# Repeal the twenty-second amendment (presidential term limit) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 7, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316 "2013-01-07T04:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/1 "2013-01-07T04:46:46Z")
[Congress.gov](http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-joint-resolution/15/actions) [QUOTE=Rep. Serrano, Jose E. (D-NY-15)] H.J.Res.15 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President. [/QUOTE] I should probably have taclked this onto the stupid liberal idea od the day thread, but this one seemed to go above and beyond. Most likely a non-starter, but really? I can’t see this being a good idea with anyone in office. No co-sponsors, but it’s early yet. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/2 "2013-01-07T04:52:19Z")
Wow, why hasn’t anybody thought of this before? [Oh, wait.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) > [@](#): > > On January 4, 2013, Rep. José Serrano once again introduced H.J.Res. 15 proposing an Amendment to repeal the 22nd Amendment, as he has done every two years since 1997. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/3 "2013-01-07T04:57:46Z")
The amendment was a very old Stupid Republican Idea of the Day. It turns every president who is re-elected into a lame duck. But it’s no surprise to see the GOP in favor of denying people the right to vote for the president of their choice. They would be in favor of an amendment that only allows people to vote for Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/4 "2013-01-07T04:59:03Z")
[It happens so often](http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/termlimits.asp), it would be more newsworthy if it weren’t introduced. Of course, that fact does nothing to curb the dipshits on facebook touting the “ZOMG look wut Obummer is trying to do now!!” nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/5 "2013-01-07T05:01:17Z")
I’m all for repealing the 22nd Amendment. A President winning a third term has only come up once, and he used it to win World War II and finish off the Great Depression. Other than that, two terms seems pretty much the de facto limit. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/6 "2013-01-07T05:22:44Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The amendment was a very old Stupid Republican Idea of the Day. It turns every president who is re-elected into a lame duck. But it’s no surprise to see the GOP in favor of denying people the right to vote for the president of their choice. They would be in favor of an amendment that only allows people to vote for Republicans. [Bullshit.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Farley) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/7 "2013-01-07T05:29:13Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > [Bullshit.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Farley) So a disgruntled Democrat was involved. Big deal. He wouldn’t have been the only one either. When you see congress taking our rights away it’s pretty well guaranteed to be a bi-partisan effort. But you can bet your bottom dollar no Republican would have backed this if they’d ever had a chance of having a president elected to more than 2 terms. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/8 "2013-01-07T05:37:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > So a disgruntled Democrat was involved. Big deal. He wouldn’t have been the only one either. When you see congress taking our rights away it’s pretty well guaranteed to be a bi-partisan effort. But you can bet your bottom dollar no Republican would have backed this if they’d ever had a chance of having a president elected to more than 2 terms. You’re being silly. You are actually pretending that the Republican Party of the 1950s is the same as it is today. They have quite literally nothing in common other than a name. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/9 "2013-01-07T12:12:32Z")
The linked Wiki article claims there have been attempts ever since Reagan was in office, so apparently it was a Republican president who inspired people to start with this. And Rep. Serrano does this every two years, apparently regardless of who’s in office, so it looks like he merely dislikes the Amendment in general. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/10 "2013-01-07T12:49:31Z")
Can someone enlighten an ignorant Aussie here? I always understood that the amendment disallowed more than two CONSECUTIVE terms, but that a previous President could stand for election _again_ after one term had been missed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/11 "2013-01-07T13:09:54Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Can someone enlighten an ignorant Aussie here? I always understood that the amendment disallowed more than two CONSECUTIVE terms, but that a previous President could stand for election _again_ after one term had been missed. [If only there was a website where one could easily find this stuff out. 😉](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Amendment) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/12 "2013-01-07T13:41:02Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Can someone enlighten an ignorant Aussie here? I always understood that the amendment disallowed more than two CONSECUTIVE terms, but that a previous President could stand for election _again_ after one term had been missed. No. You can be elected in your own right only twice, consecutively or otherwise; if you’re a VP who completes another’s term (due to death, resignation, or removal from office), you can serve an additional two years. In other words, no one can serve as president more than ten years. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/13 "2013-01-07T13:47:52Z")
The precedent of a voluntary two-term limit was set by George Washington. Though others (e.g., Teddy Roosevelt) did try to break it over the years, only FDR was able to win a third (and fourth) term prior to 1953, and that was because of the looming World War and continuing Depression. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/14 "2013-01-07T13:51:18Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > [If only there was a website where one could easily find this stuff out. 😉](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Amendment) Glad you put that wink there, or the Aussies might think the Americans were dissing them… 😉 [And here’s the Snopes article on the 22nd.](http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/termlimits.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/15 "2013-01-07T14:18:33Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > [Congress.gov](http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-joint-resolution/15/actions)I should probably have taclked this onto the stupid liberal idea od the day thread, but this one seemed to go above and beyond. Most likely a non-starter, but really? I can’t see this being a good idea with anyone in office. No co-sponsors, but it’s early yet. I imagine it will be sufficient for all the Freepers to scream, “SEE? WE TOLD YOU!” until somebody points out the guy has been proposing this since 1997. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/16 "2013-01-07T14:24:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The amendment was a very old Stupid Republican Idea of the Day. It turns every president who is re-elected into a lame duck. But it’s no surprise to see the GOP in favor of denying people the right to vote for the president of their choice. They would be in favor of an amendment that only allows people to vote for Republicans. Bullshit. The problem with the amendment was that it didn’t go far enough - it should have term-limited Congress as well. The idea was to keep someone from creating a dynasty, so to speak, like FDR almost did. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/17 "2013-01-07T14:26:01Z")
I can totally get behind term-limiting Congress. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/18 "2013-01-07T14:33:21Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The amendment was a very old Stupid Republican Idea of the Day. And they somehow “tricked” all those Democrats in Congress and the state legislatures to vote for it? Not sure who would be the stupid ones then. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/19 "2013-01-07T14:40:41Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > [If only there was a website where one could easily find this stuff out. 😉](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Amendment) No need for Wikipedia. Just read the amendment. > [@](#): > > Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice Pretty clear. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316/20 "2013-01-07T14:48:29Z")
I don’t like term limits in general. If you want someone out of office, we have these nifty things called “elections” that happen on a predetermined schedule. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-twenty-second-amendment-presidential-term-limit/646316.md?page=2)