THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 10, 1994 TAG: 9409090033
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Columnist Cal Thomas advocates another American Revolution (op-ed page, Aug. 28), but he seems to misunderstand the root cause of the problems that this revolution is to remedy. He seeks a comparison between his call for revolution and Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, and while they are similar in the sense that both Jefferson and Thomas overstate their case for separation, they are different in that Jefferson understood the ramifications of what he supported.
Thomas states: ``There is no longer a majority of principled men and women in (Congress).''
This statement is inaccurate in two respects: First, as any student of history knows, congressional ethics are no worse than they have ever been, and are far better than at many times during the past 200 years. Second, our system of government was constructed in expectation that it would be run by people with human vices. James Madison, one of the principal architects of the U.S. Constitution, argued that it was foolish to expect anyone other than normal, self-interested people to seek public office.
The system was designed so that if each member of Congress fights for her/his own interest (re-election), the best interest of each district will be represented. Hence we have ``pork-barrel'' politics; what is ``pork'' to the rest of America, is the ``best interest'' of the district in question. ``Gridlock'' is a direct result of the fact that what is best for one constituency is not the best for another.
Thomas believes that politicians have lost touch with the people, but they have not. Politicians are doing exactly what the majority of people in their districts want - that is why more than 90 percent of incumbents are re-elected.
The call for term limits is not a proposal to ``gain power for `we the people,''' as Thomas claims; it is a means of distancing Congress from the will of the individual districts. Since re-election would no longer be an option for members of Congress, they would be able to ignore the needs of the respective districts in favor of what they believe to be the best interest of the nation as a whole. This would give Congress far more power than it now enjoys. Like most proposed cure-alls, there are serious side-effects to this potential solution that need to be carefully considered.
Frustration with government is not a recent development. As Winston Churchill noted: ``Indeed; it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.'' While modifying the present system may be appropriate, it is important to first understand the system as it stands.
GEORGE R. B. MICHIE
Virginia Beach, Aug. 31, 1994 by CNB