What could be less popular with conservative populists
than criticizing the push for a part-time Legislature and simultaneously urging
that term limits be terminated?
Well, Republican activist and freelance writer Dennis
Lennox tests those limits in his newest column for The Detroit News.

Those petitioning (once again) for a part-time
Legislature, Lennox noted, would undermine the House and Senate as a true,
co-equal branch of government. The Legislature would serve as a check on the governor
and his political appointees on a part-time basis, particularly during the long
stretches of inactivity at the Capitol under the proposed system.

Lennox, who’s currently organizing Ted Cruz’s
presidential campaign operation in Guam (yes, Guam), cautions that a Legislature
that’s on duty for only a few months per 2-year legislative cycle would weaken the
standing of average voters who “depend on their legislator
to be their voice in the halls of government.”

Next, Lennox shifts gears and reminds his readers that Michigan
already has a history of making a regrettable decision to significantly alter
the Legislature’s ways and means of doing business.

Here’s his warning:

“Let’s not forget the last time a reactionary change to the constitutional arrangement of state government was put forth. The year
was 1992 and voters reacted to a wave of anti-government,
anti-political class sentiment by passing a statewide ballot question
that imposed some of the toughest term limits in all of the country.

“This populist reform was supposed to open up the halls of government
to Jane and Joe Michiganian while also throwing out the bums, despite
the fact that, for all of its problems, Lansing was and is much cleaner
and less corrupt than many other state governments.

“The endless turnover in the occupants of legislative seats hasn’t
given the people an effective voice because by the time a legislator
gains sufficient experience and knowledge it’s time for them to vacate
their constituency for a new senator or representative.”

 

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