Free Republic

“Michigan’s strictest-in-the-nation term limits law will force nearly 70 percent of state senators out of office in 2019 and more than 20 percent of representatives,” reports the Detroit News, “a mass turnover that is fueling renewed interest in reform.” What?!! Could term limitation laws actually make our poor underpaid and overworked politicians vacate their powerful perches . . . even when they don’t want to? Heaven forbid! Who could have foreseen this strange turn of events? Who could have predicted that limits on the number of terms politicians may stay in office would mandate that politicians, having reached that limit,...

Senator John McCain went on a long winded rant from the Senate floor, accusing Rand Paul of working for Vladimir Putin simply because he objected to Montenegro’s bid to be a part of NATO. Rand Paul responded by saying McCain is unhinged, past his prime and makes a strong case for term limits. Ouch! MSNBC: “What’s your reaction to Senator McCain’s characterization of your objection?” Rand Paul: “Well you know I think he makes a really really strong case, you know for term limits. Umm I think maybe he’s uh past his prime. I think maybe he’s gotten a little...

While reading articles about HRC and the possibility of tagging Bill for vice-president, I saw that the authors suggested strongly that there would be tension in such a choice with the 22nd Amendment. It then occurred to me that there is also some tension with Hillary herself and the 22nd Amendment. Could she be ineligible? Consider that a married couple is, for many legal purposes, a "single individual." So when a person is elected to the office of President of the United States, the spouse is part of the package by virtue of their marriage. (This situation will get even...

In remarks at the African Union meeting in Ethiopia this week, President Obama lamented “the sorry slate of candidates seeking to succeed me. To be honest, there is no one worthy to follow the path I have blazed. I may have to consider running for reelection.” Obama brushed aside the Constitutional provision prohibiting him from seeking another term as “a dangerous and unnecessary impediment” that might have to be altered “for the sake of humanity. You know, the guys who wrote the Constitution in 1787 didn’t see fit to limit the chief executive to any set number of terms. The...

Prediction: Obama and Democrat Party will seek to have the Presidential 2-term limit law changed to enable him to remain in office. Wanted to be the first to predict that here.

SACRAMENTO -- Softening his past opposition to changes to California's term-limits law, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to endorse a February ballot measure that would allow many sitting lawmakers to run for office again this year rather than be forced to leave the Legislature, said people close to the governor and the campaign. Schwarzenegger's backing is a boost for the Proposition 93 campaign and its chief proponent, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles), who will be forced out of his seat after this year unless the term-limits law is changed. Nunez endeared himself to Schwarzenegger by pushing the governor's health...

Kazakhstan Parliament Abolishes Presidential Term Limits on Nazarbayev By VOA News 18 May 2007 Lawmakers in Kazakhstan have voted to allow President Nursultan Nazarbayev to stay in office for an unlimited number of terms. Both the upper and lower houses of parliament Friday voted overwhelmingly in favor of amending the constitution to let Mr. Nazarbayev remain president as long as he chooses. The proposed amendment is an exception only for Mr. Nazarbayev. Future leaders will be limited to no more than two consecutive terms. Lawmakers also passed an amendment requested earlier this week by President Nazarbayev to reduce the presidential...

A proposal to amend California's term limits law has been revised to ensure that Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata would be eligible to serve an extra four-year term. The editing change, made Friday, targets a special circumstance that applies to only one sitting lawmaker, Perata. Gale Kaufman, a Democratic political consultant who helped launch the initiative drive, said the rewording simply clarifies what has been the intent all along. "It isn't doing anything other than what we thought we did to begin with," Kaufman said. But critics said the alteration adds to their contention that the initiative is a...

There is much discussion about moving, again, the California primary for President to an "early" date in February to make California a stronger player. You've also been hearing about the "need" to extend term limits and the true need to redistrict legislative seats using a fair method of drawing district lines for reapportionment. Although they are unrelated, they get tied together in numerous conversations amongst legislators and to the press. Tying all these issues together as is being done here is manipulative and wrong. This effort is really all about extending terms for legislators. Having torpedoed Prop 77's method of...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Democratic Rep. Ken Lucas says he will seek re-election next year, backing out of his term-limits pledge. When he first ran for Congress from Kentucky's 4th District, Lucas promised to serve no more than three terms. He won his third term last November, narrowly defeating Republican newcomer Geoff Davis. Lucas, 69, the lone Democrat in Kentucky's congressional delegation, said the political climate for term limits has changed. "While I still believe that public service is a calling that is temporary, these are not ordinary times in America and I cannot in good conscience step away from my...

<p>Gov. Mark R. Warner will push for a constitutional amendment repealing the law that prohibits Virginia's governors from seeking re-election, according to a report published Sunday.</p> <p>Warner has asked Democratic legislators to drop their opposition to the idea and will make a major push next month toward getting the amendment on the ballot, The Washington Post reported aides and party leaders as saying.</p>