From: zempelkd@cnsvax.uwec.edu (Kurt Zempel - Computing and Networking Services)
Newsgroups: misc.legal
Subject: re: Term Limits are Constutional, Study Shows
Date: 5 Oct 92 10:39:10 -0600
Organization: University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

In article 9178 of misc.legal, Ipser@solomon.techn... writes:
>   Term Limits are Constitutional, Study Shows
> 
>   Washington --  The Constitution allows states to limit the terms of their
>   members of Congress, despite the attempts of opponents of term limitation
>   to claim otherwise, argue attorneys Neil Gorsuch and Michael Guzman in a
>   new study from the Cato Institute.
> 
>     According to Gorsuch and Guzman, the Framers' debate during the 
>   ratification of the Constitution proves that they considered rotation in
>   office necessary to prevent a stagnant and unresponsive legislature. The
>   only reason rotation was not incorporated into the Constitution was that
>   the customs of that time dictated that members of Congress should
>   represent their fellow citizens for a short time and then return to 
>   private life.

This seems to me to be an example of how the constitution adapts to "the
customs of that time," and that it should not always be interpreted with the
values and customs of the framers. Michael Fine, Political Scientist at UW -
Eau Claire, says the constitution is more than the document written two
centuries ago; that it is also a set of values with which we interpret and
apply the constitution, and that these values change with society to allow the
constitution a valid application in today's world. What was fashionable or
customary at the time it was drawn up is not necessarily a good by the
standards of those living under the constitution today.

>     In addition, electoral turnover was much larger then. In the first
>   House election after Washington was elected president, 40 percent of the
>   incumbents were defeated. By 1989, however, fewer than 8 percent of
>   members of Congress were newcomers.

Limiting the term of Congress members would remove from our government a group
of experienced, knowledgeable politicians who are NOT, by default, apathetic,
but rather have developed their ability to achieve the goals of their
constituents through their personal experience.

>      Article I, section 4 of the Constitution explicitely allows the states
>   to determine the time, place, and manner of congressional elections, and
>   Gorsuch and Guzman demonstrate through a detailed analysis of the 
>   existing case law that term limits fall under the "manner" provision and
>   are thus constitutional.

By expanding the term "manner" to mean "allowing the states to exclude
incumbents," the same interpretation could be used to allow the states to
exclude _anyone_ from running for office. The interpretation of "manner" used
above would allow the states to determine who may and who may not run for
office. This is a dangerous slippery slope, and most likely not the intent of
the framers.

>     "Will the Gentlemen Please Yield? A Defense of the Constitutionality of
>   State-Imposed Term Limitations" by Neil Gorsuch and Michael Guzman is no.
>   178 in the Policy Analysis series published by the Cato Institute, an
>   independent public policy research organization in Washington, DC.
> 
> 
> 
> Available from:
>   Cato Institute
>   224 Second Street SE
>   Washington, DC  20003

What if the incumbent is "the best person for the job?" What right do we have
to make a law that takes away the right of the voter to decide? Because it is
truly up to them to decide who gets the office, and because anyone should have
the right to run, state-imposed term limitations should fail.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- | 
Kurt D. Zempel -=- Dept. of Political Science and     |
                   Computing and  Networking Services | 'And one sees that,
                   University of Wisconsin Eau Claire |  like most miracles,
                                                      |  this one can be
               -=- Flashpoint Resources, Ltd.         |  explained in material
                   Sheboygan, WI                      |  terms, which, in fact,
                                                      |  do not explain it at 
               zempelkd@cnsvax.uwec.edu               |  all.' 
               tao!flashpoint!scooter@uunet.uu.net    |    -=- Sir Kenneth 
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- |            Clark

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