Here’s an idea. I think we should have term limits for brain surgeons. They can operate for six years, and then they have to give it up and be lobbyists for medical supply companies.
Sound crazy? Not any crazier than term limits for state legislators. Yes, brain surgery is a delicate skill of enormous complexity. But so is running a modern state, and making laws for ten million very diverse people. In one way, brain surgery may even be easier; you are only dealing with one person at a time.
The art of governing not only involves understanding many complex issues, but something even harder: The art of getting large numbers of human beings to pull in the same direction, sometimes even when that may not be in their short-term interest.
Learning how to do that takes years. There are 148 people in the Michigan legislature. It is certainly essential to have some new people with fresh ideas. But you also need people in government who have been there a while, and have gotten us out of jams before.
You need some people for whom government at this level is a career. People who may have passionate beliefs -- but who understand that those who disagree may be partly right too.
Most of all, you need people who know that what matters at the end of the day is all of us. Term limits have largely destroyed that.
Consider this. State Senator Mike Bishop is in his early 40s. He has a wife and two kids, and has been in the state senate four years. In less than four years from now, he has to give up his job and can never run for it again. He has to have an eye out for his next job.
He may not be able to afford to do statesman-like things even if necessary. Bishop also has to satisfy those in his caucus. And Republicans in the legislature are considerably more conservative than most Michiganders, as Democrats are more liberal.
Why is this? Because they were all nominated by primary voters in a process that gives more weight to each extreme. Most of them were also elected from overwhelmingly one party districts.
That means that most lawmakers don’t have to worry about appealing to moderate voters at all.
Eighty-five percent of them need only worry about appeasing the most extreme voters in their own party.
Add to that the effects of inexperience and ideological blinders. And that nobody can stay long enough to be held responsible for bad decisions made on their watch.
And all that adds up to what is happening now.
By the way -- we forgot something when we enacted term limits. We had term limits to begin with -- the fitting and proper kind.
We’ve had them since the country was founded. We’ve used them to get rid of many a politician, from President to precinct delegate. There is a special name for them, too.
They are called elections.
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