Rep. Barney Frank announces retirement

[garbon]

Yeah, I'm wholly with Raz on this one.  I'm kinda surprised to read these kinds of comments here, usually they're reserved for the Yahoo!'s "have your say and show how much of an idiot you are" section.

I mean the staffers are what help our congress folk understand much of it anyway. It isn't as if 15+ years of experience are really getting put to good use.

[Fate]

Yeah, I'm wholly with Raz on this one.  I'm kinda surprised to read these kinds of comments here, usually they're reserved for the Yahoo!'s "have your say and show how much of an idiot you are" section.

FWIW, I'm opposed to term limits, too.

President Bill Clinton, for life. 

[garbon]

Yeah, I'm wholly with Raz on this one.  I'm kinda surprised to read these kinds of comments here, usually they're reserved for the Yahoo!'s "have your say and show how much of an idiot you are" section.

FWIW, I'm opposed to term limits, too.

President Bill Clinton, for life. 

So Hil can do the job uncredited?

[fhdz]

Yeah, I'm wholly with Raz on this one.  I'm kinda surprised to read these kinds of comments here, usually they're reserved for the Yahoo!'s "have your say and show how much of an idiot you are" section.

[fhdz]

Populism is seductive.  "We the people know better then those prancing elites up in Washington."  It's a lot fucking harder then it looks.  Most people are willing to find faults in others they wouldn't find in themselves.  That's why most people believe they are above average in intellect.

You are hilarious.

[fhdz]

What would be much better though are prohibitions of taking lobbying positions or jobs in the industries that you had oversight over. And extend those rules to staff.

Hmm - a bit like a non-compete clause. Interesting.

[Barrister]

He's going to Africa to be a missionary. 

I don't think that's true, is it?

Surely noone on Languish could maintain a religious belief.

I do.  Tim's belief in dialectical materialism is nearly religious, as is BB's obsession with Steve Jobs' pastel colored plastic.

Pastel coloured plastic is so 2001.

It's all about brushed aluminium. :worship:

[Ideologue]

What would be much better though are prohibitions of taking lobbying positions or jobs in the industries that you had oversight over. And extend those rules to staff.

Hmm - a bit like a non-compete clause. Interesting.

Except non-compete clauses are monstrous impositions upon people with constrained bargaining power by those with more, whereas this would be an anti-corruption measure to remove power from lobbyists, but I guess it's sort of similar in effect.

P.S.  Tim and dialectical materialism?   Tim and fictional maps that have neither aesthetic nor historical value, maybe.

[Tonitrus]

My only objection to term limits is, that when you boil it down, it's a concession that the electorate is too stupid to know better than to not elect the same guy over and over again.

And while we mostly all probably think the electorate IS too stupid...it's kinda a no-win argument, since the electorate, ultimately, is all of us, not just "the other guy".

[Razgovory]

Yeah, I'm wholly with Raz on this one.  I'm kinda surprised to read these kinds of comments here, usually they're reserved for the Yahoo!'s "have your say and show how much of an idiot you are" section.

I mean the staffers are what help our congress folk understand much of it anyway. It isn't as if 15+ years of experience are really getting put to good use.

Yet, many still manage to screw up.

[DGuller]

I agree in a way that term limits are a kludge.  If the incumbent really has a persistent overwhelming advantage election after election, that is not related to his level of performance, then you have deeper problems in the political system.  You would be better off addressing the excess of power problem that long incumbency bring about rather than just artificially limiting the length of time one can serve.

[garbon]

I agree in a way that term limits are a kludge.  If the incumbent really has a persistent overwhelming advantage election after election, that is not related to his level of performance, then you have deeper problems in the political system.  You would be better off addressing the excess of power problem that long incumbency bring about rather than just artificially limiting the length of time one can serve.

Is it artificial? You can really successfully use your excess of power if your term has limitations.

[CountDeMoney]

Yeah, I'm wholly with Raz on this one.  I'm kinda surprised to read these kinds of comments here, usually they're reserved for the Yahoo!'s "have your say and show how much of an idiot you are" section.

I do agree with you, but maybe term limits like 10 terms in the House or 4 terms in the Senate wouldn't be so bad.

What would be much better though are prohibitions of taking lobbying positions or jobs in the industries that you had oversight over. And extend those rules to staff.

I don't think this is unreasonable.

Who the hell else is going to write the legislation?  Georgetown and Yale undergrad interns?