits on elective offices.
I oppose term limits. I hope you will ponder my reasoning:
The root problem – Voters tend to vote for incumbents over challengers rather than considering the character and philosophy of the candidates. In short – they tend to vote dumb.
Term limits are intended to correct the problem. I submit, the “solution” creates more problems than the problem!
First – Do you like the idea of someone telling you who you may not vote for? That is what you are telling future voters.
Next – Do term limits eliminate dumb voters? Evidently they do not!
Unintended consequences – Good legislators are not allowed to gain and use their experience beyond the term limit. We eliminate the good (even the best) with the bad.
Incoming (new) legislators depend upon staff until they “learn the ropes”. The “staff pool” becomes an unelected body that is experienced and lasts from legislator to legislator. Often the staff runs the legislative office by proxy.
The solution – A rising tide lifts all ships! Raise the standards of the voter and maintain them.
Many will respond, “That just won’t work! It is too hard.” Then the great experiment in “Christian self-government” is a failure! It must not fail! The alternative is unacceptable.
Education, long ignored in America, is the solution. (This blog column is dedicated to that purpose.) Education should begin in the home before pre-school, and never end.
“Education” about what? Education about the God of creation, His hand in human history, our relation to Him, and our relation to our fellow man. This leads to observation and reason (common sense).
Want more? www.FACE.net/PAG
These columns are archived since 12/10/09
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