I don’t want power given to states, I want power given to the people
So, do you oppose taking power away from FedGov, just because it can't be immediately transferred to the people?
Wake up. Every function that has been devolved to the states (e.g., gun legislation) has resulted in more freedom for the people. The Founders intended government to be closer to the people. The several states are surely closer to the people than an all-powerful central government.
Giving power to the states indirectly and directly gives power to the people. Among other constitutional balances of power, the power of the federal government, the state governments, and the people are supposed to form a balance.
If the states abuse their people, the 14th Amendment allows the federal government to intervene to protect them. But if the federal government wants to abuse the people, the 17th Amendment takes away the power of the states to protect the people from the feds.
Put another way, compare what your state demands of you to what the federal government demands of you. If the primary government you deal with is that of your state, you have more freedom and liberty than if you must obey the feds, whose demands are endless.
“I don’t want power given to states, I want power given to the people”
The people have their power, in the House of Representatives and in their respective State legislatures.
You have an embarrasingly poor understanding of the US Constitution and what the Founding Fathers intended. I suggest you study up on the matter. The 17th Amendment was a terrible idea and it should be repealed.
"History tells us that there were no long lived republics that did not have a senate. Only Sparta, Rome, and Carthage fit that characteristic of having a senate and a long life. This demonstrates that it is necessary to have some institution that will blend stability with liberty.
Having this second body dissimilar from another will protect the people better than having the whole legislative trust in the hands of one body of men who may betray the people. Returning to the main question of whether the senate will transform itself into a tyrannical aristocracy, he gives several examples of senates designed similarly to the federal proposal that have shown no such tendency. The first is Maryland with a senate very much like the federal senate. Then the British example where the senate instead of being elected for six years is actually an hereditary assembly of opulent nobles and the house is elected for seven years by a small portion of the population. Here we should have seen the aristocratic usurpation and tyranny but instead the senate has barely been able to defend itself against the encroachments of the house elected by the people. "
See, the Founders took their examples from systems that WORKED. The ancient republics, as well as the structures inside the states themselves, provided information on how governments actually BEHAVED.
Again, those guys were WAY smarter than us. The 17th is an abomination.