The Newsletter of the Term Limits Movement

ERMS November 2002 • VOLUME 10 • NUMBER 10

POWER PROBLEMS Study Demonstrates Declining Electoral Competition

As politicians repeat their tired and Cato’s study shows a “renewed de- untrue mantra that term limits have lost cline in public trust in the federal gov- support, the Cato Institute has released ernment.” This is hardly surprising, as another study avowing the continuing federal officeholders are more en- importance of term limits. Although poli- trenched in their careerist brand of ticians would love to believe that term politics than ever. The longer the poli- limits support is waning, studies con- ticians stay in power, the further they tinue to show that this particular reform stray from the concerns and ideals of is sorely needed in government today. their constituency — and the closer they Ross K. Baker, professor of political The recent release of Cato’s Policy embrace the special interests. science at Rutgers University, states, Analysis “Election 2002 and the Prob- Peter Hart, a Democratic pollster, “Many voters lack any real say in who lems of American Democracy,” by says, “It comes down to one simple represents them.” How can this be John Samples and Patrick Basham, theme: people feel this is a time we healthy for a democracy? While incum- provides evidence of the declining com- need checks and balances.” Term lim- bents are receiving contributions from petitiveness of elections, a problem that its offers exactly that. a network of donors whose investment term limits has been shown to help al- There has been such a decrease in in grooming politicians’ careers guar- leviate time and time again. the number of competitive elections that antees “continuing financial commit- continued on page 8

INSIDEINSIDE MR. BIG SHOT Executive Director Message — page 2 Career Politics Breeds Arrogance The Uncandidate Commenting on the recent con- public’s expectations of fiscal re- — page 3 gressional pay raise, Rep. Dick straint in their elected officials “un- Armey (R-TX) said, “I don’t know realistic.” Weldon Welshes why anybody in America would Although his defense of this lat- — page 5 say, ‘Mr. Big Shot, get yourself est pay raise is unfortunate, it’s in- elected to Congress,’ and then be teresting to note that Armey has be- They Said It stupid enough to deny yourself the gun speaking his mind about a va- — page 6 pay and benefits that your job war- riety of issues now that his retire- Outrage of the Month rants.” ment is imminent. The Columbus A congressman since 1985 and Dispatch has called him “increas- — page 6 the current House Majority ingly independent and willing to Integrity Counts Leader, Armey goes even further take on the Bush administration and in justifying the latest in a long his party.” Thomas Mann, a politi- — page 8 string of pay grabs, calling the continued on page 4

November 2002 Issue No Uncertain TERMS • U.S. Term Limits Foundation 1 10 G St., NE • Washington, DC 20002 • http://www.ustermlimits.org MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Rattling the Cage in Idaho

As everybody who follows poli- to positions of leadership when you don’t have to sit on the tics understands, incumbency of- back bench year after year. Under term limits, Maine and fers an electoral advantage to the Oregon elected their first women speakers. Without an en- incumbent politician, independent trenched incumbent monopoly to deal with, it’s just easier of the incumbent’s performance — to make a bigger dent, and faster. and regardless of the level of government. Incumbents have By contrast, in states without term limits, legislatures see the ability to raise a substantially greater amount of cam- far less turnover and fewer open seats. New Jersey, for paign funds; they have better name recognition; they have instance, has fallen from 10th in female representation back access to taxpayer-funded assets like franked mail and the in 1974 to 43rd today. use of private television and radio stations. These types of In Idaho, men currently control more than two thirds of advantages are simply unavailable to challengers. Idaho’s legislature. Only about 29 percent of House mem- For example, Idaho House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, who bers are women. And only 17 percent of Senate members led the charge to kill term limits this past legislative ses- (six out of 35) are women. sion, hasn’t even had a challenger in recent elections. The Those percentages are higher than they used to be. But if sheer weight of incumbency typically scares off any viable more Idaho women are currently inclined to become en- competition. In Newcomb’s district and others throughout gaged in politics than there were in, say, 1970 or even Idaho, electoral competition is DOA. 1980, then we are justified in asking why the percentages Yet, when term limits are in effect, statistics show that of female representation have not grown faster. And that electoral competition is very much alive. And for tradition- delay in catching up to social realities surely has some- ally disenfranchised challengers like women (who, although thing to do with the political calcification induced by in- comprising 51 percent of the population, have held only a cumbency. fraction of elected offices at all levels of government), this The very prospect of term limits has rattled the cage in is great news. Idaho. The good ‘ole boys in charge want the rattling to In California, for example, an increase in turnover and stop, hence their anti-democratic attack on the right of Idaho electoral opportunities has resulted in a marked increase voters to the citizen initiative process. in diversity across the board — gender diversity, ethnic This November, Idaho voters will have a chance to re- diversity, and occupational diversity. peal the term limits repeal. If Speaker Newcomb and his A few years ago, Professor Mark Petracca of the Depart- good ‘ole boys in the legislature succeed in killing term ment of Political Science at University of California, Irvine, limits, that might be “good” for them in their own political found that even before term limits kicked into effect the hierarchy. But it would be bad for those of us all around mere prospect of term limits had led to more rapid turn- the country — men and women — who want more opportu- over, resulting in noticeable opportunities for women and nities to participate in our own government, both as voters minorities. In fact, on average, women made up about 15 and as representatives. percent of the California Assembly from 1980 to 1990. That average jumped to about 25 percent for 1991 to 1995. Other studies have shown that it’s also easier to ascend

USTLF BOARD OF DIRECTORS No Uncertain Terms is published monthly at Peter Ackerman Travis Anderson an annual subscription price of $15. Third ERMS class postage paid, Washington, D.C. NOVEMBER 2002 • VOLUME 10 • NUMBER 10 Steven Baer Terence Considine POSTMASTER: Send address changes to U.S. Edited by Eric D. Dixon — [email protected] Edward Crane Mike Ford Term Limits. Contributing Writers: Neal Goldman Jerry Hirsch David M. Brown, Kurt A. Gardinier Elba Serrano M. Blair Hull Sally Reed Impastato Term Limits On-Line! Paul Jacob Kenneth Langone A Publication of For the latest developments on term limits U.S. TERM LIMITS FOUNDATION Ronald Lauder Paul Raynault 10 G ST., NE, SUITE 410 across America, visit our web site on the WASHINGTON, D.C. 20002 Howard Rich Joseph Stilwell Internet at 1-800-733-6440 Donna Weaver Bill Wilson www.ustermlimits.org

2 No Uncertain TERMS • U.S. Term Limits Foundation November 2002 Issue 10 G St., NE • Washington, DC 20002 • http://www.ustermlimits.org THE UNCANDIDATE

Mark Sanford Succeeds by Breaking All the Rules by Fred Barnes, The Weekly Standard September 16, 2002

The peculiarities of Republican ’s bid for income tax (top rate 7 percent). No state has ever repealed governor of are piling up. Sanford has no its income tax (several states don’t have one). Sanford would statewide campaign organization or ancillary groups like not do it abruptly, but over 18 years. Still, he alone in the Veterans for Sanford. His wife Jenny is his campaign man- seven-candidate Republican field advocated it. All Hodges ager. When Republican chairman wanted to speak says is that he won’t raise taxes. to him without his wife on the line, In his slide show, Sanford pre- Sanford hung up. He doesn’t pre- [Former Rep. Mark] sents a sophisticated analysis of pare for televised debates (and how South Carolina has fallen does poorly). Hit this summer with Sanford faced no behind in personal income — or a two-month barrage of attack ads what he calls a “wealth gap” of by Gov. , his Demo- opponent in his last two $5,800 a year between what cratic opponent, Sanford declined races, but nonetheless people make, on average, nation- to rebut the charges, thus violat- ally and what they earn in South ing a cardinal rule of electoral honored his promise to Carolina. Unless the gap is politics. His appearances some- serve only three terms closed, he says, young people will times consist of a slide show (he continue to migrate to other states. travels with a slide projector). He and retired in 2000. While income has lagged, once jotted down the text of a TV Sanford says, the state govern- ad minutes before filming it. His speeches are seldom ment has metastasized, growing more rapidly than the fed- scripted. He rarely wears a tie. He backed John McCain in eral government or nearby state governments. South Caro- the 2000 presidential primary in what turned out to be a lina has nearly twice as many state employees per capita strong George W. Bush state. He now concedes the McCain as Florida. To lure investment and white collar jobs, Sanford endorsement was a “mistake.” There’s an upside to all would trim state government and reduce the tax (the top this. Voters are captivated by Sanford’s unorthodox style. tax rate applies to incomes as low as $11,701) that sup- With no previous political experience, no following among ports it. Meanwhile, education spending has doubled in Republicans, and zero name ID, he won a U.S. House seat the past 25 years, but SAT scores in South Carolina remain in the coastal Charleston area in 1994. Sanford faced no stuck at 49th or 50th among the states. Sanford says this opponent in his last two races, but nonetheless honored his means money isn’t getting to teachers and classrooms. promise to serve only three terms and retired in 2000. In Education, however, is Hodges’s issue, not Sanford’s. It the runoff last June for the GOP nomination for governor, provides “a stronger playing field for Democrats than Re- he overwhelmed Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler, who was backed by publicans, even on your best day,” Sanford says. This is most of the Bush forces in the state. Now he has an even or especially true in his case. For Sanford, education reform better chance of ousting Hodges. If he does, it’s likely to is but one part of his plan for restructuring state govern- be one of the few Republican pickups of a governorship this ment. For Hodges, it’s his most powerful issue and one on year. And it would give the GOP full control of South Caro- which he has credibility. As House minority leader in the lina — the governorship along with both houses of the legis- state legislature in 1995, Hodges pushed for extending lature. kindergarten from a half to a full day. Republicans sneered Sanford, 42, is far and away the most interesting conser- that this was glorified day care, but Hodges’s proposal was vative running anywhere this year. His message is mildly wildly popular and he forced Republicans to back down. radical: slow the growth of government, overhaul the bu- His bill passed. reaucracy, attract investment, and create jobs. He also fa- Now he is trying to bludgeon Sanford on the issue. Since vors a school voucher program similar to one enacted in Sanford won the GOP runoff on June 22, Hodges has aired Florida by Gov. Jeb Bush. But that’s not the radical part of an estimated $2 million worth of negative ads — many on Sanford’s agenda. This is: He wants to eliminate the state continued on page 4

November 2002 Issue No Uncertain TERMS • U.S. Term Limits Foundation 3 10 G St., NE • Washington, DC 20002 • http://www.ustermlimits.org “The Uncandidate,” cont. from page 3 highway spending, and rebelling against Republican lead- education — that declare Sanford “wrong for South Caro- ers Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey. By quitting after three lina.” Sanford’s limp response prompted Brad Warthen, terms, Sanford gained a reputation for keeping his word, a the editorial page editor of South Carolina’s most impor- valuable asset for a politician. tant newspaper, The State in Columbia, to urge Sanford to Back in Charleston in early 2001, Sanford was weighing stop talking about parental choice and offer up a compre- job offers and thinking about running for Democratic sena- hensive plan for improving public schools. Sanford may do tor Fritz Hollings’s seat in 2004 when he was visited by a that, but what he won’t do is broadcast rebuttal ads on TV. Republican businessman from Spartanburg, John Rainey. The rule of thumb in politics is that a charge left unchal- Rainey knew Sanford only by reputation, but he felt Sanford lenged has a good chance of being believed by voters. was the only political figure who could disrupt the inertia in Sanford doesn’t think so. His first TV spot of the general Columbia. “This is a person who, if you’re lucky, comes election campaign was a response, but hardly a point-by- along once in a political lifetime,” Rainey says. He cited a point rebuttal. Referring to Hodges’s ads and speaking di- passage in the New Testament, Luke 12: “Unto whomso- rectly to the camera, he said: “I trust you will see those ever much is given, of him shall much be required.” Sanford attacks for what they are. In the last four years, our economy was intrigued. He consulted two former governors, Demo- has gotten worse and our schools still rank at the bottom. crat Bob Kerrey of Nebraska and Republican senator We don’t have to settle for that . . . help us bring a different George Allen of Virginia, who assured him governor was approach to politics in Columbia.” The ad ends with a slo- the office with the most leverage. After working up his am- gan: “Mark Sanford, a leader, not a politician.” bitious economic and restructuring plan, Sanford announced. Richard Quinn, a consultant for a Sanford opponent in Outside Charleston, Sanford had no base of support. the primary, says Sanford’s style and persona may make There’s no Sanford gang of allies in the legislature or GOP him immune to negative ads. In the runoff, Lt. Gov. Peeler hierarchy. The Christian right, strong in the Greenville and ran a TV spot showing a Sanford lookalike stripping a sol- Spartanburg area upstate, was leery of him. So were many dier of his rifle, uniform, and wallet. The point was to por- Republicans who’d backed Bush over McCain in 2000, a tray Sanford as anti-military. The ad backfired. Earlier, contest whose traumatic effect on the GOP still lingers. But Quinn had produced anti-Sanford ads for his candidate, the McCain link didn’t hurt Sanford, except to underscore Attorney General Charlie Condon. “We pounded him,” says his image as a different sort of politician. “I’m inherently Quinn. The result was zilch. distrustful of the inside of any political system,” he says. “Mark is the most unorthodox politician I’ve ever bumped Five weeks after the runoff, Bush showed up for a Sanford into,” Quinn says. “He’s unscripted. He likes to wing it. fund-raiser that had been scheduled before the election, when He doesn’t really have a consultant. There’s a real fresh- Peeler, the Bush candidate, had been expected to win. “When ness about him. He campaigns on the notion that he’s a you find a good one, you’ve got to help him, and you’ve departure from politics as usual. He personifies that.” found a good one in Mark Sanford,” the president said. One source of his appeal is term limits. In 1994, his Besides his personal attractiveness, Sanford has a geographi- strongest opponents balked at self-imposed term limits. cal advantage against Hodges. The governor, wrote Lee Bandy Sanford settled on three terms. “Six years seemed like an of The State, “is boxed in from the north and south. The vote- eternity,” he told me. By rejecting a career in Congress, he rich Upstate is solid Republican territory. . . . The coast and acquired what he calls “the rarest of all political commodi- Lowcountry are home to Sanford.” That leaves the middle ties in Washington . . . independence.” In a short book he of the state. All Sanford has to do is split the vote there and wrote in his final year in Washington, Sanford said, “If he wins. Not a bad spot to be in for a candidate who likes self-limits do nothing else, they afford a legislator the free- to wing it. dom to stand up for what he believes.” In his case, it meant Reprinted from The Weekly Standard championing sweeping Social Security reform, voting against Fred Barnes is executive editor of The Weekly Standard.

“Mr. Big Shot,” cont. from page 1 Without the monkey of perpetual in- politics. Instead, they allow legislators cal scientist with the Brookings Insti- cumbency on his back, he’s begun to to speak their minds on delicate but tution, says, “It’s as if Dick Armey has assert his own views and take a stance important issues without worrying about been liberated.” Even Terry Holt, a on tough issues. retribution by donors or sponsors. Leg- spokesman for Armey, agreed that the Term limits advocates have known islators can better serve their constitu- congressman might be putting his views this secret for years — when your time ents if they refrain from making poli- forth “more forcefully.” in office is limited, you have the cour- tics a career — serving the people who This transformation can be attributed age to take action and speak your mind. elected them rather than the special in- to the simple fact that Dick Armey is Term limits free politicians from sub- terests who contributed the most no longer preoccupied with reelection. servience special interests and party money.

4 No Uncertain TERMS • U.S. Term Limits Foundation November 2002 Issue 10 G St., NE • Washington, DC 20002 • http://www.ustermlimits.org THE WEEKLY RADIO COMMENTARY OF COMMON THE U.S. TERM LIMITS FOUNDATION If you would like to receive SENSE COMMON SENSE by Paul Jacob Weldon Welshes by email, write to us at [email protected]

Dave Weldon, M.D., wants of the public remains in favor. to be re-elected to his seat in the U.S. House. Weldon should follow the example of fellow Floridians Congressman Weldon seems like a nice enough guy. Just Tillie Fowler and Charles Canady. Or he could emulate a one problem. He’s term limited. Self-term-limited. In 1994 fellow M.D., former Congressman Tom Coburn. Watching Dr. Weldon made a promise to his constituents that he would Coburn on the House floor, you’d never imagine he’d welsh serve no more than four terms at the most. on a self-limit pledge. Therefore, this is the last term Weldon can serve without break- In the San Francisco Chronicle, Debra Saunders reported ing his pledge to Florida voters. Yet he is running for re-election on Coburn’s integrity. She wrote, “Guess what, America. anyway! Does he not understand the meaning of integrity? They don't all lie.” And she noted that having kept his Weldon explains that term limits are losing favor. Which, word on term limits, Coburn was also more likely than many if true, wouldn’t get him off the hook. But anyway, it just congressmen to push Congress to keep its word on issues isn’t true. You could say that term limits are “losing favor” like spending caps. among career politicians, but they never supported term Maybe Dr. Weldon should give his conscience a checkup. limits to begin with. Does your local radio station carry COMMON SENSE? And most voters around the country still support term If not, ask them to call 1-800-733-6440 for a FREE subscription. limits by wide margins. In Florida, more than 75 percent Provided to radio stations five times a week.

November 2002 Issue No Uncertain TERMS • U.S. Term Limits Foundation 5 10 G St., NE • Washington, DC 20002 • http://www.ustermlimits.org THEY SAID IT Embracing Term Limits Idahoans have twice embraced term limits. It is time for the opponents of term limits to graciously Term Limits for DAs bow to the decision of the people. [David Ottke, executive director of the Colo- In its Sept. 6 editorial, the Statesman asks why rado Term Limits Coalition,] said he thinks I take the position I do. It strikes me that, after district attorneys should be term-limited Idahoans have made their wishes so plain, it is because they have ‘an enormous amount the Statesman’s position on term limits that re- of power in making decisions about the lives quires an explanation. . . . of individuals within their district. The incumbent protection racket has created a ‘In other words, I feel that over time there seniority system that thrives on special interests that tends to be a good-old-boys network that cluster around the queen bees of Congress, feeding develops,’ said Ottke. ‘What they tend to them the money-honey and controlling their votes. do over time is to favor the politically pow- The result is that very few candidates can run erful, the wealthy and tend to go after the an effective campaign against an incumbent less wealthy. member of Congress. Unlike challengers, incum- ‘They make decisions based on politics bents legally campaign on the public dime. rather than the merits of the case,’ he said. —Betty Richardson, congressional candidate —Denver Post Idaho Statesman September 19, 2002 September 10, 2002 Younger Candidates At least 15 twentysomethings are Tom Tancredo, Pledge-Breaker seeking election to the 110-member [Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)] did more than sign [a term [Michigan] state House. limits pledge]. He was an aggressive apostle of term lim- And they have good chances of mak- its in Colorado, preaching the concept with messianic ing it in as term limits and redistrict- fervor when it was all the rage on the conservative side ing force many seasoned legislators of the aisle. He cited his commitment to term limits while into retirement. running against several Republicans seeking the 6th Dis- ‘They have an opportunity now that trict nomination. . . . wasn’t there before,’ said Craig Ruff, Now, like the town drunk who’s wandered into the tem- president of Public Sector Consult- perance tent and reveled in the adulation accorded him ants, an independent think tank for signing the pledge, Tancredo has figuratively tipped based in Lansing. his hat — and stumbled down Main Street to the nearest —Lansing State Journal saloon. September 24, 2002 —Denver Post September 27, 2002 Term Limits Make Legislatures Look More Like America All across America, over 58 million Americans live in localities with term limits of various sorts, and more than 17,000 politicians serve in 2,890 term-limited cities, counties and towns. There are local- level term limits in some form in 40 states, from the smallest towns to the largest cities. Term limits are intended to end careerism among legislators and politicians. According to studies done by the Cato Institute, another honorable non-profit national organization, ‘. . . Term limits increase legislative diversity . . . Making the legislature closer to the private sector also familiarizes legislators with the complex consequences of laws and regulations. Overall, a state legislature composed of average citizens is a legislature that looks more like America and less like a political class of arrogant and ambitious politicians intent on self-aggrandizement.’ Don’t be fooled by spurious arguments that our present legislators are the only smart or dedicated people in Idaho. It simply is not true. Whether you do or don’t want term limits, at least your decision should be based on the facts, not on some flaky sales talk by selfish interests. —Reader Opinion, Idaho Statesman September 9, 2002

6 No Uncertain TERMS • U.S. Term Limits Foundation November 2002 Issue 10 G St., NE • Washington, DC 20002 • http://www.ustermlimits.org Which of These is Most Outrageous? The longer politicians stay in office, the more likely they are to abuse their power and betray the voters. Here are three recent examples of career politicians in action, from the best of Paul Jacob’s Common Sense radio commentaries. What do you think? Which of these is the most outrageous? Paul Jacob Send us email at [email protected] or drop us a note in the mail to the return address on U.S. Term Limits this newsletter. We love feedback, and hope to hear from you soon. Senior Fellow Congressional Padlocking Where’s the Decision Your Vote Algebra? Our country faces a national se- Campaign time again. A good time for The test results are in and the stu- curity crisis over how to deal with you to ask politicians what they really dents passed. But our educational Iraq. think about your vote. system flunked — big time. So where is Congress? Spouting In states where citizens have the initia- I’m talking about an algebra test platitudes and cowering in corners. tive, 24 of them, legislators are doing their taken by every eighth grade student Congressman Ron Paul of Texas darnedest to regulate the process out of in Maryland. And the students are has a question. “[M]ost in Congress existence. And where states where there doing extraordinarily well on this test. would support an invasion of Iraq, so is no citizen initiative, legislators sure Still, some ask: “Where’s the alge- why can’t we simply agree to follow would like to keep it that way. Seems the bra?” University of Maryland math- the Constitution and vote to declare politicians want you to vote this Novem- ematics professor Jerome Dancis war?” ber, but only if you’re voting for them. calls it “pretend algebra.” Tom Love- I agree, but let me be clear: I’m Dane Waters, president of the Initia- less, director of the Brown Center on not making an argument to go to war tive and Referendum Institute in Wash- Education Policy deflates our hopes with Iraq; just that our Constitution ington, D.C., has been one of many even more when he observes that “A gives Congress the responsibility of voices crying out against heavy-handed lot of algebra courses aren’t really deciding the question of when to de- regulation of the initiative process. Ac- teaching algebra.” clare war. But Congress doesn't ful- cording to Waters, this anti-voter regu- Sensing a trend here? No need to fill its constitutional role. lation is responsible for a 30 percent investigate further, because Maryland Because that involves taking a decline in the number of initiative ques- state education official Gary Heath stand. Taking political risk. But they tions posted to state ballots. admits the test is a scam: “We would want the usual free ride: to be able The initiative process allows citizens be the first to tell you that it doesn’t to delegate power and money willy- to gather petition signatures from their have a lot of algebra, nor was it in- nilly, grab credit when something fellow citizens in order to place measures tended to.” works, blame others when it directly on the ballot to be decided in a Pardon me, but why would some- doesn’t. statewide vote. Or to put a law passed one give a test on algebra that didn’t Congressman Paul wants to know by the legislature up to a vote. have algebra on it? Answer: the bet- “why members of Congress from both The process brings more voters to the ter to create our stupid utopia! parties, most of whom work inces- polls. Initiative states have a four per- Doesn’t add up. When we want to santly to increase the scope of con- cent higher turnout in presidential years teach our kids x + y, our educational gressional powers, suddenly refuse and an eight percent higher turnout in system gives us phony algebra to wield power in one area where they non-presidential years. classes. And when we seek to mea- have legitimate legislative authority? But many legislators want to deny vot- sure how well kids are learning this It mostly has to do with cowardice ers the chance to decide issues that af- alleged algebra, our educational sys- and politics,” says Paul. fect voters’ lives. They say voters don't tem gives us phony tests. This is the deal: Congress won’t know enough to decide complex issues. Mr. Heath says, “Our long term declare war and won’t officially pro- On the other hand, we’re supposed to be goal is to raise that bar and the next test the lack of a declaration of war. clairvoyant when it comes to deciding level would be to have a full-blown They will vote to fund the war. And which blow-dried politician is more hon- algebra test.” they will wave the flag and brag if it est than the other blow-dried politician. That’s for the future, of course. For goes well, complain if it does not. Voters aren’t perfect, but if you had now, the Maryland Department of Congress has huge power and al- to be perfect to participate in govern- Education will be administering their most zero responsibility. A career ment, every legislature in the country zero-beef algebra exam. The one politician’s dream. would be padlocked. without any algebra.

November 2002 Issue No Uncertain TERMS • U.S. Term Limits Foundation 7 10 G St., NE • Washington, DC 20002 • http://www.ustermlimits.org INTEGRITY COUNTS Former Self-Limiters All Win Gubernatorial Primaries

Since February we profiled six former congressmen who compete in a tight race and possibly face a runoff, al- have all honored their pledges to limit their time in office. though he received an overwhelming 74 percent of the All six are running for the office of governor in their respec- vote. And both Matt Salmon and Mark Sanford received tive states. solid majorities, with 56 percent and 60 percent re- John Baldacci (D-ME), Van Hilleary (R-TN), Steve spectively. Largent (R-OK), Bob Riley (R-AL), Matt Salmon (R-AZ), For more information on their campaigns, visit the fol- and Mark Sanford (R-SC), were all victorious in their states’ lowing web sites: primary elections. www.baldacciforgovernor.com John Baldacci had no serious opponent and walked www.vanhilleary.com away with the nomination, receiving 94 percent of the www.largentforgovernor.com vote. Van Hilleary received a solid 64 percent. Steve www.bobrileyforgovernor.com Largent had no serious challenger and received 87 per- www.salmonforgovernor.com cent. Pre-primary polling predicted that Bob Riley would www.sanfordforgovernor.com

“Power Problems,” cont. from page 1 tures and citizens. able, their accountability to voters ment,” contribution limits imposed on Cato quotes George F. Will’s sug- wanes and the voices of Americans are challengers reduce the likelihood that gestion that “term limits are needed stifled. The will of the voting public incumbents can be defeated. This ad- as an auxiliary precaution against the can’t be truly expressed in a govern- vantage of incumbency deters qualified perennial lust for power,” and goes ment that artificially consists of the challengers from declaring candidacy on to observe that “Overall, a Con- same faces year after year. Cato’s in the first place. In this way careerism gress composed of average citizens study shows that as term limits produce is born. would be a Congress that looked an “increased turnover of representa- The study points out, “Term limits more like America and less like a tives and senators” they would also pro- constitute an attempt to overcome the political class of arrogant and ambi- duce “better choices for voters.” As the problem of the costs of the incumbent tious politicians intent of self-aggran- reign of the perpetual incumbent dis- advantage.” As politicians become dizement.” sipates, qualified challengers are more their own class with their own set of The problems with the dynamics of willing to run for office, while voters interests, term limits is an effective way present-day Congress are obvious. As gain better representation. That

to eliminate the rift between legisla- incumbents become nearly unbeat- sounds like healthy democracy.

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8 No Uncertain TERMS • U.S. Term Limits Foundation November 2002 Issue 10 G St., NE • Washington, DC 20002 • http://www.ustermlimits.org