Scheppelman signs, Hurd refuses
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
I was encouraged to learn that Hope Scheppelman, a candidate for U.S. Congress in Colorado’s 3rd District, has signed the pledge to introduce or co-sponsor the U.S. Term Limits constitutional amendmen
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The coverage treats a term-limits pledge like a simple litmus test: sign and you’re virtuous, hesitate and you’re suspect. That framing flatters frustration, but it skips the hard question voters actually deserve answered, which is what any candidate will do with power once they have it.
Conservatives like term limits because career government corrodes accountability. But a pledge is not a plan. How will Scheppelman push an amendment through a Congress that protects itself? And why is Hurd refusing: constitutional skepticism, or comfort with the status quo? Public trust depends on clarity, not symbolism.
The real conservative concern is institutional stability under the rule of law. Term limits can help, but so can enforcing existing ethics rules, ending insider perks, and reining in unelected bureaucracy. The principle at stake is straightforward: representation should be answerable to citizens, not insulated by tenure.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.