We seem to float this auto-die of legislation here on APS pretty frequently.
Imagine yourself a seething, slinking, spiteful, bile-filled, commie-sympathizing nazi warmongering Statist of the worst order... with an auto-sunset clause in the Constitution you have to pay lip service to. Take the worst bits of Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and Obama and wrap them up in Pelosi's ego and call it POTUS.
How would you go about abusing this? 7 year sunset, 10 year sunset, whatever period.
#1 - I think we would see LOTS of apathy towards passing legislation. You think it's bad now? Just wait until social experimenters take advantage of the marketing potential of a 7 year "oops, that didn't work out so well, but hey at least now we know!" automatic forgiveness of any mistakes made. You'll have a half dozen experiments running all together with your tax dollars, civil liberties, or childrens' lives overseas in various military entanglements.
#2 - ? ? ?
#3 - Profit!
I think the AWB gave us this idea of auto-expiration. We got damned lucky there. They won't make that mistake again. And if they did, they'd be sure to find a way to omnibus-renew in a megabill each year or term, or something like that.