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Alberta Politics

PC Party compared MLA term-limits to whims of an Ayatollah or a general

Alberta Politics Term LimitsToday, Alberta Progressive Conservative Party leadership candidate Jim Prentice proposed term-limits for Premiers and MLAs.

The following is an excerpt from an editorial on term-limits for MLAs that was printed in the Progressive Conservative Party’s “PC People” magazine, published in September 2010:

Another concept being promoted in some quarters is the idea of term limits. These laws restrict the number of times an office holder can seek re-election.

On the surface this may seem like noble enough sentiment until you take a closer look. Voters pick their favoured candidate and the individual with the greatest support becomes the community’s representative.

For all intents and purposes, term limits bar voters from selecting the candidate of their choice.

Voters whose favoured candidate is prohibited from seeking re-election are disadvantaged as much as voters whose candidate is barred by the whims of an Ayatollah or a general.

Thoughts?

6 replies on “PC Party compared MLA term-limits to whims of an Ayatollah or a general”

With term limits we would not of had duplessis wac bennett bill vanderzalm mackenzie king (getting advise from his dead mother) george hoadley (the minister who gave the alberta sterilization act) rob anders who called mandela a terrorist

This only punishes the opposition and basically bars them forever from ever having a chance at office. Just like Redfrauds new rule to decrease personal donations to $275, it was meant to hurt the opposition parties. They have done nothing to limit corporate donations to say, $5000 per corporation. Jim must think the voting public for fools and idiots and thanks this window dressing will be enough. Jim, if you bare listening we wanted more democracy, a better one, not less!

I disagree with the idea of term limits in a democratic society. The only way to limit a term limit, that I agree with, is at the ballot box. By limiting terms, you limit the choice of the citizens to have the person you want represent you, and when we start limiting choices for citizens we start moving away from a democratic society.

FDR and Winston Churchill would also have not been in power had the kind of term limits discussed been in place. Term limits encourage lazy voters … if you don’t like the people in power vote them out! If you think the rules enacted by the current party favor them, vote them out! Don’t try to have blind rules do your thinking.

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