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  • TUESDAY JUNE 14 2005 9:59 PM

Fucking with Constitution to See If You Can

Submitted by Christopher

Edited by Christopher

While we sleep silently, to the east in Washington D.C. Democratic whips in back office dealings are slowly trying to bring about the election of the century: George W. Bush vs. William Jefferson Clinton. How?

He introduced legislation to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, I am introducing today a joint resolution to repeal outright the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. The 22nd Amendment requires that no person who has served two terms or has served two years of another President's term be permitted to serve another term of office.

The time has come to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, and not because of partisan politics. While I am not a supporter of the current President, I feel there are good public policy reasons for a repeal of this amendment. Under the Constitution as altered by the 22nd Amendment, this must be President George W. Bush's last term even if the American people should want him to continue in office. This is an undemocratic result.

Under the resolution I offer today, President Bush would not be eligible to run for a third term. However, the American people would have restored to themselves and future generations an essential democratic privilege to elect who they choose in the future.


Yes, I can imagine with a little Republican know-how and some greasing in committee there's a possibility that there could be four more more years.

Or perhaps we dig up Eisenhower.

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Comments
JamesRiot

JamesRiot

San Pedro, CA
December 2003

JUN 14, 2005 10:03 PM

Wow...I can almost hear the goose-stepping now.


Didn't "Episode Three" do this? If Dubbyah winds up shooting lightning out of his hands, I'm outta here.

Attack_Macaque

Attack_Macaque

Mesquite, TX
September 2004

JUN 14, 2005 10:07 PM

Wow. I can't believe that noone noticed this when it was introduced in February. Personally my support for term limits has increased markedly since last November. biggrin But I'd be willing to put it aside for the chance to see my boy Billy C mop the floor with Chimpy McDrinksalot.

Brinstar

Brinstar

Chicago, IL
September 2002

JUN 14, 2005 10:07 PM

Um, are you guys missing the several times he says this would NOT apply to Bush, but only to future presidents?

Either way I think it isn't such a good plan.

punk

punk

Phoenix, AZ
January 2004

JUN 14, 2005 10:08 PM

Under the resolution I offer today, President Bush would not be eligible to run for a third term.



There would be that, at least.

Keith

Keith

Oklahoma City, OK
August 2002

JUN 14, 2005 10:14 PM

NO. Four/eight years is long enough! People already view the President (all Presidents) far too much like royalty, and now this?

MrDaft

MrDaft

Vancouver, BC
January 2005

JUN 14, 2005 10:16 PM

does that mean hilary forever?

Michael_J_Totten

Michael_J_Totten

Iraq
February 2004

JUN 14, 2005 10:21 PM

The reason we can't have a three-term president is because the Republicans hated the fact that FDR kicked their asses four times. He was our very best president last century, and American history would be the worse for it if the 22nd Amendment were in place before he was elected.

Scrap it. It's undemocratic. If Americans want Bill Clinton to be president again, why shouldn't we be able to have him as president again? We should be able to elect whoever the hell we want to elect. When the majority of us get tired of one bum in particular we'll throw his or her ass out and hire a new bum instead.

Michael_J_Totten

Michael_J_Totten

Iraq
February 2004

JUN 14, 2005 10:24 PM

Attack_Macaque said:
Chimpy McDrinksalot.


Don't you mean Chimpy McHitlerBurton? George doesn't drink much these days. Christopher Hitchens wrote an essay in Vanity Fair arguing that the nation would better served if W took up the bottle again. He was at least half-serious and he actually made a half-way decent case.

Brinstar

Brinstar

Chicago, IL
September 2002

JUN 14, 2005 10:24 PM

I guess my fear is the knowledge that, generally, we really don't get much of a choice to begin with. You get whoever the party decides to push. So maybe I prefer the Republicans but not Bush, yet Bush keeps beating out the Dems so the Republicans are too weak/scared to try someone new. That would suck.

I mean theoretically, I know this doesn't apply to Bush specifically.

aegies

aegies

Oakland, CA
June 2004

JUN 14, 2005 10:28 PM

i just can't help but think this is a very bad idea. and i would be stupid enough to vote for clinton if he ran again.

ohmygato

ohmygato

Santa Cruz, CA
April 2003

JUN 14, 2005 10:29 PM

While the implications of this change are certainly not trivial, this is an entirely feasible proposition and has been adopted by some countries as a means of achieving stability politically, economically, and otherwise. There are major drawbacks to a shorter term, but a longer one is in my opinion not out of the question either.

s5

s5

STAFF

San Francisco, CA

JUN 14, 2005 10:30 PM

Michael_J_Totten said:
Scrap it. It's undemocratic. If Americans want Bill Clinton to be president again, why shouldn't we be able to have him as president again? We should be able to elect whoever the hell we want to elect. When the majority of us get tired of one bum in particular we'll throw his or her ass out and hire a new bum instead.



if americans want bill clinton again, they can find someone else with similar qualifications and ideology. it's extremely dangerous to repeal the 22nd amendment during a time in history when the power held by the executive branch is on the rise. this is exactly how dictatorships start.

Christopher

Christopher

Portland, OR
November 2002

JUN 14, 2005 10:30 PM

The person speaking about the law says it couldn't apply, but the letter of the bill doesn't give a temporal power. It simply repeals the amendment.

Subrosa

Subrosa

San Francisco, CA
July 2004

JUN 14, 2005 10:32 PM

No, no, no...

*shakes head*

ohmygato

ohmygato

Santa Cruz, CA
April 2003

JUN 14, 2005 10:33 PM

s5 said:
if americans want bill clinton again, they can find someone else with similar qualifications and ideology. it's extremely dangerous to repeal the 22nd amendment during a time in history when the power held by the executive branch is on the rise. this is exactly how dictatorships start.



The movement is not for a longer term, but the possibility for more terms after the second. How does this lead to dictatorship?

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