Posted on 11/04/2018 4:04:57 AM PST by Jacquerie
The Electoral College quickly became the left’s least favorite part of the American government after Donald Trump won the 2016 election. By 2017, gerrymandering in the House of Representatives was the cause celebre. In 2018, they’re still mad about both of these things—some people will always be mad about something—but the confirmation of two conservative judges to the Supreme Court has banked the fires of resentment even higher against another part of our constitutional structure: the U.S. Senate.
NBC’s Ken Dilanian captured the mainstream media zeitgeist when he tweeted: "It may not happen in our lifetimes, but the idea that North Dakota and New York get the same representation in the Senate has to change. Senators representing less than half the U.S. are about to confirm a nominee opposed by most Americans."
Repeal the 17th Amendment.
The Senate was always intended to represent the states, not the people and, as such, its equal membership across the states makes sense. It is not that the people are represented unequally in the Senate, it is that they are not supposed to be represented in that way.
The Senate did exactly what it was designed to do until the populist progressives last altered its makeup in 1913 with the passage of the 17th Amendment. There were some problems with the old system, in which state legislatures elected U.S. senators, and increasing deadlocks around the turn of the 20th century meant that seats went unfilled more frequently. But rather than fixing that system, progressives abolished it and made the Senate a mal-apportioned version of the House by making its members elected by the people directly.
This, perhaps, is the root of the problem. Changing to popular election makes the Senate look no different from one of the state senates, where voters elect state senators from districts that, while larger than state house districts, are nonetheless equal in size. The change in electoral method has made us forget the Senate’s purpose of representing the states as political entities, not merely as oversized districts.
The results have been clear. Since 1913, power has flowed steadily away from state capitals and toward Washington, D.C. The Senate, in this respect, has worked in Democrats’ favor for 100 years as the former bulwark of federalism is now subject to the same centralizing trends as the House and the presidency. In a nation that is increasingly diverse, the trend should be the opposite, with states gaining more power from the central government so that the people need not be governed by one-size-fits-all legislation. The only change the Senate needs is returning it to its intended purpose as the representative of the states.
Folks might want to go back to the 1900 to 1917 era and read over the criticism mounting of corruption with various state governments, with deals being made within state houses/state legislatures to arrange for so-and-so get the Senate seat nod. Just repealing the 17th...helps us to go back to the state corruptive games. It would be far better to just insert one single sentence onto the 17th, which says a two-term limit (twelve years) will be mandated for each Senator.
I might go and add one other line as well...that the Senate ought to enforce a 60-day recess twice a year and be forced to return to their state for that entire recess period.
The repeal of the 17th is only possible with Article V.
Fair play to the author and the article: I learned something.
The writer is a lawyer, it says, and he’s got an airtight case. Of course, when dealing fascist goalpost shifters that usually isn’t a problem.
Having a sharp memory is a problem only because I can recall smug, short sighted comments from lefties, such as this one after 2008: ‘The GOP is now a rump party and should be dissolved and replaced.’
Icarus, call your office.
Repeal the 17th Amendment - I would rather have each state (corruption and all) determine Senators then the current method where those with the deepest pockets can buy and sell Senate votes.
(I would also go along with term limits and add that Senators are prohibited from becoming Presidents.)
Clause 1 of Article V is rarely discussed in this context. One of the few things that cannot be amended away Constitutionally is the proportional representation of the States in the Senate.
I think the only way to end proportional representation would be to abandon the Constitution altogether, which would be unconstitutional. It would be the formal end to the nation.
Well, PA has likely lost Republican seats due to current gerrynmandering by the Dems there.
We all know the MO of the left: Create the problem, then lobby for their so-called “fix” to the problem, which they always so-conveniently have at the ready, that always will, sooner or later, make the problem worse.
That’s what they did/are-doing with health care, and will lead us to the promised land of single-payer all-powerful-government run insurance, hospitals and so on.
And that’s what we have here: they created the problem in 1913 with the 17th, for which they now have the perfect solution: abolish the electoral college. Knowing their MO, I’d speculate the left were mostly responsible for blackening the Sinate prior to the 17th, so that more people could be hoodwinked into accepting the election of Sinators as their 1913 fix.
Interesting article. Thanks for posting. Whiney socialists/criminals and their surrogates ALERT! Way too many snakes in the Senate and our House. DEPOPULATE ‘Rats from the body politic. The process of MAGA. Having a chance. Law and order v crime and chaos. Stay tuned.
C’mon Tuesday.
They haven't been this mad since we took away their slaves.
Bookmark for later..
Direct elections are popularity contests that have allowed the media and unscrupulous Dems to regularly steal several Senate seats in conservative states. See Alabama, Alaska, Minnesota, New Jersey, North and South Dakota.
Liberals........ Loss Of Political Power Have Lost Touch With Reality. Tells you all you need to know.
Expand the electoral concept such that you have to win a majority of counties. The states are red and the cities are blue. A few cities have to much impact at the state and federal level.
It is completely absurd that little Leftist Vermont, and Delaware and Connecticut and Rhode Island and Hawaii get the same vote as huge Conservative Texas......right Democrats?
How come they never want to talk about the small Left leaning states?
The whole constitution is a deal between states. Without it, the smaller states would simply be ignored and screwed over by politicians in Washington DC. The smaller states in 1789 understood this all too well. That’s why they weren’t about to agree to a deal that did not allow them equal representation in at least one house of Congress.
Thanks to the 17th, Scotus has enshrined voting as a fundamental right. If Hillary was Potus, her Scotus would be primed and ready to declare voting for all, citizen or not, as a fundamental right. The progs are well on their way to undermining the electoral college through the National Popular Vote as well.
Unless we can implement some institutional reforms like repeal of the 17th, President Trump’s accomplishments will not last.
I would also add that the Constitution acts directly on both the people and states. Quaint republican theory demands consent of the governed. It was beyond foolish and ignorant to create another popular branch, but positively dangerous to grant its members SIX YEAR TERMS!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.