Re-election is as Unamerican as term-limits

The time has come that we stand up for our country and come to its aid.  The time has come for us to laud the evolution our country has afforded humanity and to once again evolve further as a normal consequence of living and learning.

Our politicians have slowly and steadily risen themselves to the status of royalty.  They view themselves in this manner because they've successfully transformed the United States Congress; along with the lesser elected offices; into the American Aristocracy.  They misuse and abuse the implicit powers of their offices.  They casually defy the principles of our constitution.  They ignore the will of the people, which ultimately leads to a breach of public trust.  They do these things in brazen contradiction to the selfless aspirations of our Founding Fathers.  Our legislative bodies have transformed the system into something that would be unrecognizable to our Founding Fathers.

America was founded as an antithesis to royalty.  No longer would aristocracy and nobility command unwarranted, inappropriate, illegitimate privilege.  NOT UNTIL NOW!  In the past four decades or so, that is exactly what our elected officials; at every level; have slowly but surely brought our system to, career politician after career politician.

Career politicians crowning themselves royalty...what would our Founding Fathers have thought of this?  That's easy:  they would have put a stop to it before it started by crafting another article for the Constitution.

It is very obvious that these politicians of ours have faced us with a precarious problem.  Fortunately this problem has a simple solution:  ELIMINATE ELECTED OFFICE AS CAREER.  To accomplish this, only two simple steps are necessary, the first of which is to make public service discrete.

Discreteness is a two-pronged fork that demands the holder of the office be involved with NOTHING ELSE but the business of the people.  This means that when elected, the office-holder can't try to get re-elected or elected to something else.  Election is the business of candidates, who aren't interested in anything else of import...not truth, not honesty, and certainly not the business of the people.  A person that isn't interested in fulfilling their elected duties is committing honest services fraud.  It should be very clear that when someone gets elected to an office, there should be no time to do other jobs, and that includes the great effort of participating in an election campaign.  That's not all.  Holding elected office should be the occupational equivalent to being marooned on a desert island for the duration of the term.  This should be true desolation...no other jobs, no other consultancies, no other appointments, no board memberships, no junior or full partnerships, no other paychecks of any sort.  NOTHING ELSE!  If a person can't be free of professional commitments, they can't be free to perform the business of the people.  This isn't a bad thing.  We need to realize, not everything that disqualifies a person from office needs to be negative.  There are also positive things that make a person unfit to serve the public.

I'm sure this has a harsh feel to some, but keep in mind, this will ensure a constant supply of new people bringing with them all kinds of fresh ideas from previously stifled points of view.  Broad diversity, of people and ideas, will become commonplace in the discourse of governance.

Let me be clear.  I'm not in favor of term limits.  I'm not in favor of elected office as an occupation either.  Neither of these are American ideals.  Can you imagine being prevented from running for office without any good reason?  I can't either, but I can draw a close parallel.

Suppose you need to be away from your home for a few weeks.  You make a deal with a neighborhood adolescent to mind your home while you're away.  All the details are agreed on like collecting the mail and newspapers, turning lights on and off, cliping the shrubs, mowing the lawn.  You pay him and depart happy, knowing your home will be well taken care of.  When you return, there is a pile of newspapers under an overflowing mailbox, the lawn is overgrown and you have a compliance citation taped to your door. “Oh, I'm sorry,” says the neighbor-boy, “but I needed to take a CPR class so I could get that lifeguard job and I got a bunch of new houses on my paper-route, so I just didn't have the time. Oh, and I can't give your money back because I spent it.” That's my impression of how our elected officials treat us.

I've heard it said that Robert Casey Jr hasn't done an elected day of work in his political career because he's always been elected to another office while already holding an elected position.  Now I'm sure this tale may not be exactly true to the letter; I'd bet money, though, that he jumped from one office to another more than once.  It's time we recognize this behavior as honest services fraud and treat it like the crime that it is.

Being elected should mean service not celebrity.  Being elected should carry the burden of sacrifice for the length of the term, not a jackpot that continues to payout for a lifetime.  This was the example set by our Founding Fathers.  This was their vision; worthy of being immortalized in a regular tradition.  They were attracted to office by the reward of service itself and the honor of doing a good job for God & Country.....they were Americans.


The following is the text of a suitable

Article of Amendment
to the
Constitution of the
United States of America


This article highlights the solemn commitment that public service represents.  Public service should not be used for personal enrichment, but should represent sacrifice both personal and professional for the advancement of our great country and its citizens.

No elected or appointed person, nor anyone holding any position of public trust, shall engage in any business or activity other than the official duties of that position.

Because getting elected is a complicated and involved task,  no elected or appointed person, nor anyone holding any position of public trust, may engage in any activity associated with being elected or appointed to that same, or any other position.

Resigning from office will carry a penalty of disqualification.  Any person that resigns from any such position shall be disqualified from  all elected or appointed positions or any other position of public trust for a period of time.

The period of disqualification for elected positions will be equal to the remainder of the term plus the length of the original term.

The period of disqualification for appointed and other positions will be equal to the number of days elapsed from official announcement of appointment to official announcement of separation, plus the length of the term of the appointer.  This period will in no case be less than four years and three months. This period of disqualification becomes obligatory upon official announcement of the appointment and is not dependant on the appointee officially occupying the position.

The period of disqualification for any other circumstance will be equal to the number of days in service plus six years.

To occupy elected office or accept appointment means to sacrifice one's own liberty in service to our great country and all its citizens.  People are free to terminate their service for any reason.  They must be prepared to accept this penalty of disqualification when choosing this form of abandonment.

Because all elected (or appointed) people promise to 'uphold and defend' the constitution of The United States of America, anyone that violates this Article of Amendment shall be prosecuted for Treachery, Perjury, and other appropriate statutes by the United States Attorney General.

©2010 Richard Stands