Controversy Over Term Limits

Regarding term limits (Prop. 164), I think we all got snookered into voting “yes” by special interest lobbyists who knew how mad we were and wanted to take the heat off themselves. Inexperienced legislators playing short-term musical chairs are easier to influence than savvy guys who know the ropes, and if not, they’re outta there fast and they’ve got a great shot at putting in their own boy.

The real answer is to demand campaign reform. Get rid of the PACs, get rid of the soft money, don’t require people to be on a never-ending quest for bucks; free them up to do what’s right for us, and for the country.

We may have to put up matching funds but that’s dirt cheap in terms of what it’s costing now--just look at the S&L; bailouts, the Superfund cleanup, a failed health care system, the Gulf War (our dependence on foreign oil resulted from special interests blocking every alternative energy policy), entire manufacturing industries lost to Japan, millions of jobs moved overseas plus lost revenue from tax breaks, which encouraged U.S. companies to relocate, etc.

I’ll bet if we boiled it all down, we’d discover that about 75% of our $4 trillion national debt is directly attributable to the power and influence of special interest lobbyists.

JO NAPOLEON

Los Angeles