If U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan of the Lowell-based third Congressional District abided by her pledge to assist time period limits, she’d be into her third and final time period in Congress.
But, alas, guarantees by politicians are solely made to be damaged. If reneging on marketing campaign guarantees had been a criminal offense, the prisons could be overflowing.
Trahan just isn’t the primary politician to return on her phrase, nor will she be the final.
But she is the primary to be the topic of a billboard in her district, accusing her of breaking her pledge supporting time period limits.
The billboard, paid for by the non-partisan US Term Limits, is positioned on Interstate 93 in Methuen. It accuses Trahan of “breaking” her pledge.
Trahan mentioned she gained’t be “bullied” by the billboard or the group. She mentioned she signed off on the invoice selling time period limits after she discovered what the job of a member of the House was all about.
Trahan, when she first ran for the open third Congressional District House in 2018, pledged to assist the nationwide drive to restrict the two-year time period of members of the House to 6 years, and the six-year time period of senators to 12 years.
She gained the Democrat main over Dan Koh of Andover by 145 votes following a recount. Republican opposition was token. At the time she was praised by US Term Limits as the primary candidate in a crowded Democrat area to assist time period limits. Now they’re calling her a traitor.
There are at present no limits to the variety of phrases members of Congress can serve.
Were time period limits the regulation of the land, which it isn’t, Trahan could be joined by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Boston who was elected on the identical time.
Also, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Would not be looking for re-election to a 3rd six-year time period and U.S. Sen. Edward Markey who has been in Congress for 47 years, would have been again driving a Hood’s ice cream truck a very long time in the past.
The identical holds true for the remainder of the state’s Congressional delegation, all Democrats, apart from newcomer U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Newton.
For the general public who make up the Massachusetts delegation to Congress, politics is the one occupation they’ve practiced for any size of time.
And once they do ultimately depart — if they don’t seem to be defeated, which is uncommon in Democrat Massachusetts — they often return residence as millionaires, like John Kerry, or get millionaire-like jobs, like former U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan, now the $900,000 plus president of the University of Massachusetts.
This to not take something away from Trahan. She is a hard-working, accessible legislator who has been efficient in bringing residence federal grants and appropriations for her district.
And when she signed the time period limits pledge put ahead by US Term Limits (USTL), which goals to create a Congress dominated by residents as a substitute of profession politicians, she was locked in a good race with Koh.
In addition, she was following within the footsteps of former US Rep. Marty Meehan for whom she labored for when Meehan held the seat.
Meehan was additionally for time period limits. When he took workplace in 1992 he pledged to serve for eight years, or 4 phrases. Instead, he broke his pledge to US Term Limits too and served for 14 years or seven phrases.
Like Meehan, Trahan maintains that the longer a member serves in Congress, the simpler the member turns into.
Which is true. But the issue is that they typically keep too lengthy and don’t to make means for newer individuals.
For occasion, Trahan has bragged about being appointed co-chair of the Congressional Cambodia Caucus. Lowell has the largest per capita Cambodian inhabitants within the nation. It has a Cambodian American mayor, two Cambodian members of the Massachusetts Legislature and two members of the City Council
If time period limits had been in impact, one in every of them may succeed Trahan. Then there could be an actual Cambodian on the Congressional Cambodia Caucus.
Peter Lucas is a veteran Massachusetts political reporter and columnist.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”