Sen. Sam Brownback
The head of U.S. Term Limits, Phil Blumel, will be in Olathe Thursday morning to do the unusual:
He'll applaud a politician for keeping his word.
In this case, the pol is Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback who pledged years ago to only serve two terms in the Senate.
Brownback, you may recall, completed the final two years of former Sen. Bob Dole's term. Then he was easily re-elected in 1998 and 2004.
In Olathe Thursday, Brownback will formally announce that he won't seek a third term, which we pretty much knew already.
"Blumel will have a copy of the original term limit pledge Brownback signed and thank Brownback in person," a media statement from Brownback's office said.
Brownback, who's been wrapping up a statewide tour lately, is widely expected to run for governor in 2010 to succeed Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, who is barred by law from seeking a third term. But a statement from Brownback's office today warns that the state's senior senator Thursday "will not be making any announcements about his future at this time."
That probably won't stop reporters from asking.
The senator, who ran for president this time around, may be heading face-first into a GOP primary. Four-term Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh has said he wants to be governor, too.
The Democratic picture is less clear, although it's presumed that Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson will seek the office.
Right outcome for wrong reason!
Naturally, I am happy to see Sen. B. leave the Senate -- because of his right-wing ideology, not because of his pledge.
Mandatory "Term Limits" is a bad idea. It decreases the power of the elected legislature by removing institutional memory, and treats all members as bad members, regardless of their own merits. It strengthens the unelected bureaucracy, and leads to a lot of bad decisions -- as well as foolish grandstanding by members who must "move up (to higher office) or move out."