Meet the New Boss

While I am consistent defender of Congressional Republicans, I have to add my observation to Glenn's comment on term limits.

When the Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives in 1994, there were plenty of reformers who had been itching to get the chance to revamp Congressional procedures, committee structures, and House rules. The thinking was that we had one golden opportunity to make the institution work better, and to put in place a system that made it easier to shrink the size and power of government.

I worked with one of the very bright staffers who had labored at this plan for years. He had finally arrived at the point where some of these changes could be made. Just a few months later, he told me that he had finally come around to supporting term limits. He explained that he had always said that the Constitution provided regular elections, and they were the only mechanism the voters needed to end Congressional careers. Now he said, he supported term limits, because he had seen that to a large degree, people's positions on the issues followed from their positions of power.

*sigh*

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