Term limits would combat lobbyist influence

James O’Connor, Henderson

Monday, April 11, 2011 | 2:02 a.m.

I watched CNN for a good part of the morning on Friday. The Democrats were saying the holdup about passing the federal budget was all about policy (funding for Planned Parenthood and for the EPA). The Republicans, meanwhile, were saying the holdup is all about spending.

We all know that using federal funds for abortions has been outlawed by the federal government, and we all know that Republicans would like to get rid of the funding for the EPA so the agency is unable to monitor the emissions of greenhouse gases caused, in most part, by large corporations.

On the other hand, if it were strictly about spending, as the Republicans were saying, then why weren’t we hearing a thing about cutting spending by eliminating the subsidies for the large oil corporations and the large corporate farms?

Of course, none of this makes any difference anyway. The senators and representatives long ago quit thinking about the people who put them in office. The only people they worry about are the lobbyists who give them the money to run a successful campaign to get re-elected so they can do the bidding of the organizations that got them elected. When are we ever going to get term limits?