Holly Robichaud: Hi, this is Holly Robichaud with Breaking News On Term Limits. We’ve got a lot of updates on what’s happening in DC this week and throughout the States. We are working every day to make Term Limits happen. We have some great news coming out of DC this week. As I’d mentioned in previous episodes, representative Raplh Norman has filed House Joint Resolution 11. Well, this week we have five new co-sponsors. I’m proud to announce that representative Mike Garcia, Scott Franklin, David Schweikert, Byron Donalds, and Rick Allen have all joined our efforts. This brings our total up to 70 co-sponsors. That’s right, 70. We have the momentum building. Up next, we’ll be talking with Micah Beckwith. Micah is a rockstar in Indiana politics. He is currently the pastor at Life Church, and he has over 17 years of experience in service in Central Indiana, having pastored at multiple churches. He’s also a small business owner with several companies, including a promotional production company in an entertainment group. In 2020, Micah ran for Congress.
Holly Robichaud: He’s now currently serving as the Director of the Indiana Family Institute Hoosier’s Leadership Series, as well as Executive Director for the Indiana Family Action, which is dedicated to promoting elected conservative leaders. We are proud to have him as a member in our state share for Indiana.
Holly Robichaud: Thank you, Micah, for joining us today. So glad to have you on Breaking News On Term Limits. And I just first wanted to start off with, so what motivates you in supporting term limits as much as you are?
Micah Beckwith: Well, I think term limits was… There was an example set for use by President George Washington early on. I think he understood that it’s hard to withstand the temptations of long-term power. There’s a famous quote by George Washington, he said, few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder. And he kinda set the standard. He said after two terms, there were no presidential term limits. The 22nd amendment hadn’t been amended to the Constitution yet. And he’s just stepped down out of his own willingness after two terms and he said, “Listen, it’s not right for me to stay any longer, I’m gonna go back to being a private citizen and pass the torch to someone else.” And so I think he set the standard, and who do we think we are if we think we can stay in longer than George Washington? He’s one of the greatest, probably highest characters of virtue that our nation has ever seen, and yet we have people like the Steny Hoyers or the Dick Durbins or the Nancy Pelosis or the Mitch McConnells, who have been in there for decades, decades. I don’t even know if I was born when some of them [chuckle] went into power, which is sad.
Micah Beckwith: So I think term limits, one, it keeps us safe from the corruption of the heart, so it’s kind of a wall and a guard rail. And then two, it also allows for new fresh ideas. And I think it just continues to spur on new people getting into office, bringing their fresh perspective and their ideas, which I think is a good thing. I think it’s healthy for our republic when we have those new ideas constantly coming into Washington.
Holly Robichaud: Well, you’ve been traveling Indiana pretty aggressively talking about term limits. What are people saying in Indiana about term limits?
Micah Beckwith: Well, it’s a really easy topic to talk about. It’s not divisive, it’s not a politically contentious conversation when I bring it up, most people like it. I would say even the farthest right and farthest left can come together on an issue like term limits, which is exciting to see that I’ll have some really big critics on the left who really don’t like my politics, and they’ll be very critical of me in almost every issue, but the moment we talk about term limits, you kinda see him soften. You say, “You know what, I can get behind something like that.” So I think it’s a very popular idea from both the right and the left, and this kinda spans the partisanship and it kinda blows that the ideas of left and right out of the water. I think most people say, “No, no, no, term limits is a good healthy thing that we should incorporate.”
Holly Robichaud: Well, I hear that down in Indiana, there’s gonna be quite the US senate race, and we’ve got Jim Banks, who is a sponsor of House Joint Resolution 11 by Ted Cruz. And he is making term limits a major portion of his race for the US Senate. Do you think that’s a winning strategy for him?
Micah Beckwith: I do. I think, again, polls have shown that over 80% of Americans want term limits. I think when you’re traveling, especially the Hoosier State, and you’re saying, “Hey, this is an issue that Republicans and Democrats can get behind,” I think it’s a political win for anyone to run on term limits and I think it’s also a principled win. I think anyone who supports term limits really does believe that… They’re at least saying that we need to continue to move people in and out, it’s a citizen legislature, you’re only supposed to serve for a season and then pass the torch to someone else. And I think that resonates with Hoosiers all over the state. So I think for Jim, he’s gonna have a winning message on the term limits issue pretty easily, it’s not a… Again, that’s kinda like that political grand slam, if you need to hit one out of the park with everyone you’re talking to, talk about term limits, and I think that’ll break down a lot of barriers and people will say, “You know what? I can listen to this guy. Seems like a rational guy, whether you’re on the right or the left.” So it’s a great starting point for a lot of politicians when they’re running for office to say, “Hey, term limits is where we need to go, I’ll support those,” and then they can dive into the other issues from there.
Holly Robichaud: That sounds great. What do you think the outlook is for passing term limits resolution in Indiana?
Micah Beckwith: Well, I think it’s good. And again, I think most of our state reps and state senators will at least say that they’re for it. And again, it’s pretty easy to say that you’re for an Indiana or just in the state level because it doesn’t term limit their office. This is a resolution that would only term the Washington offices, so the representatives, US representatives and US Senators. So it’s kind of whether they believe in it or not, most state reps and state senators will say, “Oh yeah, I’ll get behind term limits because it doesn’t really affect me at all, and it’s kind of a political win, so I’ll do it.” So I don’t know if they necessarily agree in principle with term limits, but it’s kind of a political easy touch down, if you will. And so I think there’s good traction. Now, the question that I have, and I always ask them is, every legislative session, we are a part-time legislature here in Indiana, so we meet every year from January to around mid-March or the beginning of April, depending on if it’s a short session or a long session. And we always get, “Well, it didn’t come up this year, we’ll get it on next year.” There’s kind of this, “We really like the idea… ”
Holly Robichaud: Kicking the can down the road.
Micah Beckwith: Kicking the can down the road.
Holly Robichaud: Yeah.
Micah Beckwith: So we just kinda have to hold their feet to the fire a little bit. If you’re in Indiana watching this, just call your rep or your senator, your state senator and say, “Hey, get behind this resolution to jump on with you as term limits.”
Holly Robichaud: Alright. Well, Micah, we can’t thank you enough for all the hard work you’re doing in Indiana and keep us posted.
Micah Beckwith: Okay, I will. Thanks for all you guys do too, it’s an honor to stand with you on this.
Holly Robichaud: Alright, thank you for joining Breaking News On Term Limits today.
Holly Robichaud: Did you know the idea of term limits has been around since the 1800s? Abraham Lincoln was an advocate for it. He actually self-limited himself to one term in the House of Representatives. Don’t forget, February 27th is National Term Limits Day. It’s a day that we commemorate the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951, which imposed term limits on the President of the United States. If it’s good enough for the president, then term limits is good enough for Congress. Congressional term limits can become a reality. We have the momentum, but we can’t do it without you. I urge you to go to termlimits.com to see how you can help in your state and nationally. Also visit termlimits.com/store to get your t-shirts to show your support on Term Limits Day, February 27th. And be sure to share this program with your friends. This is Holly Robichaud with Breaking News On Term Limits. See you next week.