Too Far: Don't Amend Constitution to Keep Trump in Office

AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

I appreciate the enthusiasm. It's nice to have a sentient president again, and we all have high hopes for the second Trump administration. 

But there is enthusiasm, and there is painting your body with your team's colors and prancing around shirtless with your beer gut exposed like a doofus in 10-below weather to cheer your team on. 

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Don't be that guy. We like to see the energy and all that, but getting frostbitten nipples while drunk off your ass is a bad look. 

Andy Ogles is trying to be that guy. It gets you on TV and gives you that 15 seconds of fame as the TV camera snaps a clip, but Congress has much better things to do than debate whether or not Trump should run for office at 82 years old

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), a steadfast ally of President Donald Trump, introduced a resolution on Thursday evening aimed at amending the U.S. Constitution to permit a president to serve three terms in office.

This proposal, specifically tailored to enable former President Donald Trump to run for an additional term, seeks to adjust the current two-term limit set by the 22nd Amendment, which has been in place since its ratification in 1951.

I have never heard of Ogles before, and I assume he is a nice enough guy and is echoing the enthusiasm of his own voters in making a pitch for a third Trump term, but however magic Trump is, he is neither immune from Father Time nor likely to have the same political juice in 2028 as he does now. 

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Not to mention that the 22nd Amendment was adopted for a reason: experience showed that even a president as beloved as FDR could wear out his welcome. Most Republicans like the idea of term limits for a reason--the president should go into office to accomplish important things, and experience shows that the longer a president is in office, the less powerful they become for a variety of reasons. 

“President Trump’s decisive leadership stands in stark contrast to the chaos, suffering, and economic decline Americans have endured over the past four years,” said Congressman Ogles in a statement.

“He has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal.

“To that end, I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms. This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs.”

If the fate of the nation really does rest on the shoulders of a man who wouldn't leave office until he was 86 the nation is in greater peril than even I think it is. 

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Trump is clearly the right man at the right time and in the right place, but hopefully, by 2028, the times will be different. And, as much as we may admire Trump, we can't put everything on his shoulders because he is far from perfect and because he will not be here forever anyway. 

America is a Republic, and our history with political dynasties is...mixed. How did George W. Bush work out for us? Has the obsession with the Kennedys brought us an unbroken string of great leaders? Debbie Dingell, anyone? Lisa Murkowski? 

I like the model where a poor boy from Appalachia can grow up to be Vice President and aspire to be president. 

Exuberance is great. Irrational exuberance gets you into trouble. 

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