Yeah, repeal it and empower the politicians even more.
Next to the 16th Amendment, the 17th was the worst amendment. The direct election of Senators defeats the whole original purpose of the Senate, which was to have the State Legislatures elect the Senators so that the Senators could represent the States and not the mob. Now we have a Senate filled with people who could care less about what their States want. People like McCain and Flake who actively work against the interests of their own states because they are elected by being able to buy advertising on daytime TV to convince the uneducated masses that they will bring them goodies from Washington.
The Framers were smarter than you, my FRiend.
How would they be empowered?
They’d be held more accountable by the state legislatures that send them there. And given the fact that republicans are the majority in the majority of the states right now, then I doubt we’d be having, at least, some of the problems we’re having now.