Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Why I Vote NO on Congressional Term Limits
As a citizen of the United States of America, I believe in
the wisdom of our founders. I find
their approach to the formation of our nation, built first upon a reasoned
declaration of independence, followed by a hard fought Constitution outlining
the design and powers of a new form of interdependent government. It is designed to function with a range
of human experience and the input of the citizenry. It's all really a simple, yet brilliant
construction. It even came with a
mechanism to allow for its own amending as times change.
One of the most significant in history is the 22nd amendment
that established the term limit of 2 terms for any individual in the role of
President leading the Executive branch of the government. Recall if you will that this was in
part a reaction to the powers accrued by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the
course of his 5 terms through the middle of the 20th century. And yet the stability that his
administration brought to a nation besieged by first an economic crisis of
unprecedented proportions and then an escalated international conflict that
rose to the level of a second world war was no doubt the very thing--his
stabilizing presence--that was most crucial to our victory on both fronts.
I would even argue that today with life expectancies being
what they have become, this amendment should be amended up to 3 terms. But that might also be a little Obama
nostalgia syndrome already kicking in....
Today, some people are now arguing for terms limits for
members of Congress. Some fifteen
states have even enacted laws doing this very thing for members of their state
legislatures.
And I am here to tell you that I am NOT a fan of this sort
of thing. There is a term limit
already built into the process.
It's called an election.
The function of a government's legislative process is a
complicated one. It benefits from
a range of players and those with institutional memory are crucial to the
process. In states with limits,
most lawmakers cannot serve more than 8 years. When the power no longer resides in the elected official, it
goes to someone else. It goes to
people with experience and know how to get the job done and those people are
the lobbyists and paid staffers.
Suddenly the chief of staff with the most experience becomes a very
pricy commodity and she or he--an UNELECTED worker bee--has the REAL
POWER. Their agendas never come to
light, never get scrutinized by the public and are not subject to the recall of
the vote. Term limits are a lousy
idea.
And here's another reason, term limits are unnecessary. Lets look at the Senate. There are 100 Senators who serve for 6
years terms each. The average
tenure in the current senate is 22 years; however only 20% have served that
long or longer. 45% are currently
serving in the first term! Nearly
half of the Senate are freshmen--is it any wonder that they're so
dysfunctional?
The twelve longest serving Senators by seniority are:
1) Patrick Leahy of Vermont (Democrat) 42 years of wisdom
2) Orin Hatch of Utah (Republican) 40 years
3) Thad Cochran of Mississippi (Republican) 38 years
4) Charles Grassley of Iowa (Republican) 36 years
5) Mitch McConnell of Kentucky (Republican) 34 years
The class of 1986 with 30 years in each:
6) John McCain of Arizona (Republican)
7) Barbara Mikulski of Maryland (Democrat)
8) Harry Reid of Nevada (Democrat)
9) Richard Shelby of Alabama (Republican)
The class of 1992 with 24 years each
10) Barbara Boxer of California (Democrat)
11) Diane Feinstein of California (Democrat)
12) Patty Murray of Washington (Democrat)
Eight of these 12 are up for re-election this November and 3
of them have chosen to retire (thus ending their terms by another viable
means).
When you look at who the most outrageously behaved and
partisan members of the Senate are--not-with-standing the majority's current
leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky listed above--you will discover just how
inexperienced they are. Granted,
sometimes I like that, but sometimes it's downright embarrassing and stupid.
My list on this score would include:
Tom Cotton of Arkansas (Republican) with just 2 years of
experience
Ted Cruz of Texas (Republican) with 4 years into his first
term
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (Democrat) with just 4
years into her tenure
Marco Rubio of Florida (Republican) just completing his
first 6 year term
And in the Senate, seniority represents power in terms of
committee assignments. These
states have the least.
With a combined total of 6 years of experience between BOTH
Senators:
Massachusetts
Nebraska
West Virginia
With 8 years of experience total:
Arkansas
Colorado
And with just 10 years of combined experience:
Connecticut
Hawaii
Indiana
North Dakota
Wisconsin
The states with the deepest benches are
1) Vermont with 52 years total
2) Alabama with 50 years total
3) California with 48 years total
4) Mississippi with 47 years total
5) Utah with 46 years total
6 & 7) Maryland & Washington with 40 years total
each
8 & 9) Iowa & Kentucky with 38 years total each
10 & 11) Arizona and Nevada with 34 years total each
And we can already guarantee that California, Maryland and
Nevada will be knocked out of the upper tiers after this November's election,
and by the will of the people Vermont, Utah, Washington, Iowa, Kentucky and
Arizona are all up for that possibility, too. I've even contributed some scratch to support such a change
in Arizona and Iowa! The
BBQ'd Pork and Veggie Rice
Tonight it was time for something a little lighter. I BBQ'd cuts
of Country Cut Pork in my go to Hunt's Tangy Barbecue Sauce. Cooked up a cup of
Kasmati rice and tossed it hot with quartered grape tomatoes, diced green bell
pepper, diced purple onion and chopped fresh parsley. And I have lunch for
tomorrow and Friday! Woo woo!
Dinner: Creamy Veggie Sourdough Soup Bowl with Salad
The simplest meals can be presented so you feel like a guest
at your own table--and you know you deserve it! I bought a little sourdough
loaf at Panera on the way home and then made a creamy vegetable soup and salad
for dinner last night.
For the soup I used a little chicken stock and tossed in
some cubed potato, carrot, celery, dices sweet red pepper and some cut green
beans. Cooked them until the taters were tender and added two cans of condensed
cream of broccoli and mushroom soup with a little more stock to get the right
consistency. Pure tummy satisfaction and night of pleasant dreams to boot!
Monday, August 29, 2016
Vulnerable Seats in the House of Representatives 2016: part 5 the New England States
Looking at the 5th region with vulnerable candidates takes
us to New England and a region with fertile ground for Democratic
takeovers. It's also a pair of
races full of deja vu.
A) New Hampshire's 1st district is a ping pong contest as
lively and as likely to go back the Democratic Candidate as Illinois' 10th
District Seat. Republican Frank
Gunta wins this seat in mind-term and Republican wave years, and Democrat Carol
Ann Porter takes it back in Presidential and Democratic wave years. It's Porter's turn and with New
Hampshire trending for the Democrats at all levels--it's going to be a year
with a Congressional delegation that is 100% Democratic AND 100% female. It will be the second congress in the
history of this nation where New Hampshire was represented by all women, and
the first where all the women are Democrats.
B) Maine's 2nd seat is a rematch election from the previous
round with first term incumbent Republican Representative Bruce Poliquin will
face off against Democrat Emily Ann Cain.
Poliquin is a moderate Republican who still votes in the majority of the
time with conservative, obstructionist colleagues in the Republican Party. Cain is the former highest-ranking
member of the Maine state legislature who offers a more progressive agenda to
Maine voters. The 2nd seat's
demographics place Poliquin out of sync in a seat where Democrats outnumber
Republicans. I give this one to
Cain.
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Dinner: Sweet Italian Sausage Meatballs with Tomato-Mushroom Sauce on Linguini
Sweat Italian Sausage 12 oz
Tbsp diced Green Pepper
Tbsp diced Red Pepper
1/4 cup diced scallions
1/4 breadcrumbs
Mixed and browned in a little olive oil.
Sauce
16 oz Baby Portobello Mushrooms washed, stemmed and cut in half
1 small jar Prego Spaghetti sauce
1 can diced Tomatoes with Zesty Peppers.
Cook the mushroom halves in a little water (1/4 cup) and a drizzle of olive oil
Add in the sauce and Tomatoes and continue to cook until heated through.
The bread is a local Rustic Rosemary loaf with melted mozzarella cheese to sop all the sauce that remains.
Romeo's Adventure @ Fernbank Hiking Trail, National Arboretum
Vulnerable Seats in the House of Representatives 2016: part 4 the Great Lakes States
In the states that I will label the Great Lakes there are 6
seats scene as vulnerable or open to party hopping. Three are in Michigan, and 1 each from Wisconsin, Illinois
and Indiana. Altogether these four
states send 49 Representative to Congress. Of the 6 vulnerable seats half receive this status by virtue
of the retirement of the Republican incumbent. Let's look at them individually.
A) Indiana's 9th.
This has got to be one of the saddest political turn arounds on this
election cycle. The former
incumbent is Todd Young, who after 3 terms in the House as a Conservative
darling saw his opportunity to advance to the Senate with the retirement of
fellow Republican Dan Coates. His
path was clear...until the Democrats persuaded Indiana's favorite son, Evan
Bayh to enter the race. Bayh is
polling 11% over Young and may be the ultimate grand slam winner of 2016 by
being the man who gets credit for returning the Senate into Democratic
hands--and Young will be free to pursue a lucrative lobbying career. In the mean time, his former seat
is wide open and being contested by Republican Trey Hollingsworth and Democrat
Shelli Yoder. Hollingsworth is a
classic carpetbagger--which is his only negative. He relocated from Tennessee to run in this race with the
full financial blessing of the Republican Party writ large. His actual name is Joseph Albert
"Trey" Hollingsworth III!
If elected, he would also be the richest member of the House. On this pedigree alone the Democratic Party
believes that it's candidate, Shelli Yoder stands a chance to claim this seat
for the Democrats. Yoder is a
former Miss Indiana and member of the University of Indiana faculty as a
visiting lecturer. She was at least
born in Indiana. Neither one of these
candidates has stellar credentials, Yoder espouses traditional progressive
stances and Hollingsworth is for tax cuts and pro-business economic views. In the end, I give this one to
Hollingsworth, but would love to be surprised!
B) Illinios' 10 rests on the north side of Chicago and is
held by Republican Representative Robert Dold. This district is a perennial party jumper and always
attracts attention and lots of campaign bucks. Dold first won the seat in 2010, then Democrat Brad
Schneider won it in 2012. In 2014,
Dold re-won the seat, and now in 2016, he again faces Brad Schneider for the
retention of the seat! It's a
freaking political teeter-tauter.
I predict that this year it will go back to Schneider in an election that
will favor Democratic candidates across Illinois.
C) Wisconsin's 8th is an open seat. Republican Representative Reid Ribble
is retiring--how's that for alliteration?
Running from his own party to replace him is former Marine Captain
Michael Gallagher. Gallagher left
the Marines in 2013 after seven years of active duty. He has worked as a foreign policy advisor to Senator Bob
Corker of Tennessee. He claims the
mantle of conservative with a strong Christian faith and love of the
Packers. He believes in
intervention, has called building a wall between the United States and Canada
"a legitimate issue for us to look at." He opposes a woman's right to choose in reproductive
rights. He is a "confirmed bachelor"
and opposes equal rights for LGBTQ citizens. On the Democratic side, Tom Nelson who currently holds the
post of Outagamie County Executive is the progressive candidate. He has maintained a balanced budget as
county executive for 5 years, supports infrastructure up-grades and financial
security for senior citizens. Both
men have studied at Princeton University.
Wisconsin is trending Democratic in this cycle, it's rebounding from the
austerity brought to the state by its Governor Scott Walker, and I'm feeling
like the wave will push Nelson to the House.
Three seats fall into competitive in Michigan.
D) Michigan's 7th is held by Tim Walberg, a 5 term incumbent
in a district marginally rated as leaning Republican. He won his first election by a margin of 4%, and then 2% in
the following election. After the
2010 census, his seat was redrawn to be much safer and he's won his last two
contests with margins of 11% and 12%.
His Democratic opponent is Saline's former mayor and state
Representative, Gretchen Driskell.
Driskell is younger and dynamic, and Walberg is rightfully an
establishment candidate from an obstructionist party in congress. In my district this would be a
no-brainer, but in Michigan's 7th it may end up being close, but I just am not
ready to say she can triumph over Walberg with his entrenched operation and war
chest. I give it to Walberg.
E) Michigan's 10th district is an open district for the
first time in 14 years with the retirement of popular Republican Representative
Candice Miller. Her Republican
heir apparent is Paul Mitchell who is come back for a second bite at this apple
having run and lost a campaign for the 4th district seat in 2014. He steers clear of the social third
rail issues and focuses his campaign on a strong defense, a balanced budget and
support for agriculture. His
opponent is Frank Accavitti Jr.
Accavitti ran for state Senate in 2010 and lost. His message is long on generalities and
short on specifics. It really
matters little; I honestly can't see this one leaving the Republican column.
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historical Shrine
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Parks by visiting Fort McHenry for the first time.
The visitor center is a modern structure with a small lecture hall, a mini theater space that is part of a larger room partitioned with a handful of exhibits and artifacts, and a gift shop.
There is an area that was formerly part of a much larger series of defensive berms that recreates a portion of those. There were several costumed re-enactors there and at one point they loaded and fired a cannon. WOW! Loud!
The interior space is completely restored with a series of 4 two-storied buildings use for barracks, officer's quarters, meeting rooms, an infirmary and a kitchen. Where you enter, there is also a brigg with 3 cells.
An outer ring of cannons surrounds the southern exposure of the fort.
There is an area directly across from the main entrance that is called the Reverie and house additional munitions.
Upon leaving I happened upon a lecture by one of three park rangers on the history of the flag that formed the basis of the poem that is our national anthem. All things considered, this was the right National Park to visit on the 100th anniversary of our incredible National Park system.
There's a healthy little walk from there to the Fort complex with many placards to read along the way.
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