tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post1186210795086695569..comments2023-10-10T08:02:18.073-04:00Comments on Rationally Speaking: No third term for Michael Bloomberg, pleaseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-89413311362088124742008-10-05T13:43:00.000-04:002008-10-05T13:43:00.000-04:00Agreed.The same problem was quite discussed in Bra...Agreed.<BR/><BR/>The same problem was quite discussed in Brazil a few months ago, and every once in a while it rears its ugly head again.<BR/><BR/>There, we also have a limit of two four-year terms, for all executive posts: mayor, governor and president.<BR/><BR/>Current president, Lula, has extremely high popularity, something like 75% approval, I think (proportion of people saying his performance is "good" or "great").<BR/><BR/>So "people" start throwing around the idea that we should change the (young) constitution (a stupidly thick book, BTW) to allow a third term. Lula and other big shots around him said that would be a very bad idea, dangerous playing with democracy, blah, blah. But there is no doubt that, if the majority of the population did approve of such a change (which according to some polls they currently don't, fortunately), the talk would change to: "well, since it's the will of the people, what can I do but serve them, etc....". They don't make many George Washington-type people anymore, I suspect. Obviously the people who started the noises about third term are part of the president's party (PT, the Worker's Party, formerly a leftist party), but never mind that... :-)J. Marcelo Alveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09967299561849915314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-53415992250669997382008-10-03T01:06:00.000-04:002008-10-03T01:06:00.000-04:00Regarding "And they say that writing blogs is a wa...Regarding "And they say that writing blogs is a waste of time because people never change their minds... :)" <BR/><BR/>I used to be a Republican until blogs like this, well Bush's performance and the RR's hijacking of the Republican made me enough of a Democrat to donate money to a political campaign for the 1st time in my life.BionicHipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11768899355412046729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-81787932948771618612008-10-02T17:26:00.000-04:002008-10-02T17:26:00.000-04:00The following was penned by Tom Waters, who really...The following was penned by Tom Waters, who really knows his NYC politics, and I agree with him whole-heartedly:<BR/><BR/>Term limits are a good thing. Eliminating them and extending them are bad things.<BR/> <BR/>Here's why I think so:<BR/> <BR/>1. The longer an official holds elected office, the more certain his or her re-election becomes, and the less he or she needs to respond to the concerns of constituents. Term limits set a limit on how far this process can go.<BR/> <BR/>2. Term limits create open-seat races, where the issues that matter to voters -- not just campaign contributors -- can influence the outcome of an election. They create opportunities for mobilized constituencies, such as tenants, to become a force by voting and by campaigning. <BR/> <BR/>3. Term limits at the city level produce a stream of recognizable political figures who can challenge entrenched office holders at the state level, creating hope for change there. What do Joe Addabbo and Jim Gennaro -- the Democratic challengers running against state senators Serf Maltese and Frank Padavan -- have in common? They are term-limited city council members.<BR/> <BR/>4. Look at the track record. From charter reform through term limits, we had an entrenched, anti-tenant City Council and an entrenched, anti-tenant Speaker, Peter Vallone. Since term limits, we have had two speakers who led the Council to pass important new protections for tenants. I don't believe that that is a coincidence. <BR/> <BR/>5. The city's voters have repeatedly made it clear that they want term limits. Defying their -- our -- express will based on some cockamamie story about the financial crisis is insulting.<BR/> <BR/>6. The only reason that the newspapers and Ron Lauder want to change term limits now is to help billionaire Republican Mike Bloomberg and his monomaniacal pro-development agenda that is making our city less affordable and less livable at a terrifying pace.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09823405557439826438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-4092567234727872842008-10-02T15:46:00.000-04:002008-10-02T15:46:00.000-04:00And they say that writing blogs is a waste of time...And they say that writing blogs is a waste of time because people never change their minds... :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099460671669064269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-24209487374162197532008-10-02T15:13:00.000-04:002008-10-02T15:13:00.000-04:00I was actually heavily for Bloomberg running for a...I was actually heavily for Bloomberg running for a third term prior to reading this blog, but now perhaps I should rethink it. You raise some great points about the issue of a third term and I think I agree, the democratic process should supersede the ego of a person.moizkhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10013050834290781824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-90026502232791635312008-10-02T14:32:00.000-04:002008-10-02T14:32:00.000-04:00From the point of view of the voters, though, give...From the point of view of the voters, though, given the City's recent record with Mayors, trying to keep one that doesn't suck may not be the worst strategy.John Pierethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17336244849636477317noreply@blogger.com