About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

23 Cumb. L. Rev. 155 (1992-1993)
Curbing the Abuse and Seduction of Power: Are Term Limits the Answer

handle is hein.journals/cumlr23 and id is 165 raw text is: PANEL V CURBING THE ABUSE AND SEDUCTION OF POWER: ARE TERM IJMITS THE ANSWER? EDWIN MEESE 1II* We have a challenge in this panel to continue the high level of dialogue and discussion that has characterized this conference. I think perhaps we have succeeded, not only in the topic that we have before us but also in the very distin- guished panel that I have the privilege of chairing here this afternoon. The topic is Curbing the Abuse and Seduction of Power: Are Term Limits the Answer? To discuss this question, we have Charles Kesler from Claremont McKenna College and Brad Reynolds and David Ifshin, two prominent attorneys in Washington, D.C., who have had considerable experience on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Also on the panel are Walter Berns, who some of us think of as the modern James Madison and who is certainly one of the experts on the Constitution, and Michael Malbin, who is quite a scholar, particularly on this subject of term limits. Interestingly enough, at the time that the Constitution was debated and was being formulated in that summer in Philadel- phia in 1787, Madison's notes reflect that the Convention had high hopes for the Congress. Indeed, George Mason, in speaking about Congress, said that this body was to be the grand depository of the democratic principle of the govern- ment. According to Mason, the Congress was, so to speak, to be America's House of Commons. He said that the Congress ought to know and to sympathize with every part of the community and ought, therefore, to be taken not only from different parts of the whole republic but also from different districts of the larger members of the republic so that different interests and views could be represented in that body. Interestingly enough, today, as you have heard from other panels and from your own conversations with people in the community, I suspect that the prevailing feeling about the Congress is best expressed by that famous phrase from the New York Surrogate's Court which says that no man's life, property or liberty are safe while the legislature is in session. * Moderator. Seventy-fifth United States Attorney General and Fellow, The Heritage Foundation.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most