I want to tell you an interesting story about my congresswomen, Lois Capps. But before I do that I need to give you some background on Ms. Capps, so this will be a two-part blog, with the story coming on Sunday’s post.
I like Lois Capps. Lois Capps is a Democrat, but I still like her. She is a genuinely nice person, despite being in Congress for almost ten years. I like Lois, and I want to see her out of Congress. Now I don’t want Lois out because she is a democrat, because the way the 23rd District is drawn, it will always be won by a Democrat.
To understand why Lois shouldn’t be my Congressperson, you need to understand how she became my Congressperson in the first place. In 1996 Lois Capps was a nurse, married to Walter Capps. In 1996 Walter Capps ran for and won the House seat for the California 22nd District (It changed to the 23rd in the 2000 redistricting). Walter Capps served seven months in the House before he died of a heart attack on October 28, 1997. His wife Lois won his seat by defeating Republican Tom Bordonaro in a special election on March 10, 1998.
Before I expand on why Lois Capps should step down, let me address a political pet peeve of mine. Why is it when a Senator or Congressman dies in office, their spouse gets voted into their place. And before I am accused of this being a sexist thing, I would feel the same way if it were a female senator dying and her husband taking her place. And it isn’t a Republican/Democrat thing either. Currently there are four spouses serving in the house of representatives: Capps, along with Mary Bono (R-CA), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), and Doris Matsui (D-CA). Two Republicans, two Democrats. And while I am not as familiar with the work of the other three as I am Capps, I still feel comfortable saying they probably are not serving their districts as they should be.
If I died tomorrow, my wife couldn’t take over my job. Or if she died I couldn’t take over for her. I’m not saying she isn’t smart enough, she just isn’t trained to do what I do (or vice versa). For most of you reading this, I would bet you too are in the same boat. To me, the only explaination is that being a member of congress is among the easiest jobs in the world.
There are two reasons that I feel Capps shouldn’t be representing me or the Central Coast of California. First is that in 9-1/2 years, Lois Capps has sponsored 96 bills, of which 85 haven't made it out of committee. One was successfully enacted. In other words, she hasn’t exactly done a lot for her constituents.
The other reason is that during the special election following the death of Capps’ husband, one of the big issues at the time was term limits. Both Capps and her opponent, Republican Tom Bordonaro, were asked by a group called “U.S. Term Limits” (USTL) to sign a pledge stating that they would serve no longer than three terms. Bordonaro, who was actually a huge proponent of term limits, stated that he would not sign the pledge because he didn’t want to be locked into a pledge while the other representatives were not. He repeatedly stated that he would vote for a term limit law.
Capps on the other hand signed the pledge. Her reasoning: “I’m 60 years old. In six years I’ll be 66, and too old to run for a 4th term.” Capps didn’t even support term limits, but signed the pledge anyhow. Because she signed, USTL pumped $150,000 into her campaign, and she defeated Bordonaro.
Lois Capps is in Congress because of the money she received based on her pledge to serve no more than three terms. Next year she will campaign for, and win, her sixth term. If we’re lucky, she can win four or five more and can get a SECOND piece of litigation passed.
Tomorrow, a different side of Lois Capps…..
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2 comments:
One should not expect any American politician to act in any other way than his own best interest. Bad idea to trust of any individual who is connected with the permanent political class. If you really want term limits why not work for them.
The sad position in which Americans find themselves is the direct result of our political process having been rigged for the benefit of the few and to the detriment of the many. The permanent political class will never allow a curtailment of their prerogatives unless there is direct citizen action.
The Six Years and Out movement is the only possible way to bypass the obstacles that have stifled the will of the American majority for more than thirty years. It requires no time or resources. There are no financial contributions to be made no meetings to attend no speeches to endure. A citizen need only make the following pledge to himself then spread the word to others. If you are fed up with pay-to-play government and the corruption of duopoly party rule, you should make the pledge.
Six Years and Out, The Pledge:
With the recognition that there are huge numbers of intelligent, talented and qualified citizens who are prepared to limit their public service. I hereby pledge that I will not vote a second term for any United States Senator and no more three terms for any United States Congressman.
Lewis, I agree with you when you say that the permanent political class will never allow a curtailment of their prerogatives unless there is direct citizen action. I like your "Six Years And Out" pledge, but I still think we need to continue to fight for term limit legislation. We've had some luck on the state level, we need to keep fighting.
And thanks for stopping by, I hope you continue to read us.
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