DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: Voter imposed term limits mean voting incumbents out

This week, I’m going to reference my own local elections in Ellis County alongside the bigger picture in politics.

I wonder if Ellis County is a snapshot of what’s happening around the country.

The Ellis County Press, where this column appears weekly, features a front-page mention of the March primaries and a full second-page spread of the candidates. In five of the elections, the candidates were asked one key question for that race, allowing voters a chance to understand their views.

It was mentioned one incumbent would likely not respond, Jake Ellzey, U.S. 6th Congressional District as well as a candidate for County Judge, Lane Grayson.

I had my doubts if that was correct.

Neither responded to my question.

To be honest, I didn’t know Grayson was running until a few weeks ago (he has been an Ellis County Commissioner for 11 years). Regarding County Judge (MY opinion), his challengers Travis Smith and Kameron Raburn have outperformed him.

In the 6th District, both James Buford and Brian Stahl outperformed Ellzey because they’ve shown up, met candidates and are doing the work of listening to constituents.

I’ve asked around, “Why do incumbents/career politicians decide to be unresponsive to voters, not return calls, etc...?”

The consensus from some I talked to: “They don’t have to be responsive – they believe they’ll win based on their name and uneducated voters who keep the loop going.”

That kind of mindset hurts my soul.

Needless to say, I don’t plan to keep that loop going.

Let’s be honest – this country, any state, or any county/city – does not need the same four, five – and definitely not 11 years of business as usual.

What the U.S. needs now as opposed to even five years ago has completely morphed into something different.

The paradigm must shift, because the politics and the will of the people have shifted.

Those currently in office, in most cases, are not part of that needed shift.

Sure, incumbents were “possibly” at one time in step with America, but times have changed as to the way forward for the betterment of the United States, Texas, or even Ellis/Dallas County.

That goes for the red and the blue teams.

And, as Americans, what can you do about taking part in that change?

It means getting a little uncomfortable and voting new people into office if the old ones are ineffective.

For starters, if lawmakers don’t want to pass a bill requiring term limits, the American people can do it themselves by voting incumbents out.

Voters still have that power.

Backroom deals and lobbyist negotiations only disappear when voters demand it.

And if you are wondering about backroom deals and lobbyist negotiations by your own representatives visit www.opensecrets.org and see who is funding your politicians – look at the lobbyists, look at the voting records.

For the record, not all politicians are on the take, not all campaign money is dirty money.

Just pay attention to the distractions.

I mentioned deep state last week and failed to mention where I found some roots.

This isn’t my original idea – it does ring true. America’s deep state is the bureaucrats, those that remain in every administration (left or right) in official government departments, concerned with procedure, possibly money, at the expense of people’s needs.

It seems politicians are way at the bottom of the food chain regarding deep state, but deep state costs money and who better to pay not to rock the boat?

Finally, I’m seeing comments regarding voter ID.

Markwayne Mullin, a Senator from Oklahoma said, “You can’t get a bank account, a job, you can’t fly, you can’t get a loan, you can’t drive, you can’t even sign up for government benefits unless you have an ID, but somehow when it comes to voting it’s going to limit the ability for people to vote if they need an ID.”

I agree with this message in theory, but there’s much more to this mess than that, so don’t bust a braincell getting mad at me. Nothing is black and white, and neither is this very intricate issue.

And for the record, I don’t endorse Mullin for anything other than this comment. I didn’t even know what party he belonged to before I looked him up. So, if you don’t like him all power to you.

Mark Twain said, “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them they’ve been fooled.”

Indeed, that’s a front and center truth these days.

If you believe like many Americans that change is necessary and can lead to positive difference in the U.S., let your voice – and truth – be heard.

In some countries a voter’s voice isn’t heard. People I know read this column nationally and internationally and I’m sure some reading this will understand what it means for their voice not to be heard.

Either way, I’m going to remind again since Americans cannot get lawmakers to pass a bill on term limits (being a politician is quite lucrative for many reasons), what Americans CAN and SHOULD do is create their own term limits by voting ineffective incumbents at the state and national level out.

Americans have the right to vote, and this is one area where your voice can be heard loud and clear.

Rita Cook is a freelance writer for The Ellis County Press. She can be reached at rcook13@earthlink.net.