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Vic Miller's Commentary

The cure for Potomac Fever

Posted: Jul 12, 2012 10:13 AM by Vic Miller
Updated: Jul 12, 2012 10:16 AM

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I have always been of the opinion that there are a couple of things we could do that would improve government. One of these would change the law and instead of two year terms, elect members of the U.S. House of Representatives to four year terms. We often hear people complain that political campaigns never seem to end. One of the reasons is that with two year terms we are guaranteeing that house members will have to spend half of their time preparing for the next election and selling their souls to special interest groups in order to get re-elected. The four year terms could be staggered so half of the house members would be up for election every two years and this would still reflect any change in the mood of the voters.

I would also like to see all U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators limited to twelve years in office. At the end of that time they could rejoin those of us in the real world. A twelve year limit would also serve as a kind of inoculation to prevent our lawmakers from getting that dread disease, Potomac Fever. The symptoms include a swelling of the head, the tendency to convert a minimum amount of thought into a maximum amount of words, and the uncontrollable urge to spend huge sums of other people's money.

The only known cure for those afflicted with the disease is to leave Washington with a very modest pension, return home and get a real job. While I am sure House of Representative members will embrace my proposal to extend their terms from two years to four, it is conceivable that my proposal to limit members of the House and Senate to a total of twelve years in office will be greeted with something less than wild enthusiasm by our elected aristocracy.

However, I am an optimist and am confident it will happen in the not too distant future. As a matter of fact, it is likely to happen on the same day that President Barack Obama holds a press conference and proclaims that if he wins reelection, the next time there is a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court; he plans to nominate Rush Limbaugh.

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