European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 25, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes David s. Broder time to make campaigns response be tasteful Alast month. I warned you that iwas about to become a Crank on the subject of corruptly financed and crudely manipulative campaigns. An exceptional number of you wrote in to say. Pour it  apparently you share my fed up feeling about incumbents tapping hug amounts of interest group Money to intimidate possible challengers and assure re election. Apparently you Are tired of being assaulted with negative ads on matters of dubious relevance and want to hear your real concerns intelligently discussed by those seeking your votes. And apparently you think too. That the press and television need to clean up their act and help voters understand what Candi dates believe and propose to do. I m Back today to Tell you that we arc not alone that Many people in politics and in journalism share that anger and that determination to act. Inside a month we should know How serious c on Gross is about passing Campaign finance legislation. The backstage negotiations have been going on a Long time. The people pushing this cause have been House republicans under minority Leader Bob Michel. Roll. And Senate democrats under majority Leader i Corgi Mitchell. A Mainc. Well know soon if the necessary bipartisan and White House support Are available. Even if c on Gross acts the great turnoff will continue unless we find a Way to make candidates talk about the voters concerns instead of spending their Mone on to ads designed to Blacken each other s reputations. The assault weapon ads of 1988 and 1989 arc Al read spinning off clones in 1990. In the Texas Senate race for instance state sen. Hugh Farmer a Democrat opened with a radio and that spent 57 seconds in ripping Republican sen. Phil Gramm s abortion views using highly emotional language and giving listeners exactly three words i m pro Choice about his own stand. Some candidates however arc acting much More responsibly. In Iowa. Demo cratic sen. Tom Harkin and his challenger. Rep. Tom Tauck. A Republican Al expensive most negative Campaign Al Obama had seen was the irrelevant fac that gov. Guy Hunt a Republican does t have a College degree and once was an Amway  we allow the consultants and poll sters to set the Agenda for the 1990 race he wrote voters will hear that same kind of sound and fury. There Are Loo Many real problems in Alabama to permit that he said. And then he out lined five concerns he and his readers take seriously challenging the candidates to Treal them with equal seriousness. M. Charles Bakst political columnist for the Providence journal set a noteworthy example with a piece alerting readers to the track record including read have agreed to debates on seven major issues. Arc s. In Michigan where gubernatorial candidates receive Public financing state sen. John Engler. The Likely Republican nominee has sponsored a Bill passed by a bipartisan majority in the state Senate to make participation in eight televised debates a condition for receiving the taxpayers Money. Of course it does Little Good for the candidates to talk substance if the press and television focus on personal trivia. Republican rep. Bill Schuckle. A Michi Gan senatorial hopeful set a Good exam ple when he publicly criticized the Priori tics of the Media in his state. The press and to jumped on the Story when Roll Call a Capitol Hill Sci weekly named Schuck Etc one of the hunks of the  but those same news organizations did Only Short stories or none at All about his recommendations on the drug problem probably the voters biggest concern after he made an official trip to the andean countries. Schuck Etc called it insulting to the  and he was right. Happily inc Media performance is belter than Hal Case might suggest. Here arc some examples from the last few weeks Ron Casey of the Birmingham news wrote an editorial reminding readers that four years ago the focus in inc most misleading negative ads of the consult ing firm of Robert Squier and carte Reskow hired by sen. Claiborne Pell d r.i., for his Campaign. A shot across the Bow like that can make consultants think twice about using the same shoddy tac tics  paper the Washington Post has made a year Long commitment to Monitor Campaign advertising. Paul Tay Lor did a hard hitting first piece last week including a Story Board graphic detailing the distortions in a 1989 new Jersey gubernatorial and. Taylor s Story was a deliberately Blunt message to the consultants to expect similar scrutiny by the Post of their Handiwork this  the television Side Timothy j. Russert head of the Abc news Washington Bureau recently told the Barone Center at Harvard that in the next presidential Campaign political commercial should be directed Rolv on the eve Ning new. He also called on Tuc net works 10 present True debates withoutpres1, panels and to disdain Campaign pcs Gnad photo Ops and sound bites in favor of longer excerpts of substantive Campaign speeches and examinations of candidates records and  arc a few of Many cases i be heard about. Citizens foundations an education groups Are also getting involved. This column is available As Clearinghouse so Tell me about other examples whether abuses or Good mod Els. We have a Chance to get some sanity Back into our elections. The Washington Post writers group James j. Kilpatrick Senate group Tilting of congressional Windmill in the current Calm on Capitol Hill a Small Ripple of interest has Arisen in a Resolution introduced by Sens. Gor Don Humphrey. . And Dennis de Concini. A Ariz. The Ripple is very Small. The two gentlemen propose a constitutional amendment to limit the terms of members of Congress. In this till Al a Windmill the old metaphor is remarkably Patthey have been joined so far. By James Exon a neb. Nancy Kassebaum. A Kan. Larry Pressl or. . Dave . R-minn., Jake Gam. A Utah. Steve Symms. R Idaho and Malcolm Wallop. A Wyo. Others arc expected to join inc quest. My guess is that this daring band of adventurers will gel precisely nowhere even though their proposed amendment would not affect sitting members. It lakes a two thirds vote in each chamber to submit a constitutional amendment for ratification by inc Stales. In introducing his Resolution. Humphrey remarked Hal the measure May not be welcomed with open arms by some in this  this was the understatement of january and May Well take the trophy As under statement of inc year. Cyl he idea merits a Friendly kicking around. The sponsoring senators would limit members of the House to six two year terms and members of the Senate to two six year terms. Similar proposals have been introduced off and on for years. To my recollection none of them has made it out of committee. Indeed i stand to be corrected none of them has even made it to hearings. But Hope Springs eternal in the legislative breast and a recent Gallup poll found that 70 percent of the people favo some limitation on the total number of years a member could serve. This encouraging statistic has to be read in the dim Light of an accompanying figure 62 percent of incumbent  oppose inc idea. These Are the principal arguments in favor of Lim Lalion members of the House and to a lesser sex Lent members of the Senate spend too much Lime  ing funds for their next election. The Suc Cess rate of incumbent represent Alivs seeking re election is 98.5 percent. In order to encourage an infusion of new blood most industries have programs of mandatory retirement. Whal is Good for general motors is Good for the United slates Etc. Arguments against limitation arc to this effect there is More new blood in the House than commonly is realized. Members die retire get indicted or run for the Senate. After two or three terms in the House or two terms in the Senate members find that fund raising is not so time consuming. The people should have a right to members of their Choice. Limi tation would deny them this right. The founding fathers never said much of anything about limiting terms. In the convention of 1787, most of the debate what Little there was turned upon the length of terms. James Madison following the British Model wanted seven year terms for senators. He proposed three year terms in the House mainly because districts were Large and horses were slow. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts favored one year terms for representatives it is the Only defense of the people against  governor Morris of Pennsylvania wanted senators to be named for life men of great and established property an aristocracy men who from Pride will support consistency and  framers of inc Constitution never dreamed that service in Congress would be seen As a lifetime career. The closest thing to an endorsement of limitation May have been voiced by George Mason of Virginia. In his declaration of rights in 1776, he Laid Down a homely proposition. So that legislators May be re strained from oppression by feeling and participating the Burthen of the people they should at fixed periods be reduced to a private Stalion return to Hal body from which they were originally  Mason s principle is sound for Many members of Congress rarely feel the Burthen of the  snug inside he Washingion Beltway they Seldom press the flesh until they arc Chr Ealend with serious opposition at the polls. The tendency is to rely upon staff to handle the incoming mail and to perform constituent services. Some members do lose touch. My own feeling was pretty Well summed up by Roger Sherman in the convention of 1787. If bad men arc chosen he said any term May be too Long. I Good men Are chosen they May again be  right. As an institution Congress has its faults but 1 doubt that the proposed amendment would do much to Correct them. In Larul press Syndicate