Poll after poll is showing that Americans want term limits on Congress. Did you see the recent National Review article by John Fund? More to come on that. In Nevada, Mercedes Krause has become our co-chair for term limits in that state. She’s the first native American to run for Congress in Nevada. Hello, I’m Holly Robichaud, and this is Breaking News on Term Limits.
We’re pleased with the progress being made in Washington. Momentum continues to build for House Joint Resolution 11 filed by representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina. We’re now up to 97 co-sponsors and counting. We’re sure to hit 100 any day now. As I mentioned at the top of the show, Mercedes Krause has joined us at US Term Limits as our Nevada State co-chair. Mercedes was born in Las Vegas. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nevada. She earned a Master’s degree in Education Leadership from Coronado University in 2016. She’s a public school teacher and a mother of three. Mercedes’ been affiliated with the following organizations; Nevada Minority Affairs Commission, Nevada Native American Caucus, the ACLU of Nevada, Nevada Muslims Caucus, Nevada State Education Association. She was a democratic candidate for Nevada’s congressional district number two in 2022, and when she made history as becoming the first native American to run for Congress in Nevada. We’re proud to have her on board.
In Maine, I’m happy to report that the US Term Limits of Resolution is alive. We asked Term Limits supporters to contact Maine legislators urging them to reconsider tabling term limits, and they did it. Thank you to everyone who took the time to call these legislators to get them to do the right thing. We’re extremely happy that this resolution has now been referred to the Veterans’ Affair Committee for a hearing. Let’s go Term Limits.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill limiting the terms of school board members to eight years. Last year at the legislature, Governor DeSantis capped the limit at 12 years, and now they’re reducing it to eight years. Both the State House and the Senate passed it overwhelmingly. US Term Limits worked incredibly hard to pass this measure. I’d like to thank our Executive Director, Nick, for all his hard work on getting this passed for us.
Good morning Mayor Jacobs. We’re so glad that you could join us today and talk about term limits, and you’ve been a big supporter. And a lot of people are asking us, why do you, Mayor, support congressional term limits?
Well, because Congress is out of control, and I think this is one way to rein them back in. You look at the presidency, they have term limits. Here in the State of Tennessee, the governor’s term limited, I’m term limited as Knox County Mayor. And it just makes sense, and I don’t think the founders of this country ever envisioned that we would have career politicians who would go to Congress and stay there for decades. And to me, you go, you get the job done, you do what you wanna do, and then you go home. And that’s one thing that term limits would help accomplish. And also I think that we need new ideas and new blood all the time. And right now, what we have is we have the same old people there, it’s the same old ideas, the same old way of doing things, and unfortunately we’re suffering as a country. So I really think that implementing term limits on Congress, imposing term limits on Congress would help our country quiet a bit in a lot of different ways.
So why did you get involved?
Well, for me, it’s because I think that I have a public voice, and someone like me, even the local official that is saying, “Hey, we need this at the national level, because obviously what happens in Washington affects us here in Knox County as well.” And some of the things that come out, the irresponsible spending, and some of the other programs that are currently happening, they have a huge impact on us as well. And again, I think the one way that we can help push back against all that is by making sure that people go there, and then I think a lot of people go to congress and they have good intentions, and then they get there and, “Hey, this is a pretty good deal,” and they end up staying for the rest of their lives. That’s not what public service is about. Public service is, going in, doing what you think needs to get done, accomplishing your goals. And the urgency and having a little pressure is actually good for you. That’s what I find in my role is I know that I only have so many more years that I can do this job, so there are certain things that I wanna get done and I’m gonna push to get those done. Instead of thinking, “Oh, I’m gonna stay here forever, and this is just a good job.” I think that urgency adds another dimension of actually getting some good things done.
Alright, great. And how do you think people in Knox County feel about term limits?
They overwhelmingly support them, just like they do across the country. And this is one of the few issues as divided as our country is right now, where people all across the political spectrum agree that we need term limits. Whether you’re conservative or liberal, Republican, Democrat, green party, libertarian, everyone thinks that we need term limits. That’s at least one thing that we can agree on. And wouldn’t it great if we could all agree on this one thing and work towards it, and then maybe we’d find that, hey, there’s some other stuff that we can actually work on together as well.
That’ll be great. And I know with your help, we’re gonna move forward on term limits and finally get a pass. So I wanna thank you, Mayor, for putting it out there that you support term limits. Not too many politicians have the courage to get out there and support us, so we thank you very much.
Well, Holly, again, this is a very popular issue, so I would tell all my fellow elected officials that this is actually, strategically is a good move for you. Not only is it the right thing, but politically, it’s beneficial as well.
Alright. Well, thank you, Mayor, for joining us this morning.
Thank you so much, Holly.
As I mentioned at the top of the show, John Fund has recently done a great article in National Review regarding congressional term limits. It’s titled, “Politicians Shrink from Term Limits Like Dracula before a Cross.” Fund used the example of Maryland US Senator Ben Cardin on the reason why we need congressional term limits. Cardin just announced he will leave office next year at the age of 81. He began his political career in the Maryland State Legislature back in 1966, a full 56-years-ago and before the first moon landing. Both his father and uncle served in the Maryland State Legislature. In fact, his uncle retired in 1966 to make room for Ben Cardin, who replaced him in 1967. Fund wrote that term limits cannot be accomplished by statute. The Supreme Court has said it must come from a constitutional amendment which requires two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress. But asking professional politicians in Congress to vote for term limits is like asking chickens to deliver themselves to Colonel Sanders, not gonna happen. It’s an issue that cuts naturally against their self-interest. The answer to getting term limits can be summed up in one word, pressure.
There is ample historical precedence that pressure, when applied, can get a popular idea passed despite entrenched opposition. State legislatures must pass term limit convention resolutions to pressure Congress to take action. Don’t you agree?
Oh boy, it’s time for the Corrupt Politician of the Week. This week, Pennsylvania Representative Mike Kelly makes our list. He was first elected to Congress in 2010, and as you can imagine, he’s no friend to congressional term limits. On October 22, 2021, it was reported that a congressional ethics watchdog group had recommended subpoenaing Kelly for an ethics violation after it was revealed that his wife purchased stock in an Ohio-based steel company in April 2020, after Kelly had received confidential information about the company.
Being in Congress should not be about enriching oneself. It should be about serving the people. It’s time to have term limits. Each week we’re making more progress on making term limits a reality. I’m so pleased that Mercedes Krause has joined us and that we got the great article in the National Review this week. Congressional term limits can become a reality, but we still need your help. Will you help us by going to termlimits.org and getting involved today? And be sure to share this program with your friends and tune in every week. I’m Holly Robichaud and this is Breaking News on Term Limits. We’ll see you next week.