Ed “I’m in a deer stand” Martin takes aim at Missouri officials
Ed Martin
Martin, who told reporters he was “in a deer stand” when they called recently to ask about his e-mails to special interest groups, some of which were at odds with his boss’s decisions, issued a news release today announcing the formation of “Term Limits for Missouri.” Martin incorporated the entity earlier this year.
The news release says that if state lawmakers won’t enact term limits for all Missouri statewide elected officials who don’t currently have them (lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor and attorney general), his group will seek signatures from voters to place the issue before voters in 2010. From Martin in the release:
“Missourians recognize that too much time in office leads to complacency and, too often, to corruption. Term limits guarantee that new citizens will serve in every elected position of state government at least every eight years. It’s better for democracy to have citizen elected officials not bureaucrats who stay in office for decades.”
Not surprisingly, Martin’s release points out that the man who was the subject of many of his e-mails (”We’ve got to beat the heck out of him!”), Attorney General Jay Nixon, has served longer than the 8 years that his initiative petition drive would seek to be the maximum term in office. Nixon, now the governor-elect, was attorney general for 16 years.
State representatives and state senators in Missouri already have term limits of eight years. Some lawmakers have considered raising those, arguing that the term limits have shifted power to the executive branch and lobbyists. Last year, Rep. Gayle Kingery, a Republican from Poplar Bluff, filed a bill that would change the current limit from 8 years to 16 years.
Too much time in office “leads to complacency and corruption”?
Like orchestrating political opposition to judicial mominees and trying to circumvent the state’s system for selecting judges?…or to refuse to comply with requests for state records under the Sunshine Laws even though those records were available and not exempt?…or deleting e-mails of official state business and public records?…or falsely accusing Scott Eckersley, before firing him, of being addicted to internet porn simply because he told Martin he was violating the public trust?…That kind of corruption?
That’s like Karl Rove saying we need more honesty in public service.
I can not take anyone seriously, that would take a cell phone with him on a deer stand. Hunting is supposed to be about nature and inner reflection, not staying connected.
We need to go one step further and have term limits on the Federal level.
We already have term limits at the federal level. They’re called “elections.”
“That’s like Karl Rove
saying we need more honesty in public service” — Garrison
… or maybe like P-e B(h)O saying: “I’ve got a plan”
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He hasn’t taken the oath yet Bob. What was W’s plan?
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“He hasn’t taken the oath yet” … and your point is ??
W didn’t come in to office with anything as goofy as this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcqhoiK8-Ww
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term limits are what we need…..for both parties!
we also need to revisit the nepotism and cronyism issue….pick any 5 government buildings and you will find cousins aunts and uncles in all of them…..
As a native Jeff Citian who is in the know, I may have a bit of insight as to why Ed Martin fell from grace so quickly in the JC political scene. Unbeknowst to Ed, he was actually well received when his name first made the circles. However, after the first two months, Ed got on a power trip and began savagely attacking residents of Jeff City for simple political disagreements or differing of opinions. Once he started on that path, everyone turned against him because he was wrong nearly 100% of the time. JC has small town values, and we protect our own when outsiders come to town to stir up trouble. Ed should go back to college and get a degree in sociology, an area that he is sadly uneducated in. Then he wouldn’t feel the need to lash out and attack others who are more socially ept, successful and credible than he is.
BobZ..you’re right. Bush came to office with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGRYPYuFZLk
Why term limits? Blunt left after 1 term. Ed Martin isn’t there anymore. All term limits have done to the legislature is make reps run for senate, and senators run for higher office way before they understand the way the system works, and breed lobbyists by the carload, when those people might have had a better effect working for their constituents.
I say split the difference: make 12 year term limits in any office. I’ve often thought that 8 years was a pretty short term– some of those yahoos can’t even find their way to their office and parking garage for the first two years.
Missouri is pretty good at kicking people out when they become criminal, ego-inflated or useless.
The only problem with term limits is we have to find jobs for the unemployed pols who can’ seem to get one in the private sector. There can’t be much room left down at Catholic Charities and I suspect the Nixon staff is pretty full right now. City Hall’s a dead end with no raises in years.
Liberating 60 million … man, it gives you something to smile about
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk273/PhotoBookMB/Pride.jpg
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Term limits are the wrong choice. What is needed is campaign finance reform, specifically the public funding of political campaigns.
I agree 100% we do need term limits. I would like to think that term limits would discourage the career politicians and encourage those how actually want to do good and do a public service. As others have said, we already have term limits, they are called elections. However, most voters are not smart enough to understand this, instead they see their 80 year old Senator or Congressperson and think that by their seniority they must be doing a good job. Term limits will hopefully encourage them to not only do what we elected them for, but also reduce pork spending. Finally, as for the comment about the cell phone in the deer stand, my guess is there is only one reason why he was hunting. Much like Gov Romney, he may one day need to tell voters that he is a hunter and by hunter he means he once went into the woods with a loaded rifle. They think this connects them with single issue gun rights voters.
Term limits throw out the good with the bad. I’d hate to have seen a wonderful politician like former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, D-Illinois, thrown aside because he had been in too long.
It only took Ed Martin and his former boss one year in office to become corrupt — so how would have term limits prevented that from happening?!?
Give it up Ed! I think now would be a good time to explore your new career in insurance sales!
Good call, cp. Elections *are* the best term limits. Martin’s plan, while initially intriguing, actually cuts back on voters’ freedom of choice. He implies that voters are too dumb to vote out a rascal.
http://www.grafshepherd.com
You mean the elections where the incumbent wins 95% of the time because the voters are so dumb they only recognize that name, cp?
I like this plan. I’ve often wondered why nobody introduced it sooner. Seriously-only the governor or treasurer needs term limits to keep them from getting corrupt? Surely, nobody would ever get corrupt in the other offices! Hopefully, now that we have new people at all spots, it wouldn’t make it seem like it was targeted at one individual, and would actually be accepted as a reform measure rather than a partisan move.
On another vein of the same subject: there’s actually an interesting bill regarding term limits that came before the MO House last year and will again this year. With regards to the legislature, it would keep the same rough aggregate (16 years). Right now, though, it’s 8 in the MO House and 8 in the MO Senate. That way, you wouldn’t see what one of the people addressed above, which is legislators that, by the time they have learned how things work and have went through the whole seniority process, only have about 2 years (and only 4 months of each year in session) to actually get some concrete bills passed through. And you wouldn’t have people running for Senate, just because their time was up in the House and they wanted to get some more things passed. If you felt you could do better work in the Senate, you would go there. If you felt you could do better work in the House, you would go there. And, the same end principle would be accomplished, which would be that after 16 years, if you haven’t gotten your ideas through, give it up and let someone else take the reins.
Corrupt cowards like Ed Martin are infections that are ultimately excised by others who tell the truth and uphold the law. As Missourians, let us be vigilant and keep our guard up against people who would infiltrate the public domain under the guise of public service. Let us always remember the example of Scott Eckersley, a true servant of the public good.
Mark Fenton