Term Limits

I was stunned by the contradictions between two recent editorials published by your newspaper. In the first ("Term limits are back," Sept. 2), you bemoaned new calls for legislative term limits in Maryland. You stated that term limits would suck the experience out of the legislature and transfer more power to the governor, staff, lobbyists and political parties. You called it a "formula for machine politics. " You then declared that frustrated voters could overcome the lock entrenched politicians have on their offices by simply voting them out. In a subsequent editorial about redrawing political districts ("Drawing a line," Sept.

I could hardly believe my ears when President Barack Obama chastised lawmakers for focusing on the next election instead of the nation's business ("Military bases in Md. brace for U.S. budget cuts," Feb. 27). President Obama started his run for a second term right after the results of the first election were in. The last four years seemed to be one long campaign, but now with the term limits in effect this is wrong. Mr. Obama wants to keep "early education funding," which is just another way of saying free day care for the poor.

Once again, the Sun is advocating public financing of Maryland political campaigns. ("Limited thinking," Jan. 18). Forget it! The taxpayer is not going to vote an increase in the already excessive amount of money taken from his hard earned paycheck to finance redundant TV ads for a government that is dysfunctional. The same editorial is against term limits for Baltimore County Council members because elected officials "will be less experienced. " What are they experienced at - corruption and rubber-stamping anything Governor Tax wants?

If ever there were a compelling justification for term limits, the ongoing partisan stalemate in the current Congress is it. This privileged class would have us believe that only professional politicians with vast tenure can enact legislation that deals responsibly with complex national problems. Actually, most of the heavy lifting in the legislature is done by congressional staffers and special-interest group lobbyists. The guys (and gals) in Congress have only one driving interest - maintaining their own incumbency.

Congress sits in intractable inaction. Every perceived personal or political affront is etched into the memories of our representatives, spurring partisan retribution when future opportunities arise. The will of the people is sacrificed for the preservation of the party and the tenure of the person. Only by wresting control from career politicians can we infuse fresh attitudes, fresh ideas and much needed solutions into our government. We must impose term limits for members of the House and Senate.

Senate President-for-Life Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker-for-lifeMichael E. Buschare the poster boys for term limits. There should be a referendum on November's ballot to this effect: Twelve years and you're out. It's the most efficient and effective way to do away with the Papa Docs. Jean Bernstein, Baltimore

John Delaney, a Democratic candidate in Maryland's 6th District, is calling for 12-year term limits for members of Congress, an extended “cooling off” period before lawmakers can become lobbyists and a plan to allow some illegal immigrants to stay in the country, his campaign said Tuesday. The proposals were included in a broader platform document posted on the Potomac financier's campaign website. Though many of the ideas are short on specifics, the document represents a shift in focus toward issues after weeks in which the two most active candidates in the Democratic primary have lobbed attacks at one another.

Sen. Barbara Mikulskiwas recently honored as the longest-serving woman in Congress. I do not find this cause for celebration. Congress was not meant to be a life-long job. Career politicians like Ms. Mikulski, on both sides of the aisle, are a large part of the problem in Washington. Term limits need to be imposed. Patricia Turlington, Cockeysville

In response to the article in the Sunpapers on March 30 concerning the call for congressional term limits ("Idea of term limits for Congress gets new wave of support), such a change in the Constitution seems highly unlikely. It was easy for Congress to vote for term limits for the president, since they were not affected. But it is virtually a certainty that today's self-serving politicians would ever seriously consider passing any sort of term limits that would effectively shorten their own careers.

Paul West's article on term limits ("Idea of term limits for Congress gets new wave of support," March 30) was objective and non-partisan, as it should be. But such an approach ignores the central problem with the idea of term limits: They will not solve the problem of the corrosive influence of money on public policy. And that money comes primarily from lobbyists stalking the halls of power, which makes term limits nothing more than a gimmick that is easily circumvented. Politicians will gladly step down after their term is up so they can get hired as lobbyists and have as much or even more influence than they did while in office.

The ballot questions were released Monday for all of Maryland to preview before the election. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller managed to find a way to get his precious casino where no one else wants one. He knows most of Maryland wants casino style games and very few want the 6th casino. Question 7 lumps both the new casino and casino style games all in to one. Our "lawmakers" continue to maintain dishonesty and further cement our trust in them - or lack thereof - by leading us to believe this would be treated as two separate issues.

Senate President-for-Life Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker-for-lifeMichael E. Buschare the poster boys for term limits. There should be a referendum on November's ballot to this effect: Twelve years and you're out. It's the most efficient and effective way to do away with the Papa Docs. Jean Bernstein, Baltimore

The Howard County Council faces a busy voting session this week before the August recess, taking up the master plan for growth, several charter changes and whether to allow voters to consider term limits for newly elected council members. The master plan, PlanHoward 2030, is a guide to issues that include environmental protection, housing, transportation, and the redevelopment of U.S. 1 and U.S. 40. Years in the works by the council, Planning Board, Department of Planning and Zoning, consultants and citizens, the nearly 200-page proposal takes stock of changes since General Plan 2000, updates that document and generally maintains existing policies.

Tony Lambros letter concerning the Affordable Care Act ("Justices join assault on U.S. Constitution," July 4) is so full of distortions that it is nearly impossible to point out all of them. Despite charges in the letter to the contrary, recess appointments by President Barack Obama were legally made while Congress was, in fact, in recess, contrary to the assertion in the letter. Executive orders do not and never required Congressional oversight. The executive order on contraception never involved visiting abortion clinics.

County Councilman Calvin Ball has come up with an intriguing idea: Change the number of four-year terms that council members are allowed to serve from three to four - or, in other words, limit council members to 16 years on the council rather than 12. Ball's proposal must first be approved by the five-member council, and, if that happens, by the voters in November. Frankly, we don't quite understand Ball's reasoning for raising the limit, which was instituted by the voters in 1992.

Clearly, the state of Maryland is controlled by three people, the governor, the Senate president and the House of Delegates speaker ("Leaders float the idea of two special sessions," April 25). While the governor is limited to two 4-year terms, the other two can apparently serve forever. I get a vote as to who is elected governor, but have no voice regarding who should run the Senate or the House. It is long overdue that we put term limits on these two positions. If eight years is good for the governorship, let's impose the same time on these two positions.

A call for legislative term limits has once again entered the political fray in Maryland. Among the more vocal proponents are state Sen. Andrew Harris, a Republican candidate for the First District congressional seat, and any number of General Assembly candidates. Although talk of term limits seemed to peak in the 1990s, its revival is hardly surprising considering the difficult economic times and the rise of populist candidates seeking to tap into voter frustration. Term limits have a certain appeal — if one's chief desire is to throw the rascals out. The problem is that term limits tend not to accomplish what its supporters are seeking.

Just stop proposing public financing of political campaigns ("Appearance of conflict," Nov. 29). It's not going to happen in this lifetime. People will not vote to have more of their paychecks taken and wasted to purchase obnoxious, overused TV ads for dysfunctional candidates. Promote a referendum on term limits. That will lessen the conflicts. Dan Griffin, Perry Hall

Newspapers and TV should analyze the reforms needed to modernize the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. Here are five reforms they should look at: A constitutional amendment requiring term limits for members of Congress; a constitutional amendment limiting presidents to a single six-year term; and a rule requiring members of Congress, presidents, vice presidents, cabinet secretaries, federal judges and top policymakers to...