July 14, 2013

It is hard for folks living east of the Hudson River, or within the Beltway, to accept that Texans can teach them anything; but one aspect of Texas legislative style is worthy of emulation. The legislature down there meets biennially. (Once every two years.)

I once had the opportunity to meet with Preston Smith, then Texas Governor until he was forced to resign in a mess called the Sharpstown Bank Scandal. He was caught strong-arming the legislature to support a banking bill that benefitted him personally. Our meeting was arranged by a memorable character from Texas lore, Barefoot Sanders – then serving as LBJ’s legislative aide.

My purpose in recalling the meeting was not to comment on Smith’s ethics but to reflect on a remark he made about his legislature: “Thank the Lord they meet only every other year. Think how much damage they’d do if they met annually.” His personal ethics notwithstanding, the old boy had a grasp on how things get done – something our current leaders do not ‘get’.

Today’s bills are introduced in furious flow by grandstanding representatives (think: Chuck Schumer) for no purpose beyond self promotion. They result in a laundry list of unintended, unhelpful consequences: Repeal of Glass Steagall, No Child Left Behind, Dodd Frank, Affordable Health Care, etc. Many are layered with pork-barrel spending designed to bolster the representative’s status with his ill-informed and myopic electorate. Most result in poor laws with little hope for repeal.

Let’s initiate a movement to not only limit terms in the House and Senate, but to limit the number of days spent in Washington pontificating. It would be a start.