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Things I Can’t Bring Myself to Care About
By Jeff Fecke | March 30, 2009
The fact that Tim Pawlenty once supported a two-term limit for governor, but now could theoretically be persuaded to run for a third term.*
Term limits are a terrible, undemocratic idea. Yes, we know some incumbents get to Washington or St. Paul and never leave, even when they probably should. But there’s a way to get rid of a firmly ensconced incumbent, and that’s to vote against them. If a majority of the voters want to continue sending Sen. John Q. Cobblepot, R-East Carolina, back to his seat even though he’s 123 years old and has been serving for 72 years…well, that’s the voters’ right. Denying them the chance to vote for a long-serving official doesn’t accomplish anything; if the voters of East Carolina are strong Republicans, you’re just trading an experienced politician for an inexperienced one.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m no fan of incumbents staying in office forever, and I think turnover is good. And to that end, I think there’s merit to eliminating some of the structural advantages incumbents enjoy, and reforming others. But simply barring incumbents from running is a terrible idea; I may not want Tim Pawlenty to win a third term in office, but if a plurality of my fellow Minnesotans do, then the small-d democratic thing to do is let him serve. I’m glad Gov. Pawlenty has come to agree with this, even if it’s self-serving.
This was an inane argument in 2002 when it was levied against Paul Wellstone, and it’s an inane argument now. I don’t support Tim Pawlenty, and I hope he loses should he run for re-election. But there are all sorts of reasons that he should lose, from his budgetary shell games to his anti-tax zealotry to his inability to work well with members of the opposing party. If the DFL can’t find a candidate able to make that case (and given the history of the last 20 years, they probably can’t), then they deserve to lose.
*He won’t run for a third term, but it’s a possibility until he rules it out.
Topics: Tim Pawlenty | 2 Comments »
March 31st, 2009 at 7:09 pm
I think your word “plurality” sums it up. In a plural system, Pawlenty loses. However, if he, his party or anyone can convince a moderate third party person to run in the election, the democratic vote is split and he wins. That is the only way he has won so far. No majority support. Split the vote and he doesn’t have to run on his record. He’s just not “them”. Oh yeah, he gets it. And you know what we get.
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Fecke called it on March 30!
But can he call the next governor’s race? Quiet, now; he’s setting up the shot. Here he goes! It’s….