Rodney Frelinghuysen of the NJ-11 has said that "He did not agree with that part of the platform". I always thought that when you sign a contract it means you agreed with everything in it...

"My country needs me".
"My constituents have asked me to stay."
"I can't leave at this critical time."
"There is so much vital work to be done that I must make the personal sacrifice and continue in office."
"Unforseen circumstances make my prior pledge no longer appropriate."

We could start a box score and see which excuse is used by which pol.

All but two of the sitting Republican House members signed the Contract, too... so they should have been "term limited" out too. Even earlier.

This includes two of my favorites, close to home for me: Dick Pombo and John Doolittle.

...they don't deserve to be reelected!

Senator Ensign was also a class of '94 Congressman. Although, he hasn't served continuously, having given up his House seat to run against Harry Reid and lose in 1998, before winning the open Senate seat in 2000.

To be fair, I remember a certain Senator from Minnesota breaking this same pledge.

Also, Joe Pitts of PA-16 is breaking a term-limt pledge this year.  He won a tight Rep primary in 1996 on a 5-term-only promise, then said last year he was breaking it.

Texas' Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison belongs on this list, too. She won a special election to fill Lloyd Bentsen's seat in 1993 (ousting Bob Krueger, who had been appointed to replace Bentsen by then-Gov. Ann Richards), then won her first full term in 1994.

Here's what Hutchison said when she won that first term in 1994:

"I've always said that I would serve no more than two full terms. This may be my last term, or I could run for one more. But no more after that. I firmly believe in term limitations and I plan to adhere to that."

So much for that!

Her statement at the time:

"If I run for re-election in five years and am fortunate enough to be re-elected, and 11 years from now it is clear that the people of Maine still strongly support limiting the number of terms senators can serve, then I would abide by that."

via Lexis-Nexis

From Bluegrassreport,  an article from 1994:

And Congress needs to be reformed itself, he said. Whitfield supports campaign finance reform and term limits.

Whitfield said the existing campaign finance system favors incumbents, many of whom stay in Washington for decades. Congressmen should only be able to serve six terms in the House - 12 years, he said.

A great article regarding term limited-candidates is at:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/m i_m2519/is_1_20/ai_53889297

The article highlights the fact that the "Mr. Conservative" in the U.S. House, Steve Chabot (R-Cincinnati), is breaking his term-limit promise for his 2006 re-election bid. Moreover, a strong Democratic challenger is on his way to help Chabot fulfill his promise!

The Democratic challenger, John Cranley, is running in Ohio's 1st District against Abramoff-plagued-Steve Chabot as someone that will hold true to promises. In particular, Cranley has vowed never to go on privately funded trips as a Congressman - something Chabot is trying to keep in the dark.

To read more about Cranley's promises and Chabot's connections to the Abramoff/Delay/Ney scandal, check out:

http://www.johncranley.com/newsroom_deta ils.asp?id=840

Here is the full text of the previously mentioned article that mentions Steve Chabot's failed term limited promise (OH-1).

Term-limits: as the pledges come home to roost

   Marc Birtel
    After years of failed attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and endless court battles, the national term-limits movement is finally beginning to make its mark on Congress.
    Unlike their predecessors who often served for decades, one out of every 10 U.S. House members entering the 106th Congress has agreed to self-limit his or her time in the House - trading the perquisites and power of seniority for the encomium of "citizen legislator."

   Two years from now, the movement will come to its first crossroads. In 2000, 11 House members - 10 Republicans and one Democrat - will reach their promised limits of service, according to U.S. Term Limits, the leading proponent of term limits on the federal, state and local levels.

   But of those 11 members, only six have publicly said that they will not seek reelection in 2000. The other five - including two new members of the Republican leadership - are either undecided about running again or are going back on their promises to limit their time in office.

   Republicans Matt Salmon of Arizona, Charles T. Canady of Florida, Helen Chenoweth of Idaho, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Jack Metcalf of Washington all say they will honor their campaign pledges and retire in 2000.

   Gleeful Democrats, knowing that the House majority is only six seats from their grasp, plan to target most of these seats, especially those held by Salmon, Chenoweth, Coburn and Metcalf. Before the Republican "revolution" of 1994, all four seats were held by Democrats. The districts held by Canady and Sanford have strong GOP leanings and would be expected to remain in Republican hands.

   But two Republicans Scott McInnis of Colorado and Tillie Fowler of Florida - have decided to abandon their pledges and continue serving past their self-imposed 2000 deadlines.
    Fowler, elected as vice chairman of the Republican Conference, promised her Jacksonville voters in 1992 that she would serve no more than four terms; her pledge coincided with her support for an initiative that year that would have put an eight-year limit on the Florida House delegation. But during this year's leadership elections, Fowler promised her colleagues that she would stay an additional two years- until 2002 - then retire after a total of five terms.

   McInnis says that although he promised to serve four terms, he never signed a pledge and supports term limits only if they are applied equally to all members. A member of the Rules Committee, he says that seniority is very important to the people of his eastern Colorado district. "We have so much at risk that you can't afford to send in a freshman quarterback," McInnis said last year on the campaign trail.

   Still on the fence are Republicans George Nethercutt of Washington and J.C. Watts of Oklahoma and Democrat Martin T. Meehan of Massachusetts.

   The term-limits issue helped make Nethercutt, who brought down House Speaker Thomas Foley in 1994 after the veteran Democrat led a court challenge to the state's term-limit law. But Nethercutt now says he wants to find the best way to serve his constituents in eastern Washington, and remains undecided whether he should seek a fourth House term or pursue a bid for the Senate or governor.

   Watts, just anointed to the fourth-highest House leadership position as the Republican Conference chairman, says he is going to leave the decision up to his constituents. If they want him to stay, he will follow their wishes, according to his spokeswoman, Tobi Roberts.
    A staffer for Meehan, the only Democrat on this year's list, refused to comment about Meehan's plans for 2000, saying that no decision has been made.

   Over the past two election cycles, U.S. Term Limits has shifted its strategy from promoting candidates solely because they believe in term-limit legislation. The group now is throwing its support behind candidates who are willing to sign a pledge, and is working against candidates who refuse.

   A separate group, Americans for Limited Terms, spent millions of dollars in the 1998 cycle on issue ads designed to promote pledge signers and shed a negative light on those who refused to sign.

   Five House Republicans signed that pledge in 1996, vowing to leave office by 2002. They are Bob Schaffer of Colorado, Ron Lewis of Kentucky, John Cooksey of Louisiana, Rick Hill of Montana and John Thune of South Dakota.

   Nine members of this year's incoming freshman class signed the six-year pledge. They are Doug Ose, R-Calif.; Grace F. Napolitano, D-Calif.; Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.; Judy Biggert, R-Ill.; Ken Lucas, D-Ky.; Lee Terry, R-Neb.; Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; and Mark Green, R-Wis. Also signing was Lois Capps, D-Calif., who first won her seat in a March 1998 special election.

   U.S. Term Limits also lists 18 other House members as having promised during their campaigns to limit themselves to a certain number of terms. These members have said they will not seek re-election in 2004: Ken Calvert, R-Calif.; James Maloney, D-Conn.; Porter Goss, R-Fla.; Dave Weldon, R-Fla.; Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa; Greg Ganske, R-Iowa; Donald Manzullo, R-Ill.; John Baldacci, D-Maine; Nick Smith, R-Mich.; James M. Talent, R-Mo.; David Minge, DMinn.; Richard M. Burr, RN.C.; Bob Franks, R-N.J.; Steve Chabot, R-Ohio; Ted Strickland, D-Ohio; Steven C. LaTourette, R-Ohio; Ralph Hall, D-Texas; and Richard "Doc" Hastings, R-Wash.

   COPYRIGHT 1999 Campaigns & Elections, Inc.
    COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group

This doesn't surprise me at all. Politicians often tends to let go of their own believes to make more money or more fame. I think they should be ashamed, but they probably doesn't feel that...