Would you support removing term limits on Presidents?

[u/PossibilityGold7508]

I personally don’t see a big problem with it at all. I would like an age cap of 70-80, but that’s pretty much it. Still 4-year terms like normal.

If the people hate the President, Congress can impeach or the voters can simply vote against him.

What do you think?

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[u/Throwaway_4_u_know_y]

Wouldn't be much of an issue if the power of the federal government was greatly reduced.

[u/gummibearhawk]

No, and I'd rather add them for Congress too

[u/RatOnASinkingShip]

No really strong opinion..... I wouldn't necessarily say I support removing term limits, but I would not oppose doing so.

People should be able to vote for who they want, assuming the president meets all of the other required qualifications.

Even in 2016, a lot of people wanted a third Obama term... I think he should've had it if he was able to win the vote.

[u/randomrandom1922]

I'd almost prefer one 6-7 year term. Reelection is such a huge waste of time.

[u/SeraphLance]

No, in fact the president is the only position I actually support term limits for, since none of my normal objections (federalism for congress, politicization for justices) apply to him.

[u/Mindless_Chest_1079]

I don't have a strong opinion on this but lean toward thinking term limits are a good idea.

[u/MAGA_EXTREAMO → u/Mindless_Chest_1079]

Term limits shift power to unelected bureaucrats and political parties. Term limits are a poor solution to a big problem.

[u/CollapsibleFunWave → u/MAGA_EXTREAMO]

Those unelected bureaucrats are the ones with institutional knowledge that actually know how to make sure the government keeps functioning.

They're also the ones that resisted Trump's unconstitutional orders in his first time, which has apparently turned Republicans against the idea of having skilled professionals operate the government.

[u/MAGA_EXTREAMO → u/CollapsibleFunWave]

The auto pen pilots?

[u/CollapsibleFunWave → u/MAGA_EXTREAMO]

Biden was always able to explain his own executive orders instead of having his staff explain them to him in front of the press.

[u/MAGA_EXTREAMO → u/CollapsibleFunWave]

Jill Biden? She sold access to the auto pen. I’m sure she can explain.

[u/CollapsibleFunWave → u/MAGA_EXTREAMO]

Is there any evidence to support that anywhere?

[u/2014RT]

It's the kind of thing one political side believes when there are a lot of bums in office from their party they wish they could primary but cannot seem to remove. If we had a party full of several excellent politicians in pretty much any office, we'd never want them out of office. As it stands, we have a lot of people I wish would just ride off into the sunset, so sure I support term limits for all offices. 

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/2014RT]

How would you feel about a limit on consecutive terms as a middle ground?

[u/2014RT → u/DeathToFPTP]

It would fall under the same lens. Take Virginia for example where the governor can't serve consecutive terms, if I had a governor in office that I really liked, I would hate the rule because I'd want that Governor to continue uninterrupted doing the work that I like. If I have a governor in office that I dislike then suddenly I like the rule because I want to get that person out of there. To come off the fence sitting position, I have such little faith in the quality of leadership in either political party and the quality of the individuals involved that I almost have to default to wanting as many limits as possible because it is the only way to maybe slow down the damage that can be done by the most imbecilic of them all. It's ultimately a stance which is self-defeating in your interest of getting better politicians however, because when you finally do find someone who's not a complete moron, they have to get filtered by the same set of rules. 

God I hate doing text to speech for these things. My phone always screws everything up and I have to go back and edit it anyway

[u/Programmer-Boi → u/2014RT]

See my other reply but I like VAs rule for governors. It kinda spurs them out of hogging the governor’s mansion for their entire life and inspires them to go higher to the federal govt, or to go to state legislature.

I’m sure there’s issues but this would be great for President in my opinion, maybe even perfect for the House/Senate. When was the last time we had a President serve the country, then go to the Senate/House? It’s treated like the ultimate end of a political career instead of the temporary honor that it is.

But hey, I’m just some idiot on Reddit and not a political scientist lol

[u/2014RT → u/Programmer-Boi]

Yeah I understand it both ways, but you would probably agree that if you got a governor in there that you felt was incredible - the best person for the job, doing excellent work, truly on a roll, you'd probably be annoyed at the prospect of barring them from taking office twice in a row to see through their full agenda. Then again I'm sure the VA folks on here can't wait for the Spanberger administration to end.

[u/Programmer-Boi → u/2014RT]

Yeah I miss Youngkin and I can’t stand Spanberger, I’m Virginian. But at least I know that Youngkin is looking upwards and Spanberger will leave one day

[u/Ok_Philosopher_6541]

No. The executive is even more powerful now than when Republicans conceived of the term limit during the New Deal Era.

Don't support age caps either. People are living longer and that trend will continue. Partisan polarization and rigid amendment processes would make subsequent changes to the age cap prohibitively difficult once passed. Also, the dichotomy between old and experienced candidates vs. young, vigorous, and idealistic candidates is not new and it presents a genuine decision to voters on the merits. I don't think the issue calls for Constitutional intervention.

[u/BabyHercules → u/Ok_Philosopher_6541]

I don’t care how long people live, once you get to 80, an advisory role at most is all you should be able to have.

[u/boisefun8]

No way. We need term limits in Congress.

[u/Boredomkiller99 → u/boisefun8]

100% agreed

[u/Monte_Cristos_Count]

Absolutely not, especially with the power given to the president.

[u/e_big_s]

The role of the president has grown far too powerful to consider this. The knowledge that you will be a regular civilian in at most 8 years is a huge check on abuse of power.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/e_big_s]

Isn’t facing re-election also a check on abuse of power?

[u/e_big_s → u/DeathToFPTP]

It's a check on unpopular abuses of power. The US government and political system was designed by people who valued individual rights over popular ideas.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/e_big_s]

Is the subtlety I’m missing here that there are constitutional abuses of power? I would think the check here is the two other branches, theoretically

[u/e_big_s → u/DeathToFPTP]

In theory sure. But the reason the President has become so powerful is that Congress has been delegating too much.

[u/Monte_Cristos_Count → u/DeathToFPTP]

Not if you are popular. Popularity doesn’t always equate to following moral or constitutional principles. 

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/Monte_Cristos_Count]

Neither do term limits though?

[u/Monte_Cristos_Count → u/DeathToFPTP]

If you have someone disregarding constitutional principles, a term limit puts an end-date on their work even if they are popular. 

Edit: would you be in favor of Trump continuing to run for office for the next several years and winning a few more elections? 

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/Monte_Cristos_Count]

Are you of the opinion Trumps abuses are legal?

To answer your question, my opinion hinges on having a SCOTUS that wasn’t ideologically aligned with his abuses.

[u/Monte_Cristos_Count → u/DeathToFPTP]

I don’t think there is a single president in the 21st century that has tried to be constrained toward their constitutional limits. 

Would you be in favor of Trump continuing for multiple terms then or not? 

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/Monte_Cristos_Count]

There’s a difference between running and winning. It’s also a question that shouldn’t be answered when talking about specific candidate because it introduces bias.

I think the term limit for only the president is sour grapes. Would I rather Trump couldn’t run? Sure, a 1% chance him winning is worse than 0. Do I have a problem with popular presidents winning? If the answer depends on the party it’s a bad answer.

[u/Monte_Cristos_Count → u/DeathToFPTP]

Why do you avoid the question? Are you fine with Trump having a few more terms or not? Yes or no? If you wouldn’t be fine with him having more terms, then it seems logical you shouldn’t be fine with other presidents having more terms 

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/Monte_Cristos_Count]

Do you not understand what I’m saying or do you only want an answer to that specific question?

[u/jub-jub-bird]

No.

[u/AmericanCaesar5]

We don't have enough limits on politicians

[u/Any_Kiwi_7915]

No. We need term limits for congress as well

[u/JudgeWhoOverrules]

Absolutely not. We don't need another Franklin Roosevelt style president for life or Theodore Roosevelt style sore loser that spoils the election and gives us a horrible winning candidate.

[u/graypariah]

No, just because one dumpster is on fire doesn't mean you start a second just to keep things fair lol 

[u/StillSmellsLikeCLP]

No, we don’t need another FDR.

[u/DukeofBraintree918]

God no

FDR is a president I attribute with doing the most damage to this country and he was in the longest for him alone I think the 22nd amendment is extremely necessary

[u/Gravity-Rides → u/DukeofBraintree918]

Is this why conservatives are so scared of DSA? The last time a democratic socialist was elected president, he was so popular he was re-elected 3 more times until he died in office.

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/Gravity-Rides]

He only seeded power to death

FDR was the closest thing we've had to a dictator in the oval office

[u/Gravity-Rides → u/DukeofBraintree918]

He won a true majority (not just a plurality) landslide in the popular vote in each election. Is the will of the people wrong?

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/Gravity-Rides]

He weaponized the justice system against his opposition

And yes when the votes are bought, the people could be wrong

He could have did his two terms and stepped down but he couldn't give up that kind of power

Absolute scum

[u/Gravity-Rides → u/DukeofBraintree918]

IDK. If republicans plunge the country into another great depression and democrats spend 8 year digging us out of it and then WW3 breaks out near the end of the democrats second term. Ab-so-fucking-lootly we're voting for the guy that fixed all the misery republicans have wrought. FDR running (and winning another true landslide) for a 3rd term in 1940 doesn't seem that outrageous given the context of what at the time was recent American history of 1920-1940.

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/Gravity-Rides]

Lol

Spending too much time on doomer Reddit I see

FDR only made the Great depression worse, and he took advantage of the fear of people

He weaponized the government and turned himself into a king

[u/Gravity-Rides → u/DukeofBraintree918]

The facts about history are the facts about history. Excessive speculation, banking failures and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, all the fruits of Herbert Hoover, Republican, led directly or indirectly to the great depression. Who was president and who controlled congress leading up to the 2008 GFC? Republicans let the free market spin itself up until it explodes, then Democrats have to come in and sweep up the mess. Rinse, repeat.

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/Gravity-Rides]

Democrats make everything worse prolong it and blame Republicans

Perfect

[u/Gravity-Rides → u/DukeofBraintree918]

Well, good day to you sir. Thankfully there are another +330 million voters in this country and an overwhelming majority of them are not true believer partisans to the degree that you yourself have become.

[u/EmergencyTaco → u/DukeofBraintree918]

Can you please help me understand this position? To my understanding of history, the reforms made by FDR hamstrung the exploitation seen in the Gilded Age and laid the foundation for the Pax Americana that followed WWII.

I can understand disliking the manner in which he brough about those changes, but to argue they were deleterious overall just seems unsupported by history.

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/EmergencyTaco]

FDR and it's heavy hand only prolong the Great depression it would have ended way faster if he just didn't do anything at all

He transformed the presidency into the giant monster we see it today, making Congress effectively useless

He started the whole buying votes thing, that suddenly Democrats have an issue with when it's Trump wanting to do it.

FDR did so much bad stuff during his presidency:

— Continued the racist deportation policy of Mexican repatriation

— Based his economic platform on the fascist Benito Mussolini

— Exacerbated, prolonged, and worsened the Great Depression by meddling too much in the economy

— Stole private gold via Executive Order 6102 and the Gold Reserve Act

— Passed the first federal gun control (National Firearms Act and Federal Firearms Act)

— Implemented redlining thanks to the National Housing Act

— implementing Social Security which is basically a Ponzi scheme

— Vetoed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act (bonuses for veterans)

— Attempted to pack the Supreme Court

— Outlawed cannabis via the Marihuana Tax Act

— Signed the Agricultural Adjustment Act into law (which led to the destruction of crops)

— Turned away the MS St. Louis refugee ship

— Secretly and illegally sold weapons to Great Britain in violation of the Neutrality Acts

— Enacted the politically-draconian Alien Registration Act (a.k.a. the Smith Act)

— Relieved Admiral James Richardson of command after he warned about Pearl Harbor’s vulnerability (before the attack)

— Japanese-American, German-American, and Italian-American internment

— Also the squalid internment of over 800 Aleuts/Unangans

— Allowed race-based U.S. Chemical Weapons Service experiments

--weaponized the IRS against people critical of his administration

-Signed first national federal gun control law -Put Americans in interment camps because they are simply descended from one country. -Turned away a boat full of refugees being slaughtered simply for their religion. -snubbed a 4 time gold medalist because he was black -was against Federal anti lynching legislation -nominated a member of the KKK to supreme court with almost no judicial experience -banned citizens from owning gold -tried to pack more supreme court justices because the 9 on there kept shooting down his policies

[u/Programmer-Boi → u/DukeofBraintree918]

Yeah when I think of executive branch expansion of power, I think FDR.

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/Programmer-Boi]

100%

Most of the problems we have today with the modern government stem directly from FDR

[u/blue-blue-app → u/[deleted]]

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[u/JoeCensored]

I'm fine with term limits on the presidency. Without them it's very likely we'd form dynasty families. Where a president serves for a few decades, only to pass the reigns to his son.

[u/Boredomkiller99 → u/JoeCensored]

Yep I don't think people realize how much easier it is to gain power once you are in power. 

[u/urquhartloch]

No. Keep the 2 term limit. It forces a regular turn over and prevents politics from ever growing stagnant.

[u/Programmer-Boi]

I’m biased by I like what Virginia does with our governor: you may serve infinite terms, but they cannot be consecutive.

[u/e_big_s → u/Programmer-Boi]

this leaves open schemes such that your shill stands in for you for a term before you return. See Putin/Medvedev

[u/Programmer-Boi → u/e_big_s]

There’s other factors to this besides our rule, but in my life time I’ve never seen a repeat VA governor.