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They Took the Pledge

Whatever became of the term-limiters of '94?

Feb 9, 2004, Vol. 9, No. 21 • By KATHERINE MANGU-WARD
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THE IMMENSELY POPULAR "Lord of the Rings" movies follow Frodo Baggins on a journey to rid Middle-earth of a ring that is compelling, powerful, and evil. The ring has destroyed countless lives, but each person who possesses it in turn believes himself immune to its malevolent force and is irresistibly tempted to use it for his own ends.

The congressmen who took term-limit pledges must feel some sympathy for Frodo's plight. About a dozen Republican members of the class of '94 pledged to leave Congress after six to ten years because they believe in reducing the size and scope of government and increasing turnover in Washington. Ask those former congressmen today if they're glad they timed themselves out and they'll say all the right things--but they're oddly wistful when they say them.

Washington, they say, is a "fever swamp" one should be "immunized against." It is "corrupting," "debasing," it "causes amnesia about the really important things." Without exception, those who left say they have "no regrets." But once you have been there, a few admit, "there will always be this pull to go back."

Of the 73 freshmen who came in with the Gingrich revolution, half had never previously served in public office. They were a quirky bunch. Mark Sanford refused to take PAC money and slept on a futon in his office. Helen Chenoweth-Hage raised money for her campaign with an endangered-salmon bake. Those who took a term-limit pledge ran as outsiders--some went to such lengths to develop immunity to "Potomac fever" that they became a thorn in the side of Republican leadership.

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