I respectfully disagree with your assertion about the 17th Amendment (17A). For instance, note that one of the reasons that the Founding States established the federal Senate and gave control of the Senate uniquely to state lawmakers is this. Federal senators were probably expected to kill bills from the House which not only arguably steal 10th Amendment-protected state powers, but also steal state revenues associated with those powers.
This is evidenced by the Supreme Court historically clarifying that that Congress is prohibited from laying taxes in the name of state power issues, essentially any issue which Congress cannot justify under its constitutional Article I, Section 8-limited powers.
“Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States.” —Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
But the corrupt, popularly elected Senate has for decades after 17A was ratified been criminally helping the corrupt House to steal both state powers and state revenues associated with those powers. The Senate has been doing so by not killing House appropriations bills that Congress cannot justify under its Section 8-limited powers.
This is evidenced by activist justices giving the green light to Obamacare regardless that the states have never delegated to the feds, expressly via the Constitution, the specific power to regulate, tax and spend for intrastate healthcare purposes, giving Obamacare the green light in blatant defiance the Supreme Court’s previous claification of Congress’s limited power to lay taxes.
”State inspection laws, health laws, and laws for regulating the internal commerce of a State, and those which respect turnpike roads, ferries, &c. are not within the power granted to Congress [emphases added].” —Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
Also note that citizens are concerned that activist justices confirmed by the popularly elected Senate are likewise going to wrongy ignore 10th Amendment-protected state power to make laws which prohibit constituitionally unprotected gay marriage and give the green light to gay marriage.
Again, the 17th Amendment needs to disappear.
I agree with you on the impropriety of the 17A, but the fact is that it was passed unanimously, so we are stuck with it until we get enough people with enough sense to repeal it with another Amendment, and I think we are far beyond that.