Just before the election, Trump revealed his plan for his first 100 days in office. I agree with most of it, disagree with some of it, but overall, I think he has excellent ideas to start his administration off, hope that he indeed ends up sticking to his pre-election plan, and also hope its release wasn’t pure election pandering.
However, there is one specific line item that he can and should focus on to start his term. It would be the best way to unite the entire country behind him, including those who hate him and are protesting against his victory, even some of the rich elites who campaigned for Hillary. It is a no-brainer idea that has been proposed by plenty of people in the past, and it just so happens to be the no.1 item listed on his agenda.
* FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress
The amount of broad support that Trump would receive for this platform would be incredible, and it would come from both sides of the political aisle. Congress has had approval rating percentages in the teens for years, and American citizens are fed up with career politicians who have no real accomplishments as politicians outside of lining their own pockets.
Yet, it can be expected that career politicians from both sides of the aisle will oppose this. They have buttered their bread and fattened their pockets at the expense of the voters for years, and they will do anything they can to prevent their gravy train from coming to an end. They will pull out the stops – making excuses about how speaker and committee chairs would be elected, how lawmakers would be gaining experience just around the time they are forced out, and what I’m sure would be a whole litany of excuses that would be splashed all throughout the mainstream media, mostly just to oppose Trump.
Just ask those congressional leaders who oppose term limits; if they’re such a bad idea, would they oppose amending the constitution again to remove Presidential term limits? Think of what they’d be risking – Trump doing a good enough job, that he gets elected for the rest of his life. Of course they would be against it. So then ask, if they oppose it for Trump, why would they oppose it for themselves?
Still, a congressional amendment is a hard thing to pass. It requires a 2/3rds vote in both houses of Congress, and then ratification by 3/4ths of state legislatures. A “ratifying convention” is also an option, but it was only used once, to pass the 21st amendment. It might not be possible at all to get done, considering you are asking a lot of representatives and senators to vote themselves out of a job. But, if there’s anyone who can pull it off, it’s Trump.
After all, he just won the Presidency, with the political deck and the odds stacked against him. He was able to do so through his masterful manipulation of the media, which was crucial to his victory, as his campaign war chest was significantly smaller than Hillary’s. When it comes to getting the public behind him, no one knows how to do it better than Trump; there is literally no better person to push this congressional amendment, and to whip the public behind the proposal. If he can get the people behind him, they will call their representatives and senators day and night, and Congress will find it increasingly difficult to go against their constituency.
Trump is perhaps the only person who can pull it off, and there is no better way for him to start his term and begin his crusade to “drain the swamp” than to attack the first item of his agenda as soon as he takes office.
It will take a superhuman effort, but isn’t that what it took for him to win the election in the first place?
Limiting congressional terms achieves nothing during the time a president is in office, better to strike while the iron is hot on something with immediate and tangible payback. How ’bout a RIF for 10% of Federal employees. Chop the dead wood. In most fed areas where I’ve worked I know they could chop at least 10% yearly for 3 or 4 years and probably never notice. If anything, it’d make the other 90% actually work.
If Trump is not a part of the plan to ease us into the NWO, then I hope he forgives us for placing this burden on his shoulders. I felt the same way about Ron Paul. He’s an hero for his Herculean efforts. No one man can possibly change the evil that has been released upon this nation. It’ll take a change in the hearts of the people to turn this ship of state around. I just don’t see that happening.
As long as Trump attempts to deliver what he has promised, he has my complete support. If he turns out to be just another fucking insider type, well then, all bets are off.
This is a brilliant idea. The arguments for and against term limits (I support term limits) should be made first on the floor of congress and (assuming it eventually passes both houses by 2/3) among the people. Given the general popularity of the idea, congress members who vote against it will risk their reelection. Trump’s popularity would rise by championing term limits. He could hold Congress hostage until they at least hold a vote on the proposed amendment.
As to the merits of term limits, the problem with the argument that “we already have term limits – you can vote your critter out” is that political influence grows with seniority. It’s illogical to expect the people of West Virginia, for example, to vote out Robert Byrd when he’s bringing home the pork. I may not want to be rid of MY congressperson. I may want to be rid of YOUR congressperson.
The President can’t propose or interfere with an amendment, he doesn’t even sign or ratify it, that power lies in Congress alone, it takes place outside of his jurisdiction and authority.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlev
He can squeeze their balls by refusing to sign any legislation until they vote on the amendment.
But he’s going to need their cooperation to get anything done.
Ball squeezing doesn’t really lend itself to getting it.
Don’t forget there are still a lot of “Never Trump” Republicans in Congress, they didn’t get voted out (yet).
Methinks D.C. has “got enough done” already… i’m feeling about medium-well done right now, on the way to charbroiled… Or charbroiling the sumbitches, whatever comes first.
A Constitutional amendment to limit terms would have to originate in Congress, a move that is unlikely to gain him the support of the members there to get any other part of his agenda in place.
Attacking the jobs of the very people you need to support you as your first move is hardly going to be a productive move for the rest of your term.
2/3 of the States calling for a Constitutional Convention to create one might work, but it isn’t the States where his power and authority to propose anything exists.
Keep in mind that there is no way to limit a Constitutional Convention to a single item once it has begun and we are no more likely to end up with the same form of government we have now as we were when the Continental Congress was called to address a few issues that made our original Articles of Confederation difficult to maintain in an effective manner as a united nation.
Put your bet on congresscritters defending their turf. I’ll put my bet on Donald J. Trump and the 2/3 of the American people who want term limits. He never promised he wouldn’t shut down government. I expect him to threaten a shutdown about three times a week. He’ll get those pussies in congress to vote for their own castration if he feels like it – with zero fucks given.
I’m sorry I can’t find he author of this quote, but it goes something like this.
Every politician should get two terms. The first in office and the second in prison.
I think that would weed out the parasites.
I would nominate Peter Schweizer as the “change agent” upon whom this process should pivot, with particular emphasis on the work he’d produced in Throw Them All Out: How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of Us to Prison (2011).
Anybody else reading here considering Schweizer’s publications?
Evil racist Donald Trump is making plans to remove a black family from their home in Washington, DC. 🙂
Another play on that is that this will be the first time in history that a billionaire moves into government housing vacated by a black man.
While we are at it:
Limit terms of Supreme Court Justices to 10 years. Stagger their terms.
Redefine the terms of the 14th Amendment – so that people who are born here (from parents of foreign countries) are not citizens. Since reconstruction is over – we could just repeal this amendment.
Constitutional amendments needed for both, legislation won’t accomplish it. Constitutional amendments aren’t easy (and weren’t meant to be).
Something best left till later on, IMO, since there are more easily done but still extremely important issues that can be done first (i.e. Obamacare, Immigration enforcement, taxes and debt) that don’t need anything other than legislation (i.e. Obamacare, Immigration enforcement, taxes and debt).
Donald re-opening the 9/11 investigation?