April 4, 1999

Since President Clinton’s re-election in 1996, there has been scant attention paid to the future life of our president once his second term expires in January 2001. Only a few predictions from some political analysts have suggested that Mr. Clinton will be the next Secretary-General of the UN, the head of the World Bank, or even an actor in Hollywood. But there is one frightening possibility that hasn’t been mentioned: Bill Clinton may be plotting for a third presidential term in the near future.

Believe or not, there is currently two pieces of legislation proposed in Congress which call for the repeal of the 22nd Amendment of the constitution --- the same amendment which imposes a two-term limit on the president. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who served as the White House call boy during the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearings, has introduced H.J. Res. 24. Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY), an ardent Clinton partisan, and Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), one of five liberal Republicans to vote against the Articles of Impeachment, are sponsoring H.J. Res. 17. Both of these resolutions are currently languishing in the Judiciary committee. Yet, should either one ever become approved by two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the state legislatures, the door would be open for Clinton’s third term. The president’s admirers don’t call him the “Comeback Kid” for nothing.

All of this may seem like a far-fetched scenario, but stranger things have happened in politics. President Clinton has miraculously escaped accountability from dozens of scandals which many in Washington believed would shorten his tenure in the White House. At the same time, his vanquished opponents in Congress have retreated in fear. So it is not inconceivable that the Republicans on Capitol Hill would eventually shuttle the passage of one of these resolutions in order to cleanse themselves of “partisan” politics and a “mean-spirited” image.

Hopefully, members on both sides of Capitol Hill won’t let this happen. Both resolutions should be viewed as an assault upon the constitution and a covert attempt by the White House to maintain the Clinton dynasty indefinitely. The purpose of the 22nd amendment was to prevent presidents like Clinton from preserving their power and ruling like Kings. The historical precedent of two term limits was established by George Washington and was faithfully followed by every president (except Franklin Roosevelt). For this tradition, which is enshrined in our constitution, to be recklessly discarded, as Reps. Frank, Serrano and Shays propose, would amount to a complete undermining of our system of checks and balances.

All Americans should fear the prospect of another Clinton term. More than any politician in American history, Bill Clinton is consumed to the core with power and greed. Every moment of his adult life has been for his own personal aggrandizement in the political world. Unlike many elected officials, he has never held a job in the real world. He has been living his entire life from the spoils of taxpayer-funded political offices. Why should any American think that he will quietly retire to Little Rock and write his memoirs? America, beware. Clinton wants to be your president…..forever. What are you going to do about it?