This Presidents Day
This President’s Day, it’s time we talk about term limits. In the absence of political courage, term limits can rescue politicians from themselves and the rest of us from their specious inclinations.
This President’s Day, it’s time we talk about term limits. In the absence of political courage, term limits can rescue politicians from themselves and the rest of us from their specious inclinations.
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DAVE GOLDSTEIN<br />
dg@davegoldstein.com | www.davegoldstein.com<br />
Social Media - FB: Comedian Dave Goldstein | IN: @comicgoldstein | TW: @comicgold<br />
February 15, 2021<br />
<strong>This</strong> President’s <strong>Day</strong>, it’s time we talk about term limits. In the absence of political courage,<br />
term limits can rescue politicians from themselves and the rest of us from their specious<br />
inclinations.<br />
The founders of our nation made momentous decisions based on what they thought was<br />
right. Even at their own peril. If you signed the Declaration of Independence like Washington<br />
did, like Jefferson did, like Adams did, you were putting your life in grave danger (to quote<br />
Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, a made up but incisive figure in American history), and making an<br />
enemy of the most powerful entity in history to that point, the British Empire.<br />
These men weren’t perfect. Any person who could enslave another is hardly virtuous. But,<br />
for their nascent country, they took a potentially deadly stand. It would have been easier to just<br />
go along to get along, while every now and then righteously railing about taxes and tea and their<br />
ball busting British masters back in London. Instead, they did what was courageous and more<br />
importantly, they did what was right.<br />
Today our politicians, to paraphrase Senator Sasse, are more beholden to their party, their<br />
tribe, than their country. So let’s put a little lead in the political pencil and institute term limits so<br />
that our politicians can vote their hearts, right or wrong, without worrying about fundraising or<br />
placating a strident re-election voting bloc.<br />
In the absence of actual integrity, let’s institute some false integrity by limiting how long<br />
someone can be in office. Think how liberating it would be for a member of congress to tell the<br />
yayhoo who owns all the car dealerships or represents all the teachers, “Screw you, keep your<br />
money. I’m out of here in seven months.” Of course, being a politician he or she would<br />
probably fancy that up a little, but the gist would be the same, “I can’t use your money anyway,<br />
so I don’t have to pretend that your land grab is a jobs creation program.”<br />
Once out of office, a former politician could just head home to use his or her status to open<br />
a business (Senator Tuberville’s Touchdown Barbecue: From the Rooter to the tooter. Every<br />
mouthful is a score!), or to add her name to a law firm that just wants to trade on her fame.<br />
Again, hardly virtuous but I’m trying to deal in the real world.<br />
<strong>This</strong> way, until actual courage shows itself again in our political class, we could at least<br />
simulate it to good effect.<br />
© Copyright Dave Goldstein 2021
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