In the "Duh" department, the Associated Press reminds us that legislators are in a hurry to get out of Nashville:
Election season is a driving factor behind a push by lawmakers for an early conclusion of the legislative session. It might also be to blame for keeping the session from immediately kicking into high gear.
Republican Rep. Joe McCord of Maryville said a key date on the elections calendar might be at the root of lawmakers' desire to stay away from some of the heavier lifting: the April 1 candidate filing deadline.
McCord says lawmakers want to "know where they are" politically before casting tough votes.
It is very true that legislators are likely waiting for the April 1st primary filing deadline before doing the dirty work of legislating, but the reality that so many in the General Assembly seem to be in a hurry to be over with the legislative session actually highlights what a good thing frequent elections actually are. There is a strain of opinion among some so-called "good government" advocates that our elections occur to often and hamper what they deem to be the progress of certain initiatives. This opinion is rooted in the idea that we need bodies of government to be constantly in session, and what we instead discover with frequent trips to the ballot box is that our elected officials suddenly become amazingly responsive and quick to dismiss themselves from legislating merely for the sake of trying to prove to us that they are actually doing something.
Frequent votes ensure that the Legislature is less likely to be in session when it need not be, and that members are at home more frequently giving answers for their actions to the people they were elected to represent.
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