Nothing says "constitutional ignoramus" like the musings of a faded pop star desperately trying to remain moderately relevant.
Case in point: John (Don't Call Me Cougar) Mellencamp and his recent ill-informed "solution" to what he considers the biggest problem with our democratic republic.
Speaking with the brain trust that is HuffPost Live, Mellencamp said:
A president can have four terms. If you're a senator, you got four years, and it's an honor to represent your constituency and your area, but after four years, you're done. If I lived in your neighborhood and I was your congressman, I had to do what you people said because it's an honor. You people are the people who put me there. That's what it pretends to be, but there's all these special interests. So special interests, then, are all of a sudden gone.
As HuffPo neglects to point out, Mellencamp's "solution" reeks of a totalitarian dictatorship. HuffPo didn't see it that way, but their description of this new constitutional paradigm certainly leads one to that conclusion: (emphasis added)
The legendary singer added that allowing presidents to remain in the Oval Office for longer would give them enough time to truly exercise their power and make a difference.
So let's think this through, kids...
A president gets up to 16 years to "truly exercise their power" with direct representatives of the people only getting a maximum of four years at a time to keep that power in check.
Un-checked, totalitarian dictatorship anyone?
The good news for Mellencamp is that he's in the news and people are talking about him as if he mattered to anyone other than for his recent achievement of driving former girlfriend Meg Ryan to alter her appearance to an unrecognizable state with more plastic surgery than a 3rd degree burn victim.