Letters: Proof that term limits are needed; Credit for Biden’s win

Proof that term limits are needed

In a Jan. 18 CDT letter, the author calls for term limits for “ALL elected offices.” In his letter, he bemoans “endless rule by people like Pelosi (California) or McConnell (Kentucky.)” But he conveniently overlooks our very own central Pennsylvania examples of “endless rule.”

Most Centre County residents are represented in Harrisburg and Washington by career politicians who feel they can lie with abandon because they know they will be elected again and again.

Take a look:

U.S. Congressman Glenn Thompson was just elected for his seventh term. He’s now kept his chair warm in Washington since 2009, a total of 12 years.

Jake Corman was first elected Pennsylvania Senator in 1998. He’s now been in Harrisburg 21 years. He followed his father, State Sen. J. Doyle Corman, who served for 21 years. It’s apparently a very nice family business.

State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff was just elected for his 13th term. He’s been in office for 23 years.

So we have an average of 18.6 years in office for three representatives who lied about there being fraud in the November election, and thus share blame for the Jan. 6 insurrection.

But we can take comfort knowing that they will all retire with nice pensions from the very governments they recently tried to destroy. Plus, they will receive excellent health care benefits they’ve worked so hard to deny their constituents.

Yes, by all means let’s have term limits. Thompson, Corman and Benninghoff are living proof why we need them.

Credit for Biden’s win

During the inauguration of President Biden on Jan. 20, former Republican President George W. Bush had a brief conversation with the esteemed African American Democratic Congressman from South Carolina, James Clyburn. According to Clyburn, during that conversation, Mr. Bush credited him with saving our country from Trump’s reelection — thanks to his decisive endorsement of Biden on the eve of South Carolina’s Democratic primary election.

It was Clyburn’s enormous influence among African American voters in South Carolina that turned them out to give Biden his first primary victory, putting a halt to his dismal performances in earlier primaries in states with few African Americans. Had Biden lost South Carolina, he probably would have dropped out of the race. Instead, Biden went on to steamroll his opposition, especially in southern states where the African American vote was powerful.

President Bush also told Congressman Clyburn that no candidate, other than Biden, could have defeated Trump.

But, Mr. Bush neglected to mention that, were it not for the African Americans who overwhelmingly voted for Biden in the cities of Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Detroit, Trump would have won.

Thus, Trump first attempted to disenfranchise them in the courts, but failed 60 times. Desperate, Trump turned to his most reliable weapon — his cult of white Kool-Aid drinkers who swallowed his big lie that the election was stolen, On Jan. 6, Trump incited them to attempt a coup. It failed, but revealed the fascist nature of the regime that African Americans saved us from.