In the News

Jodey Arrington barely had time to drink the water before the questions popped last week.

The rookie Republican congressman who represents the 19th Congressional District was in Abilene the day after the U.S. House and Senate voted to end a brief but attention-getting government shutdown.

Arrington toured Global Samaritan Resources, and, without hesitation or strange facial expression, drank creek water filtered through a straw that made it safe to consume.

Much better than the Potomac, he quipped.

Refreshed, he faced a few of us in the local media. He was asked about the shutdown, of course, and about his efforts to provide a safety net for cotton outside the Farm Bill. DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, came up, too.

And then there's the memo originating in the House Intelligence Committee regarding possible FBI abuse of surveillance laws. Arrington read the memo and urged its release to the public.

Central to several questions we posed was the continuing war between Republicans and Democrats. A new president and newly elected members of Congress went to Washington, D.C. last year intent on "draining the swamp."

To most, the swamp not only has not been drained, it may have risen a foot.

Like Tiger Woods, back in the day, Arrington had teed off Democrats responsible for the shutdown. He said he was "disappointed" in his colleagues across the wide aisle for ditching what he called progress on solutions for "dreamers" and securing the nations's borders, playing hardball and shutting down the government.

The congressman said that in many other cases, members of the two parties are working together. For example, solving issues related to our nation's veterans. And maybe in the next Farm Bill.

The hope for changing the combative culture, he said, lies with his generation of leadership. The old guard, he said, has settled into fighting mode.

What he suggests is a concerted effort to establish term limits. Yes, that idea has been floated and floated again, despite it sinking every time. Those in office and in leadership positions don't want it. They want to keep their jobs.

So, Arrington said, it's up to the younger men and women in Congress to push for it. Maybe, he said, the others are grandfathers and it starts with his class. The suggestion has been to cap terms for senators at two for a total of 12 years; terms for representatives would be limited to six, also 12 years.

He believes that if enough Republicans and Democrats unite on term limits and take the idea to President Trump, there is hope for change.

The term limit idea has appeal. Well, maybe until your person is elected and you want to keep him or her in office. Remember that Rick Perry served a record 14 years as governor, and Mac Thornberry, who leads the House Armed Services Committee, has been in Congress since 1994. With Dyess Air Force Base in the hunt for the next generation bomber and Texan Thornberry guiding that committee, we don't want his term limited anytime soon.

But Arrington made his point. Something must be done about the impasse in Washington, and maybe the solution rests with the new kids on the block.

Of course, the new guy has to be re-elected and, if he faced a primary challenger, would be in campaign mode just over a year since he splashed down in the swamp.

Which brings up another discussion ... is a two-year term is too short?

https://www.reporternews.com/story/opinion/editorials/2018/01/28/pull-plug-limitless-terms-and-maybe-swamp-drains/1069202001/