Opinion
Editorial: Specter’s switch suggests it’s time for term limits
The (Shamokin) News-Item
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter’s abrupt switch of parties should not be viewed as a win for Democrats or a loss for Republicans. It’s a loss for all of us.
While an accomplished leader and quality human being, Specter, like many today in Washington and Harrisburg, is so ingrained in the process of politics that he’d do anything — without shame — to win re-election.
At 79 years old, survivor of several battles with cancer, and after nearly 30 years in the U.S. Senate, Specter, under challenge for the Republican nomination in the 2010 primary election, could have recognized that his time had come, that he should bow out gracefully. Instead, he was guided by, what, ego? Greed? The promise of money and support from President Obama and the Democrats? No matter the answer, it had nothing to do with legislation, or with the common constituent that he is sworn to serve.
The argument continues to be made that veteran legislators are valuable because they know the issues, they know the people, the process and the politics, knowledge that a rookie lawmaker would take years to acquire. More and more, however, that argument is exactly why we DO need term limits. Those who serve for decades on end begin to believe they are larger than the system itself, and, with that, spending and bureaucracy simply grow further out of control.
Suburban Philadelphia resident Joe Torsella, the only declared Democratic candidate for Specter’s seat, may have said it best in his reaction to the news of Specter’s switch: “I believe we need new leadership, new ideas and new approaches in Washington ... Nothing about today’s news regarding Sen. Specter changes that.”
The Associated Press
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Most of them don’t live anywhere near the real world you and I live in, and, most of the time, they pontificate on things for which they have absolutely zero experience. -
Whatever happened to that quaint relic called civility?
CAN WE BE candid here? Can we just say this plainly?
The public is a bunch of rude, obnoxious jerks.
OK, so I overstate. A little. Yes, there are exceptions. I’m not such a bad guy and you, of course, are a paragon of civility. But the rest of them? A cavalcade of boors, boobs, bums, bozos, and troglodytes. -
Government’s action is the ‘obesity’ problem
You will be shocked--shocked--to hear that we have an obesity problem in America.
You needed the government to tell you, since you never would have noticed by walking down the street, going to a ball game, hanging out in a bar or going shopping.
Obesity is, uh, growing, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control... -
Your View: Letters to the Editor, Aug. 11, 2010
Two Slippery Rock area residents discuss a letter township supervisors sent out to residents, in which they express their opinions about a proposed merger between Slippery Rock Borough and Slippery Rock Township.
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When idiocy sets the tone of public policy
I don’t spend much time watching those 24-hour news channels.
That’s because they don’t have enough real news to fill the air time. So they either resort to repetition or punditry as filler.
I spend even less time reading political blogs on the Internet. Most of the material is stolen from other sources. And this particular breed of blogger tends to see the entire world through some sort of ideological prism. -
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Councilman: ‘Get the facts’ about possible SR merger
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Your View: Letters to the Editor, July 24, 2010
A Grove City woman thanks Grove City Little Eagles Football Boosters for their conservation effort, while a Slippery Rock Township resident adds her two cents regarding a possible study that would determine whether or not a merger of the township and Slippery Rock Borough is a good idea.
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Your View: Letters to the Editor
An 11-year-old Grove City girl shares her thoughts on Congress and the responsibility of government leaders, while a Grove City man thinks Olde Town could use more green space.
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The thin culture: Hoping for good news from Cathy
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