[Publius]

Ping.

[elpadre]

yes, yes, and yes

[knarf]

And every gun control law.

You want a bazooka?

Let the cops have three

More armament is the way to control armament

[Conscience of a Conservative]

I don’t think repealing the 17th Amendment would necessarily return to federalism. Two problems jump out: first, corruption of state legislatures could be a huge issue - one of the reasons the 17th amendment passed in the first instance is that there were a number of scandals in which people essentially bought Senate seats by bribing legislators. Second, there is a risk (also present before the 17th amendment passed initially) that state elections would become little more than proxies for the Senate election.

[right way right]

Get rid of the 16th amendment.
Have federal sales tax to pay for defense.
Stop there.

[Amendment10]

Patriots need to get state lawmakers up to speed on how the corrupt feds have been for decades stealing state revenues in the form of constitutionally indefensible federal taxes.

“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.

Then once patriots get state lawmakers angry with the crook feds then patriots and state lawmakers need to include the following provisions in the repeal amendment for 17A.

• Give states the power to recall members in both Houses of Congress, citizens able to recall representatives and state lawmakers able to recall senators.

• Give states the power to fire bad-apple Supreme Court justices on 3/4 (2/3?) majority state vote, same supermajority required to ratify an amendment.

[Sherman Logan]

Could only be passed by the the convention route. Impossible to imagine a majority, much less 2/3, of the Senate voting themselves out of a job.

[Clintonfatigued]

Not unless national redistricting reform is instituted first. Convoluted districts pervert the electoral process and if the 17th. Amendment were repealed, legislators safe in malapportioned districts would choose Senators without regard for the will of the states’ voters. At the time the amendment was repealed, the state legislatures were cesspools of corruption. Instead of voters choosing their politicians, politicians choose their voters and we can’t let that influence the U.S. Senate. If an end to partisan redistricting in imposed, than repealing the 17th. Amendment can be discussed. Not until then, though.

[Arthur McGowan]

“Interest groups understand that to impose one’s will on 300,000,000 Americans, one must influence one president, the selection of 5 supreme court justices, 51 (or 60) senators, and 218 representatives, a total of 275 individuals who live primarily in physical isolation, far away from those they govern,” says the Campaign to Restore Federalism.

Fortunately, that's FAR too many people for the Saudis to be able to buy.

[spintreebob]

Under previous management, Heritage Foundation and other establishment conservative organizations actively practiced the model described. They believed that they only needed to “educate” 500 people in DC to the “truth” and could ignore everyone outside the beltway.

Mini-versions of that were preached by CLI-Campaign Leadership Institute to local activists: That there were only a handful of people who controlled each state and all we needed to do was educate that handful to the truth and the state would do the right thing.

These were the same people who cluelessly rejoiced that they had “won the debate” when the USSR collapsed.

The big shift in the conservative movement to DeMint and Heritage Action, and to Koch and AFP and TeaParty types is a recognition that those outside the beltway do count, do need to be educated, and do need to be activated.

One of the splits in the party, and movement is between those who still have the old beltway mentality and those with the new decentralized mentality.

[arthurus]

Without repeal of the 17th there is no Federalism.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Nope.

[Monorprise]

I agree with the need to repeal the 17th amendment, but political reality must be observed and there are other solutions to have the same effect which may be more politically expedient such as state legislative recall to turn senators into ambassadors again.

[MosesKnows]

repeal of the 17th Amendment

Repeal the 17th Amendment or disband the Senate. We don't need both, one or the other is not necessary.

[Impy]

The 17th amendment has created a “winner take all” mentality in the nation’s capital, and the resulting bitterness that grips partisan Washington today is one direct result of its passage.

LMAO. Can you believe this bilge?

[RFEngineer]

Before repealing anything, the easiest path to federalism under the Constitution is for states to RE-ASSERT the 10th Amendment.

This takes nothing but will and leadership at the state level, perhaps coordinated between conservative governors.

Pick an issue, pick a dozen - there are thousands to choose from - where the federal government departs from specifically enumerated powers in the Constitution, and refuse to recognize federal authority over those issues. Then move on to the next dozen.....

Make THEM pass an amendment to allow the government to have these powers, if they wish for it to have certain powers in compliance with the 10th Amendment.