Powerful And Well Connected Who Donate Huge Amounts of Money to Candidates and Millions on Lobbying Rally Together
Bismarck, ND — Today, North Dakota for Term Limits called attention to the unholy combination of prominent lobbyists, special interests and long-serving legislators who held a press conference at the State Capitol expressing their opposition to Ballot Measure 1, which would apply term limits to the office of Governor, State House and State Senate.
“You couldn’t ask for a clearer endorsement of the need for term limits than this press conference,” said North Dakota for Term Limits Chair Jared Hendrix. “Almost every possible special interest group in the state came out to oppose something that will limit their power and influence.”
It appears that this group of politicians and lobbyists are responsible for direct mail and radio ads to defeat Ballot Measure 1. “They are so terrified that they are running a campaign of lies to defeat Measure 1,” continued Hendrix. “They even claim that lobbyists will benefit from term limits – but if that is true, why are lobbyists funding opposition? The entrenched political power brokers in Bismarck are holding onto the status quo and they know voters are tired of them.”
Hendrix continued: “At this conference, one retiring legislator talked about the need to spend decades in government to understand the budget and legislative process. This mindset results in a very small number of people in state government who are gate-keepers of this knowledge. We just had a single person chair the Senate appropriations committee for almost 20 years. That’s too much time for one person to have that much power and influence. Career politicians put themselves into these positions but then tell would-be candidates and freshmen citizen legislators that they aren’t smart enough to understand the budget process.”
“The lobbyists and bureaucrats love it this way. They know exactly who to go to in order to get what they want, meanwhile everyday citizens are put on the backburner. This combination of lobbyists and career politicians is the reason that 46,000 North Dakotans signed petitions for term limits for the Governor and the legislature. The voters are tired of the behind-the-scenes cronyism that happens between career politicians and lobbyists, and they want term limits.”
The North Dakota for Term Limits campaign supports a Yes vote on Measure 1 – a state constitutional amendment that would limit the Governor, and members of the State House and State Senate to a lifetime limit of two terms (8 years) in each office. It is a very simple proposal that gives power back to the people and takes it away from the lobbyists and career politicians.
“Measure 1 scares the lobbyists because it makes their job harder.,” said Hendrix. “Career politicians, they just want to keep power. This is why they are fighting hard against term limits. A Yes vote sends the message we don’t appreciate lobbyists and career politicians taking advantage of our institutions. They belong to the people, not special interests.”
Additional information on North Dakota for Term Limits may be obtained at www.northdakotafortermlimits.com