Posted on 12/09/2021 6:09:27 AM PST by Red Badger
ADMONITION
“The hour has come. Now we need a U.S. Senator or Representative to get the ball rolling on this urgent 28th Amendment.”
This needs to become a major campaign issue for conservative candidates running to replace incumbents who are unwilling to limit their own terms of office. This template is yours to adopt or adapt without attribution.
Section 1
A Senator may serve only two six-year terms. A member of the House of Representatives may serve only six two-year terms. This applies only to terms to which he or she was elected, but not those to which appointed to fill a vacancy. Incumbent Senators and Representatives at the time this amendment is ratified will be included in this limitation.
Section 2
The Speaker of the House of Representatives may serve no more than four years total in that capacity, whether or not consecutively. This provision applies to the incumbent at the time this amendment is ratified and is effective immediately thereupon.
Section 3
No President, Vice President, Senator, or Member of the House of Representatives may begin any new term after age 80. A term begun before age 80 may be completed. Anyone whose term would not begin before age 80 shall not be eligible to run for election to President, Vice President, Senator or Representative.
Section 4
Every Justice of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, shall be required to retire at age 80. This shall apply only to new Justices appointed after the ratification of this amendment. The President may nominate a candidate, for the advice and consent of the Senate, prior to such mandatory retirement of a Justice which shall become effective with Senate confirmation only after the Justice retires.
Section 5
This amendment is effective in all provisions immediately upon ratification, however those at the time of the ratification who are serving as President, Vice President, Senator or Representative in a term that began after age 80 may complete that term. The limitation on Speaker of the House becomes effective immediately upon ratification. Supreme Court Justices serving prior to ratification shall not be subject to mandatory retirement.
THIS 28TH AMENDMENT NEEDS TO BE INTRODUCED IMMEDIATELY
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. In the 230 years since then, there have been only 17 additional amendments. Following are the amendments and the years of their ratification.
1st, 1791, Rights to Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition
2nd, 1791, Right to Bear Arms
3rd, 1791, Quartering of Soldiers
4th, 1791, Search and Seizure
5th, 1791, Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process
6th, 1791, Rights of Accused in Criminal Prosecutions: Rights to Jury Trial, to Confront Opposing Witnesses and to Counsel
7th, 1791, Jury Trial
8th, 1791, Protections against Excessive Bail, Cruel and Unusual Punishment
9th, 1791, Non-Enumerated Rights
10th, 1791, Rights Reserved to States
11th, 1795, Suits Against a State
12th, 1804, Election of President and Vice-President
13th, 1865, Abolition of Slavery and Involuntary Servitude
14th, 1868, Protects rights against state infringements, defines citizenship, prohibits states from interfering with privileges and immunities, requires due process and equal protection, punishes states for denying vote, and disqualifies Confederate officials and debts
15th, 1870, Voting Rights
16th, 1913, Federal Income Tax
17th, 1913, Popular Election of Senators
18th, 1919, Prohibition
19th, 1920, Women’s Right to Vote
20th, 1933, Commencement of Presidential Term and Succession
21st, 1933, Repeal of 18th Amendment (Prohibition)
22nd, 1951, Two-Term Limitation on President
23rd, 1961, District of Columbia Presidential Vote
24th, 1964, Abolition of Poll Tax Requirement in Federal Elections
25th, 1967, Presidential Vacancy, Disability and Inability
26th, 1971, Right to Vote at Age 18
27th, 1992, Congressional Compensation
LIFE EXPECTANCY
At the time that our U.S. Constitution was written, men and women did not live nearly as long as they do today. Our Founders saw the necessity to establish a minimum age of 35 to serve as President, 30 as Senator and 25 as Representative. They did not, however, foresee the need to limit these offices to a maximum age.
Today it is abundantly clear to impartial citizens that those currently serving in these capacities have exceeded in years the ability to effectively fulfill the duties of their elected roles. Likewise, our Founders did not intend public service to be a lifetime career for anyone. After President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to four terms during the World War II-era, dying early in his final term, it became necessary to amend the U.S. Constitution to limit a President to two terms.
Now it has become necessary to prevent career politicians who have never had any life outside of government from making life-or-death decisions on behalf of the American public. For a very long time, I personally opposed Congressional term limits until I realized that no one is capable of withstanding the negative effects of prolonged power without commensurate accountability.
PROPOSED 28TH AMENDMENT
It has been nearly three decades since the ratification of the 27th Amendment. Rather than just making a nebulous suggestion that something needs to be done about Congressional term limits and age limits for President, Vice President, Congress and Supreme Court, I have provided a template for our 28th Amendment. Some incumbents on Capitol Hill have voluntarily indicated that they will abide by self-imposed term limits, including Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
What we need now is to quit just talking about it and actually do something about it. The amendment herewith recommended will not solve all of our problems but it is a very positive step in the right direction. America needs men and women willing to take a portion of time out of their life for public service, not politicians from so-called “safe districts”, who act without constraint because they know they will not be held accountable for their actions. Nor can we afford Supreme Court Justices with lifetime tenure whose decisions are beyond appeal.
JAMES MADISON, FEDERALIST 51
“It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
WHO WILL BE THE MAN OR WOMAN OF THE HOUR?
The hour has come. Now we need a U.S. Senator or Representative to get the ball rolling on this urgent 28th Amendment. The names of most Members of Congress will be virtually forgotten 100 years from now, whether you serve 50 years or just 12 years. But, this can be your legacy which will live on for posterity. This is just a template, but you can put your own imprint on American history.
James Madison has lived in the annals of good governance well beyond his time on earth, will you?
I would supplement Section 4- All Supreme Court Justices must step down after 14 years on the bench regardless of age!
A good thought, but what about the horde of utterly unaccountable career “civil servants”?
I submit that they present a far greater danger than lifelong congresscritters. For example, who outside of Southern California would know about Adam Schiff if it were not for James Comey, Rod Rosenstein, Bruce Ohr, Andrew McCabe, etc?
Placing additional restrictions on the constitutionally prescribed parts of our government while doing nothing to contain the morass of the administrative state will just tip the balance of power further to the bureaucrats.
I’d rather see Federal employment be term-limited before constitutional offices.
Yes, on paper… but they apparently changed rules for staffers about reporting on them.
A staffer should never know about their bosses private finances...................
They are never going to vote to limit themselves.
We no longer enforce current laws. New laws mean nothing.
They can see evidence of it.
Anyway, this whole thread is about fixing something that wouldn’t matter if the Constitution were obeyed in the first place. With almost all domestic federal activity ceasing if we honored the Law rather than FDR corruption they couldn’t enrich themselves the same and many other abuses too.
We already have term limits. They’re called elections.
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100% correct.
We in VA-7 dealt with Cantor and saved the country from Rubio’s Gang of Amnesty bill by taking out Cantor the day before the GOP House leadership was going to pass it with Democrat votes.
Doesn’t seem to stop them from doing it.
Just remember that recent West Point graduate with “communism wins” inside his hat......
And General Milley.
Not correct. Get behind the Convention of States movement and get your state to approve it, if it has not. Problem solved.
Where did you see anything in the article about a Constitutional convention?
Never, not until you limit staff. People who propose these types of idiocy are either idiots or commie operators.
Do not fall for this. Term limits of staffing will end the swamp, not term limiting the folks the CONSTITUENTS send to the capitals.
SMH!
Term limits are cool, but a MUST-include is a service limit on office assistants. They already control everything and behind the scenes, they change offices and gather “experience.” NOBODY can serve, in the lifetime aggregate, as an assistant to an elected official for more than the 12 year limitation on either house. They are unaccountable and their power will only grow as unrestrained “experienced” assistants will be highly sought because they “know the ropes.”
Darn, Bob. You sniped me while I was replying. GMTA
I’m probably going to touch off a powderkeg...but repealing the 19A would cause a backlash the world has never seen.
Can you imagine the s**tstorm that’d happen when wives, girlfriends, and every woman over 18 is told that their political opinion doesn’t count?
I know the common opinion around here is “Shut up and make me a sammich”. That dog don’t hunt in a vast majority of the female population. And what are you gonna do if they assert themselves? Beat them?
That whole women’s sufferage thing has left the barn a LONG time ago and there’s no getting it back in.
Some folks here are against a Convention of States because it’s so unpredictable. I disagree, and think it’s worth the risk. Our Republic is daily slipping away, and it’s time to roll the dice.
Anyway. a Convention is one way to impose term limits. But that might be a very long wait (if ever). So I’m in favor of a faster solution; pass an Amendment the usual way. Unfortunately, that can only happen if the current office-holders are exempt. Ugh! I know that’s distasteful.
Apparently not “illegal” enough.......
The Founders were very prudent to set the minimum age to serve in Congress and become POTUS. One could hope that by a certain age there would be a degree of wisdom, though AOC proves this is not always the case. As for a maximum age 80 would not be unreasonable, but strict term limits might take care of the problem.
Our current troubles are very much the result of a media totally willing to become the propaganda arm of the Democratic party. The Founders of our republic had faith that an independent free press would shine the light of truth on political miscreants. Sadly a independent media has become a thing of the past and the WhiteHouse is now colluding with the media on how to report the news. I cannot see any Constitutional fix for this problem
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