Posted on 04/22/2014 8:00:32 AM PDT by cotton1706
House Republicans are facing a brain drain of historic proportions atop their committees — as many as half of their chairmen could be forced to step down next year, thanks to a 20-year-old rule.
The shakeup is due mostly to the GOP’s self-imposed limit, adopted in 1994, on how long a Republican congressman can chair a committee. It’s a policy that is widely popular within the Republican Conference, but is increasingly being questioned by members losing their gavels.
The impending shuffle will do little to change the demographics of the Republican leadership structure — almost all of the white men leading the committees will be replaced by other white men. But critics say the debate is about more than optics. Term limits, they say, effectively sideline some of the party’s most effective legislators.
“You want the best person in the job and I just think to have an arbitrary term limit cuts into that,” said Rep. Peter T. King, R-N.Y., a former Homeland Security Committee chairman and a longtime opponent of the practice. “Term limits are anti-democratic. You’re telling voters they can’t vote for someone they want to vote for.”
Proponents, however, say the negatives associated with limiting chairmen or ranking members to three terms are outweighed by the positives of keeping committees vital with fresh ideas and preventing a small group of members from consolidating too much power. “We’re losing a lot of great chairmen obviously,” Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma told CQ Roll Call. “That’s kind of the nature of the beast since they changed the rules in the 1990s. … I think the rotation’s healthy. I think it’s here to stay.”
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.rollcall.com ...
There is no such thing as Brain Drain in Washington as most of them have already had their brains drained a long time ago....
These folks are so obsessed with power. The shorter the term, the better. 20 years is too long
20 years is too long.
Limit all congressits to 6 years total service.
“being questioned by members losing their gavels”
So unsurprising. What losers.
I have an idea. Nobody who has ‘served’ in congress for over 12 years should be permitted to chair a committee, period.
When the republicans took over the House in 1995, EVERY SINGLE DEMOCRAT could be called Mr. Chairman, because they were all chairmen of either a committee or subcommittee. Gingrich eliminated a number of committees and subcommittees and instituted term limits for committee chairmen and also HIS OWN POSITION of Speaker.
A very sound change. And despite what Peter King says, rotation in office is a key to liberty.
Isn't that just wonderful! Our "conservative" GOP, voted to move a committee leader after a mere 20 years, time enough to get millions from companies hoping to shape various laws to benefit their businesses, into their own pockets!
Just fine and dandy, no one needs to be in DC longer than 6 years - period, and NO lifetime pension after serving a mere 6 years!
Any congress critter getting a pension now after having served 6 years, needs to lose it NOW!
Which is precisely the problem this rule was meant to address. Nobody is irreplaceable, fresh leadership after ten or twelve years would be beneficial.
Oh, the horror of it all!
(If the word white were replaced with the word black, this statement would be decried as "racist".)
“... almost all of the white men leading the committees will be replaced by other white men.”
That was by far the stupidest line of the article. Like that even matters.
And we all know that they really don’t care about this type of thing, because when the choice is between a white guy and a black guy who’s a republican or a white guy and a woman who’s a republican, they’ll choose the white guy.
“almost all of the white men leading the committees will be replaced by other white men.”
So?
The author seems to be saying there should not be term limits—as long as the commitee chairmen aren’t white.
There aren’t any real term limits. House leadership can do as they like. But it sounds like the self imposed limits are functioning the way they’re supposed to function. If someone wants to quit because they can’t run their little fiefdom anymore, that’s on them.
I was in favor of term limits until I found out Rep. Peter King was against them. Now I am really, really, really in favor of them.
Last I read, Doormat Republican Boehner was “Hellbent” on ramming through the House Obama’s Amnestry Bill for Illegal Alien Invaders from Mexico.
Doormat Boehner knows that Obama can’t get this done without Boehner’s help, as the already passed Democrat Senate Amnesty Bill for Illegal Alien Invaders from Mexico will die this Session of Congress unless Boehner comes to the rescue of Democrat Feudal Lord Reid, and Democrat Tyrant Obama.
Boehner also knows that unless Obama’s Opinion Poll ratings go up, Republicans will win in a Landslide, but Boehner will have the unwanted problem of a new class of Patriotic Freshmen House members that are from the dreaded TEA Party.
Hence, Boehner must do all he can to not allow the Democrats to lose by the predicted Landslide margin of defeat in the Mid Term Election of 2014.
Obama knows that the only on-paper accomplishment for him is his convincingly failed Obamacare Socialized Health Insurance Tax, commonly known as OSHIT.
Obama needs the House to pass an Amnesty Bill to demonstrate that he is worthy of a higher poll rating.
Thus, passage of a House Amnesty Bill for the Illegal Alien Invaders from Mexico, and their offspring. will help both Boehner and Obama continue on their mutually beneficial, joint venture of “Fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”
In the four years that Doormat Boehner has protected Obama from all of the many violations of the US Constitution, the many, Many, MANY Derelictions of Duty and scandals, there has never been as loyal a permissive Speaker to a corrupt Administration than permissive, Doormat Boehner has been to the entire corrupt, tyrannical Obama Administration.
History will not be kind to Doormat Republican Boehner or his supporters in the House Republican Leadership including Cantor, McCarthy, and Ryan.
Always one to boast with a TV speech on how “sad” he is at the illegality of the rogue Obama Administration and Democrat Reid Senate, Doormat Boehner has always shied away from during the honorable thing by choosing to never enforce the US House Laws of the United States of America.
The limit to Doormat Boehner’s tolerance for obvious Federal corruption has yet to be reached.
It is small wonder then that the Republican National Committee and their donors so enthusiastically approve of the “Doormat to Democrats” tactics of Mr. Doormat himself, House Speaker Johnny “The Sobber” Boehner!
Doormat Boehner knows that Obama will reward him for the loyal protection that Boehner has constantly provided for Obama for over four very long years.
Money is NOT something needed by Multimillionaire Boehner, but perhaps Boehner would accept an Obama appointment to be the United States Ambassador to Libya?
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