As a group, we are stuck in the mindset that we can cure our national ills if we elect the right people from the right party.
That idea is the offspring of our early history, in which it was assumed that all would be well if a virtuous people elected virtuous politicians. The first state governments and the Articles of Confederation reflected that ideal. Within a few years it was evident that model was insufficient to secure liberty.
Government must account for imperfect and less than virtuous men.
Just as the desperate people of 1787 recognized that the structure of government was not conducive to freedom, and boldly took the risk of reorganizing their government into one that did, we must acknowledge in 2013 that we face similar circumstances.
As the Framers predicted, absent a Senate of the States, ALL power will eventually flow upward. It is way beyond time for us to acknowledge a mistake, the 17th Amendment.
We must once again return to transcendent truths, that sending some virtuous men and women to political office is an insufficient safeguard, that undivided power will inevitably result in undivided tyranny. To possibly save what remains of republican freedom, power must once again be divided. The 17th Amendment must go.
An Article V amendment convention to restore federalism is the only solution.
-— As the Framers predicted, absent a Senate of the States, ALL power will eventually flow upward. It is way beyond time for us to acknowledge a mistake, the 17th Amendment. -—
Very true. I was late to the party on this one, not understanding its importance. This will be a tough sell. I’d like to begin the amendment process with a popular measure, like congressional term limits, to accustom people to the process. Repealing the 17th would be 3 or 4 on my list.
I agree wholeheartedly. I have taken the liberty of contacting a handful of the most conservative state reps here in my home state asking for their feelings on introducing a call for a constitutional convention. So far I have gotten nothing back.
If that fails, I’ll see if I can put together a coalition of conservative groups that would back the effort and then present a united front to the legislature or start moving toward introducing it as a referendum in an upcoming election cycle.