Third term??? What the hell are you talking about, third term? Everyone knows a president can only serve two terms. Third term? Well, that's just crazy.......or is it?
To find the origin of Presidential term limits, we have to look no further than our first American President, George Washington, who declined a third chance at office, deferring to the belief that our democracy must have an orderly transition of power, to set the Constitution in stone. From that time forward, even with our Constitution lacking such prohibition, all of our Presidents had adhered to Washington's two-term limit precedent...at least until the phenomena of FDR came along.
Having been an extremely popular President of the "the people" {on the heels of Herbert Hoover, who never could bring himself to admit that there actually was a depression}, Franklin Roosevelt had seen the United States through the hard years of the Great Depression and the nation was none too anxious to lose such a leader, especially with the rumblings of war beginning in Europe and Asia. Four years later, with the country's military deeply entrenched in both theaters of World War II, FDR was graced, once again, with a vote of confidence from the people, achieving another unprecedented term of office...his fourth.
But Roosevelt was not to finish this fourth term, dying less than one hundred days after the inauguration and leaving his office to Vice President Harry Truman. In 1947, the Congress passed the 22nd Amendment, cementing the two-term limit into law but excluded Truman from the confines of these limitations. He was reelected for a second term in 1948 and could have run for a third, had he so desired, but opted out early on, before serious campaigning began. The Amendment was ratified by the states in 1951. http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am22
So there you have it. The 22nd Amendment became part of the Constitution and no one person can ever again hold the office of the Presidency for more than eight years.....right? Well, maybe.....but never say never.
On January 5th of this year, Congress quietly passed legislation, allowing for only a handful of the elected legislators to be able to create or change laws in time of natural disaster, contagion, attack by another nation and.......oh yes, that would include TERRORIST ATTACK! This new law, tagged the "Doomsday Legislation", contradicts the Constitution, which specifically states: “a majority of each Chamber shall constitute a quorum to do business.”
“I think the new rule is disgusting, terrible and unconstitutional,” said Norm Ornstein, of an independent, bipartisan panel called the Continuity of Government Commission which is studying the issue. “The way it was passed was deceitful and the intent behind the legislation was very foolish.”
Is this new bill truly for the preservation of our government, in times of great disaster...or is it just another dirty trick by the Republicans to keep Bush and his ideals in control of our government permanently? The fact that these people are writing this unconstitutional legislation, actually handing themselves the power to do away with the Constitution altogether, goes against the very soul of the Democracy and places us in the position of realizing a one party dictatorship.
Now, my nightmares can be filled with images of Tom Delay, his "ethics" committee, and a few other "good ole boys", doing a quick rewrite for our founding fathers the next time Bin Laden screws up the air traffic.
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Down The Middle Archives:
"Wanted: Dead Or Alive" and "Will Bush Give Us The Lottery Again?" (Down The Middle and To The Left, May 31, 2004)
Shock and Awe or Shuck and Jibe? (Down the Middle, Jun 17, 2004)
"Reefer Madness?" and "Let Freedom Ring!" (Down the Middle and To the Left, Jun 27, 2004)
It's John John (Down the Middle, Jul 21, 2004)
Wanted: An Alternative For Drug Offenders (To The Left, Aug 3, 2004)
WAR IS OVER ...If You Want It (Down The Middle, Aug 23, 2004)
Drug Store Cowboy (Down The Middle, Sep 6, 2004)
"George Bush's 'Other Woman' "and "Count Your Children" (Down The Middle and To The Left, Sep 15, 2004)
John Wayne Died at the Alamo (Down The Middle, Sep 26, 2004)
"The Last Time I had Bush" and "Bush Secrets - Did You Know?" (Down The Middle and To The Left, Oct 3, 2004)
Don't Want to Lose Ya in Fallujah (Down the Middle, Oct 15, 2004)
When Left is Right and Right is Wrong (Down the Middle, Oct 25, 2004)
The Day the Music Died (Down The Middle, Nov 3, 2004)
"Goin’ Up North...Fo’ Freedom" and "Religion or Spirituality?" (Down the Middle and To the Left, Nov 9, 2004)
Scott Peterson Attacks Fallujah (Down The Middle, Nov 14, 2004)
It Can't Happen Here (Down The Middle, Nov 17, 2004)
Natural Born Liberal (Down The Middle, Nov 27, 2004)
Mister, Can You Spare a Dime? (Down The Middle, Dec 2, 2004)
The Monster (Down The Middle, Dec 8, 2004)
And So This is Christmas (Down The Middle, Dec 18, 2004)
"Man of the Year" and "Tribute to a Cowboy - Happy Trails to You" (Down The Middle and To The Left, Dec 26, 2004)
"The Pursuit of Happiness" and "Woman" (Down The Middle, Jan 1, 2005)
"Live Fast, Die Young" and "Social Insecurity" (Down The Middle, Jan 8, 2005)
"George Bush’s Viet Nam" and "The Religious Wrong" (Down The Middle, Jan 15, 2005)
Next Stop, Iran! (Down The Middle, Jan 23, 2005)
"Letter to my Friend, S.K." and "It's the Bomb!" (Down The Middle, Jan 30, 2005)
Strange Days, Indeed! (Down The Middle, Feb 7, 2005)
The Dogs of War (Down the Middle, Feb 20, 2005)
Revolution #9 (Down The Middle, Mar 10, 2005)
With a Little Help From my Friends (Down The Middle, March 19, 2004)
Live and Let Die (Down The Middle, Mar 25, 2005)
Bush's Third Term (Down The Middle, Apr 3, 2005)
The Pope and I (Down The Middle, Apr 12, 2005)
You've Been had....Again! (Down The Middle, Apr 19, 2005)
Hey!!! They're Stealing My Wind! (Down the Middle, May 3, 2005)
Freedom! (Down The Middle, May 28, 2005)
The Big Chill (Down The Middle, Jun 4, 2005)
Support Our....Oops! (Down The Middle, Jun 21, 2005)
The Worm Has Turned (Down The Middle, Jun 25, 2005)
Bushwhacked! (Down The Middle, Jul 3, 2005)
The Coming Wars (Down The Middle, Jul 14, 2005)
Hey, O! Wa S'up? (Down The Middle, Jul 21, 2005)
JFK Assassin Identified! (Down The Middle, Jul 25, 2005)
Say Cheeeese! (Down The Middle, Jul 30, 2005)
The Sun Also Rises (Down The Middle, Aug 9, 2005)
Ten Years After (Down The Middle, Aug 20, 2005)
My Brother's Keeper (Down The Middle, Aug 29, 2005)
Baghdad on the Bayou - The Cavalry's Coming! (Down The Middle, Sep 5, 2005)
Return of the Dragon (Down The Middle, Sep 17, 2005)
OKLAHOMA! Where The Bombs Come Sweeping Down The Plains (Down The Middle, Oct 4, 2005)
U.S.S. MAINE EXPLODES IN THE PERSIAN GULF! WAR IS DECLARED ON IRAN! (Down The Middle, Oct 17, 2005)
In the Eye of the Eagle (Down The Middle, Nov 25, 2005)
Let the Eagle Soar (Down The Middle, Dec 5, 2005)
Dr. Rumsfeld or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Down The Middle, Jan 10, 2006)
Where Eagles Dare (Down The Middle, Jan 21, 2006)
Through the Looking Glass (Down The Middle, Feb 12, 2006)
Beware the Ides of March (Down The Middle, Feb 23, 2006)
The Last Patriot (Down The Middle, Mar 6, 2006)
Beating the Bushes ...and the Clintons (Down The Middle, Mar 16, 2006)
By Dawn's Early Light (Down The Middle, Apr 11, 2006)
Big Storm Come (Down The Middle, Jul 13, 2006)
To the Shores of Tripoli (Down The Middle, Jul 20, 2006)
Why? (Down The Middle, Jul 31, 2006)
First in War, First in Peace, First to say "I Quit!" (Down The Middle, Aug 9, 2006)
Three Times Three (Down The Middle, Aug 18, 2006)
Damascus! (Down The Middle, Sep 5, 2006)
WAL-MART TO QUIT LAYAWAYS! (Down The Middle, Sep 21, 2006)
Surprise, Surprise (Down The Middle, Oct 3, 2006)
BOO!! (Down The Middle, Oct 11, 2006)
Order of Battle (Down The Middle, Oct 25, 2006)
Drop The Bomb Exterminate Them All! (Down The Middle, March 19, 2007)
Surge Forward (Down The Middle, March 27, 2007)
Bring On The Lucie (Down The Middle, April 17, 2007 )
The Buzz (Down The Middle, May 6, 2007)
Middle Class Was Fun (Down The Middle, May 15, 2007)
A Splendid Little War (Down The Middle, July 6, 2007)
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