In these unprecedented times, we might want to think about the structure of our government – something we rarely do, but could, with profit, now that many of us have so much time at home.
How about the 22nd Amendment, the little-discussed measure by which we limited election to the presidency to two four-year terms? It took nearly four years to get this one through; it was proposed by a suddenly Republican Congress in 1947 as an act of posthumous retaliation against Franklin Roosevelt, who had been elected four times.
State legislatures, predominantly Republican because rural areas were then so heavily over-represented, nevertheless saw many heated debates before the requisite three-quarters of the states ratified in 1951.
There’s irony in that Dwight Eisenhower was the first president to be term-limited; since then, two Republican successors, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, were also limited, though none seemed likely to seek a third term, Eisenhower and Reagan due to age, and Bush because of unpopularity.
Two Democratic presidents have also been term-limited, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and their prospects for a third term would have been better. Clinton was just 50 when he left office; Obama, 55. Both were more popular than their eventual successors.
If you’re getting a certain idea, you’d be right: Term limits are a Republican notion. Throughout its modern history, the GOP has feared it could not win popular majorities, and conversely feared Democrats usually could.
What better way to make sure there’s never another FDR than to automatically remove presidents from office?
At the time the 22nd Amendment was ratified, only a handful of states had term limits for governors, but its example was influential, and 36 now do. Still, 14 states have no limits, and in New England, only Maine and Rhode Island do.
Maine’s came about because, in 1957, just re-elected Gov. Ed Muskie, a Democratic vote-getter who Republicans rightly feared, wanted a constitutional
amendment for a four-year term. Republicans insisted on a two-term limit, and Muskie acceded.
I’ve never supported legislative term limits, which are an absurd political idea that became popular more through the low opinion Americans have of legislatures than any considered notion that they might accomplish something.
Their effect on citizen legislatures such as Maine’s is devastating. The revolving door that term limits guarantees for leadership leaves this co-equal branch outmatched by Maine’s increasingly powerful governors.
Yet limits on executive power, I thought, might have some justification in our nuclear age, with presidents wielding nearly sole power over war and peace. I no longer think so.
One negative effect can be observed from Maine’s gubernatorial experiment. Since Ken Curtis became the first term-limited governor in 1974, three successors – John McKernan, John Baldacci and Paul LePage – were re-elected despite less-than-successful first terms.
The two-term limit creates a perverse incentive toward re-election. None of the three had a primary challenger, partly because the impending open seat discourages party rivals.
At one time, most Maine governors faced a primary opponent, and some weren’t re-nominated, but Curtis was the last incumbent to face more than a token challenge.
Two terms, as modeled by George Washington, is a great tradition, but a lousy statutory requirement. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, since the four-year term was adopted, no governor has served more than two. No one seems to think they’re needed.
Elections provide definitive judgments that term limits never can. In 2018, Republican Gov. Scott Walker sought a third term in Wisconsin, and was defeated by Democrat Tony Evers.
In Maine, Paul LePage was barred from re-election, and thus didn’t face his most determined opponent, Attorney General Janet Mills. Had the two squared off, we
might have gotten a definitive look at where Mainers want the state to go, and a much more competitive race.
Circling back to the 22nd Amendment, its worst feature is a lifetime ban. No one elected twice consecutively can ever serve again, no matter how much voters might want that to happen.
Of the 36 state term limits for governors, only eight – less than a quarter – impose such a ban, outweighed by states that have no limits on their chief executives.
Consider our choices this November, amid a pandemic and a national awakening over Black Lives Matter. A dubious incumbent will be faced by a 77-year-old former senator and vice president who remains untested at the highest level.
Meanwhile, the 58-year-old Barack Obama, the “first black president,” is permanently retired from office. Were he not, he could still go to the Democratic National Convention, even at this late date, and be nominated.
Yes, it’s time we did some rethinking.
Douglas Rooks, a Maine editor, reporter, opinion writer and author for 35 years, has published books about George Mitchell, and the Maine Democratic Party. He welcomes comment at drooks@tds.net
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