A Republican congressman wants Trump to get a third term. That should worry us.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., proposed a constitutional amendment Thursday that would allow for a president to serve three terms if their first two were nonconsecutive. This essentially serves as a rule aimed at giving President Donald Trump a third term in office.

To be clear, this resolution has absolutely no chance of actually becoming a part of the Constitution. However, the suggestion that Republicans should allow Trump the chance at a third term, even in the ridiculous hypothetical that is passing a constitutional amendment, ought to be worrying to conservatives. It worries me.

While one single lunatic in the House introducing something isn’t cause for alarm in itself, it should serve as a wake-up call to who exactly is in the ranks of the GOP at this point. There are people solely in office to serve Trump, rather than serve America or any semblance of conservatism.

Deifying Trump is a problem Republican Party must solve

The current state of the GOP keeps attracting individuals whose entire political message is loyalty to Trump. Naturally, this works, because in wide swaths of red states the voters have become worshippers of Trump, rather than typical conservative voters. Representatives in particularly Trump-friendly districts only need to pledge their fealty to him in order to win a Republican primary. 

The GOP has enabled this behavior by orienting its entire party platform around Trump’s wishes. The Republicans have put all their eggs in one basket, and I’m not sure that anyone has thought about what a Republican Party without Trump looks like at this point.

These voters will have had more than a decade of only knowing Trump as the figurehead of the party, and the GOP will need their votes beyond his tenure.

Leadership has to figure out how to weave them into the fold beyond the Trump era.

What should the future of the Republican Party be?

Further, MAGA representatives have become commonplace in the House, and a number of them have made careers solely by remaining loyal to Trump.

Motions like the proposed constitutional amendment are simply sad attempts at attention from people who don’t know any other way to get it.

I hate to even give this wind, but there is a plague of lawmakers in the GOP who exist only to advance their own political careers by grifting off of Trump and his voters. The Republican Party gains nothing of value from this crowd, and we need to figure out how to get legitimate value adds into these seats.

They would rather see 78-year-old Trump remain in office rather than a more capable candidate take on the mantle, because their entire career is built on him. After this final term for Trump, the grift for representatives like Ogles will be over. Politicians who simply attach themselves to another political figure often have short lifespans.

Conservatives should hope that beyond Trump, we will see a return of congressional members who need to stand for principles on their own.