Using California's initiative process, citizens placed term limits on the ballot. Former Speaker Willie Brown raised 5 million dollars from big lobbyists and special interests to run TV ads against the measure, but the voters weren't fooled. They passed term limits, sending career politicians of both parties packing. People from all walks of life are coming to serve in the Legislature, while years ago most who ran were career politicians and staffers. Women and minorities have gained positions of influence previously denied them.
Budgets pass on time and the vicious partisan infighting is gone.
Sure, politicians, lobbyists and special interests don't like it, because they've lost power. But the people support term limits even more now than a decade ago. In other words, term limits have given the people of California a legislature that not only looks more like them, it thinks more like them, too. This is Common Sense . I'm Paul Jacob.