When 2nd Congressional District Republican candidate Donna Ward was asked recently to comment on Representative Frank LoBiondo’s 1994 promise to only serve 6 terms in Congress her response was simple and direct, as her answers are on most issues.
“It’s time for Frank to step aside.” As Donna has crisscrossed the 7 counties that comprise the 2nd District, this issue seems to stand out among Republican voters almost as much as what would seem to be the larger issues of the economy, the war on terror and illegal immigration. The voters are smarter than the pundits give them credit for. In 1994, when Congressman LoBiondo made his memorable promise of a self-imposed term limit, gasoline was selling for $1.12 a gallon. Today the price is rising so quickly that it is pointless to quote a price, because tomorrow it will be higher. More importantly, the price of diesel fuel in 1994 was just a cent or two above the price of regular gasoline. Today, diesel price increases have dwarfed the already outrageous increases for regular. The impact of these higher prices for diesel is being felt in South Jersey, with massive lay-offs in the trucking industry. And this is only the beginning. The cost of these excessive increases in costs must inevitably be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices on food, clothing, and virtually every product that a New Jersey taxpayer buys.
While the simple answer to the why in all of this for many is to blame the unrest in the Middle East, that is far from accurate. There are many contributing factors, but if you look below the surface you will find that the price of gasoline hasn’t increased as much as the once mighty dollar has lost its purchasing power.
The Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 8, clearly vests in Congress the power to “Coin money, and regulate the value thereof…” Despite every member of Congress having sworn to uphold the Constitution, in this case, they have failed miserably, to the detriment of every one of us. Sadly, almost tragically, there is no quick fix, although Donna Ward does believe an important first step is for our government, at every level, “…to stop spending money they don’t have.”
When asked last week about his pledge to serve no more than 12 years in Congress, Frank LoBiondo responded, as a spoiled child might: “It would be a disservice to his district to play by rules nobody else is.” If Congressman LoBiondo won’t heed Donna Ward’s advice, and step aside, the only thing left is for the voters to hold him to his promise and vote for Donna Ward for Congress.