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IIRC, the reason for Senators having six year terms and Representatives having two year terms was that the Senate was to be a more deliberative body than the House and were therefore less dependent on the shifts of the political winds. All spending originates in the House and that makes the Representatives exposed more often to the will of the people.

There was a reason for that. Spending was intended to be little and only on what was needed and those doing it were to be wary about it. Treaties which determine our relations with other countries also become our law of the land, so they should be entered into only after much deliberation and done for the good of the whole country, not states and districts. Therefore, the Senate ratifies those and it takes 2/3 of them to do it. That is how serious the business of the Senate is supposed to be.

Bottom line, as the founders understood, the whole thing depends on a moral and just populace electing moral and just representatives. We need our spiritual natures to keep our selfish natures under control.

Lobbyists are depicted as necessary advisors with special knowledge on the many diverse subjects taken up by the Legislature. That may have been the intent, but they have become bag men. Whom is more to blame, the briber or the bribee? Neither can exist without the other but I suggest it is the taker who bears the moral burden. Those are the ones we elect.

Having state legislatures appoint Senators puts them a little closer to the voting public but that doesn’t in itself solve the problem. How many of us know who our State Representatives and our State Senators are much less what their views are? Those are the ones most dependent on us and and the ones who can affect the bigger picture. We should get to know them. You can bet those who want favors know them. Let them know there are more of us who just want good government than there are those who want favors and that our money collectively is more than that of the favor-seekers.

We can’t change human nature but we can make those who are tempted aware that we are watching. That will have more effect than most of us think.

I understand what the founding fathers intended when they determined the senate should be chosen by the legislatures. They, quite cleverly, installed term limits. Since the people frequently change who is in their legislatures (even if the make up doesn't change much) it is far more likely that the U S Senator would be changed if they were not doing a good job of representing the people. Yes, there are duties that pertain to the entire country, but with the states appointing the senators, they are less likely to attract outside money and far more likely to pay attention to business.

Like all amendments to the constitution, the one allowing the direct election of the senate weakened the country. It needs to go back to the legislature choosing the senators.