In some cases, yes. Nicaragua, for instance, has had more Constitutions than it’s had actual changes in power. Mind you, this hasn’t prevented Nicaragua from being passably prosperous, by the standards of the region.
You better let him rap or in '08 he’ll run again.
[sub]anybody remember that?[/sub]
Plenty of people have wanted to rip him another orifice. That’s pretty close.
All two-term presidents seem to be subject to this rumor.
I remember hearing in the late 1970s that Nixon commisioned a study by the Rand Corporation to examine the feasibility of canceling the 1972 elections. (I couldn’t find it in a quick search I just did, but I believe snopes.com once had it catalogued).
It sounds absurd to me. Among other things, if Bush really did decide to attempt to extend his term, why would he go to Congress? What he would do would announce that the terrorist situation is so dire that in order to avoid the disruption of an election and change in administration he was using his powers as CIC to postpone the election.
I don’t think even he (or Cheney) would contemplate such a thing (and there would be riots in the streets in which the police would be with the rioters) but I think that is how we would go about it.
The Nixon story I heard was that there was already a federal law that would allow Nixon to cancel the 1976 election if the country was at war, which is why he kept the Viet Nam War going all that time. I still remember laughing at my friend who told me that, pointing out two or three obvious flaws to the idea. It did no good, of course. Idiot conspiracy theories will be with us forever.
May I be the first to assert that Hillary Clinton is already working on ways to cancel or postpone the election of 2016? That way, when the inevitable rumors start, Snopes can confidently trace them back to a post made by Freddy the Pig on a message board on September 9, 2007.
It’s not just the 22nd Amendment; it’s Article II, Section 1: “He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years.” Any expansion of the president’s term requires an amendment. Hell, even changing the date of inauguration from March to January required an amendment (the 20th).
Since when has George Bush given a shit about the Constitution?
Moderator steps in. If anyone has an answer to the question posed in the OP(remember it?), feel free to add to the discussion.
If your only purpose is to make drive by political remarks, take it to another forum.
samclem GQ Moderator
I wonder if the origin is rather earlier? Do I correctly remember Carter saying that he’d prefer one 6 year term to two four year terms?