This is the second in a series of articles by Richard Smith providing definitions and thought-provoking comments on topics addressed by grassroots members of the Convention of States volunteers.
Potomac Fever would be a welcomed condition if was medically treatable and curable. However, this version of Potomac Fever is far beyond any medical treatment known to man today. Let's look at its cause and effect.
Potomac Fever is a condition characterized when a politician is gripped by a desire to stay in government, whether to make a change or for power's sake.
The term describes a politician who never intended to stay in Washington, D.C., (adjacent to the Potomac River) but eventually "gets infected" and decides to remain for a long time.
A more academic definition lists it this way:
Potomac Fever (n): A disease peculiar to the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area that presents chiefly as an intense desire in the infected to remain associated with the power and prestige of the United States federal government. Associated symptoms include acts of extreme obsequiousness to those in power or likely to be in power; asserting as fact things one knows or suspects not to be true and; a burning desire to do more work for less pay.
It is evident to me that they do not represent the voters who elected them when they refuse to do what they promised. They also do not represent traditional American values when they indiscriminately spend (our) money, wasting it on funding pet projects.
The Washington, D.C., culture has created this political paradigm. It allows an elected official to earn a high income and, more often than not, ignore the will of the people who elected them to an office. There are exceptions to this condition.
I do not believe Tom Osborne of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 3rd congressional district (2000-2006) was infected by this disease. There are other examples of politicians who avoided the bug.
Unfortunately, only a small minority can escape this pervasive disease in Washington, D.C. I do not believe this is what the framers of the Constitution had in mind.
I believe there is a cure for this infectious disease. First of all, I think that all elected officials should have mandatory term limits. If the executive branch can have term limits, the other two branches should also possess term limits.
The problem with this scenario is the very people infected with Potomac Fever are the ones responsible for passing legislation the change the law. If it were ever possible for this to happen, we would have seen it already.
Convention of States is the only viable cure to a federal government that is out of control. The importance of Article V of the Constitution must receive more emphasis.
A Convention of States is a real solution to a real problem. If the culture in Washington, D.C., does not improve for the better, We the People must change it for them.
