Comments on: EXCLUSIVE REPORT: Turning away from term limits

By: Brent White

Brent White — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:36:25 +0000

How about get off the couch GO OUT AND VOTE Michigan. It is pathetic that we need term limits because citizens are to lazy to vote out the politicians they do not want in office and vote in the ones they do. We may as well just go to an appointment style system and take the voting right out of the hands of all the pathetically lazy citizens all together. People say they want change but they do not even want to show up to the polls unless it is for something that will allow them to be even more lazy and complacent. Please tell me what term limits provide us that community taking action and voting could not do!!!!

By: Mark W Rummel

Mark W Rummel — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:44:41 +0000

To limit or not to limit, that is the question.

Just as a youngster would like ice cream as his or her only food choice, Michiganders who voted for term limits had the right idea… but it isn’t good for us.

Let’s try moderation: why not continue the concept of term limits, but possibly double the time eligible to serve? Our state HAS suffered from inexperienced legislators who are just getting good when their terms are ending.

As a show of good faith, let’s greatly trim or eliminate lifetime benefits for lawmakers, or continue the drive toward a part-time legislature. People who go into public service could benefit from the experience but not for a lifetime of benefits after perhaps eight years of service.

Once again, though, keeping term limits but making them longer while cutting residual benefits probably makes too much sense, even though it’s far smarter than what we’re stuck with now.

It would be a better diet for our state than eating only ice cream, too…

By: Warren E. Goodell

Warren E. Goodell — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:11:36 +0000

I am one who thinks that the benefits of term limits outweigh the liabilities. I believe that many of those who voted for term limits were responding to the environment of arrogence that had taken hold in Lansing. One of the true benefits of term-limits is having more and more former legislators back in our communities. They add their expertise and leadership to the local debate. Newer legislators are also considerably more approachable than their long-term predecessors.

By: Patrick L. Anderson

Patrick L. Anderson — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:03:12 +0000

This is an interesting article, and much of the history reported here is true, including the rudeness of the Mackinac audience the author reported. However, there are two corrections readers should note:

1. Far from being an effort run from out of state, the Term Limit Amendment was written in Michigan, the petitions were collected in Michigan, the campaign was run by Michigan people, and it was adopted in Michigan. Yes, we received contributions from out of state–thankfully–but it was clearly a Michigan-centered effort.

2. It is incorrect to say there was no organized campaign against term limits in 1992. There were at least 2 different anti-term limit committees, which outspent the pro-term limits committee, and which had a full-time executive director, bought TV and radio ads, and had speakers that showed up to argue their case at various meetings. Almost all of the money raised by these committees came from very large donors, a large share of which was out of state, in checks that exceeded $10,000 each and were sometimes over $25,000. One of the ads claimed that term limits was a “plot” run by “oil billionaires” to “drain the Great Lakes.”

Patrick L. Anderson