Posted on 09/30/2019 12:59:34 AM PDT by Jacquerie
A book by George C. Edwards III, 2004.
Criticism of the status quo is easy. What is harder is to create a better alternative.
I confess to having little patience with those who fault the 1787 Framers for the condition of our government in 2019. They didn’t write a Bible. They didn’t hand down immutable Commandments. Their Constitution, one that’s consistent with republican principles unique to the American experience, is infinitely amendable. Don’t like it? Amend it. But one must be aware of what one is doing.
Nearly all of the twenty-seven amendments are wise and contribute to the lofty goals set forth in the Preamble. For those that are not so wise, we can only observe that it is the way of vigorous republics to eventually correct their mistakes. Lasting republics take a regular measure of their institutions. If institutions are wounded through neglect and corruption, the cure is to carefully excise the corruption and heal the wound.
Unfortunately, when confronted with corruption of the Framers’ Constitution, progressives rarely advocate prosecution of felonious officials or encourage basic reforms to restore institutions to their first principles. In the early 1890s, in response to charges of selling Senate seats, progressives clamored for popular Senate elections. Others, like Senators William E. Chandler (NH) and George Hoar (MA) predicted direct election of Senators would inevitably usher in popular election of the President. They asked their colleagues to remember the purpose of their institution and to wait out the hurricane winds of populism.
Much of their opposition to the 17th Amendment applies to direct election of Presidents.
(Excerpt) Read more at articlevblog.com ...
Since the 1950’s, a Senate seat has been considered a steppingstone to the Presidency, not a representative of a state.
That's why we have our current system and the surest way start an actual, violent, Civil War is to pass and send to the States an Amendment to end the Electoral College.
CW I wasn't squat compared to what CW II would be and the Globalists not only know that, they want that.
If the citizens of the United States decide that the president of the United States should be elected by the large democrat held cities, then I guess we have lost our senses and will deserve the fate that would bring us.
-PJ
You guys leave out the MOST IMPORTANT PART.
It’s VERY VERY VERY HARD to overturn the EC
I think it’s fair to mention that in your comments so that those who do not know how difficult it is won’t think CWII is upon us because of this reason
Sometimes a blog is just a blog....
Actually it’s governorships that lead to the presidency.
” Nearly all of the twenty-seven amendments are wise ... “
Except XIX
(sorry, but it’s true).
In America we have the electoral college.
In France, the provincials riot,burn cars,loot fancy restaurants and stores when Parisians have gone too far.
I strongly prefer the American way.
We barely stopped the ERA and have since enacted everything it was rejected over through Federal law either made by Congress or by the USSC.
Given that fact, I seriously doubt most people who want to keep our current system and who know how difficult passing an Amendment is, much less those who don't, are going to wait quietly to see how many States pass the Amendment.
New York, California, Washington, and Massachusetts would almost immediately pass the Amendment so at that point it's just like expecting States that seceded to form the Confederacy to wait and see whether Lincoln would send Federal troops only by sea and which route Federal troops would take to South Carolina if they moved by land.
I’ll drink to that!
bkmk
The 17th is spurious and has caused more harm to state sovereignty than any other.
If the Electoral College is a problem, amend the Constitution.
Good luck with that.
Under the current system, I don’t have to care too much about election fraud in Leftist Wastelands like California or Illinois. If they choose to select their Democrat Electors through a corrupt process, that’s their business.
But if some fraudulent harvested illegal alien vote in California is going to cancel my legitimate vote, I care a lot.
And prior to 1913, the state legislatures were the farm teams for the Senate.
Today, the House of Reps is the typical first steppingstone to the Senate.
It’s no wonder the antics in the Senate more resemble Animal House than the deliberative body envisioned by our Framers.
Yes, the College quarantines fraud to single states.
IMO, w/o the EC Presidents would be elected by Cali and NY.
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