Posted on 05/05/2014 7:04:59 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
INDIANAPOLIS | Hoosiers never again would vote in a primary election for U.S. Senate candidates if the decision were up to Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller.
Zoeller is among a growing number of state's rights conservatives who favor a so-called "soft repeal" of the 17th Amendment that would empower members of the General Assembly, instead of voters, to nominate each party's U.S. Senate candidates.
Voters still would have the final say on who represents Indiana in the Senate. But Zoeller, a Republican, believes giving the General Assembly's control of selecting candidates could revive the idea that U.S. senators are ambassadors of a state's government and not entirely free agents.
"If they had to come back ... and get renominated each six-year cycle, they'll be less likely to pass statutes that stuck it to states," Zoeller said. "Would we have an unfunded mandate if they had to come back and explain it to members of the Legislature?"
Speaking earlier this year to the Federalist Society of Indianapolis, an association of politically conservative lawyers and judges, Zoeller said the proper relationship between states and the federal government was "slaughtered" when the 17th Amendment, providing for popular election of U.S. senators, was ratified in 1913.
In the century since, the federal government has come to view states as entities it controls, instead of the co-equal sovereigns the framers of the Constitution intended, Zoeller said.
That relationship urgently needs to be rebalanced to bring an end to overreaching federal regulations and unconstitutional laws, and to cut down on the number of legal challenges, he said. Zoeller said he's felt obligated to file against the federal government in the past six years.
(Excerpt) Read more at nwitimes.com ...
You got that right. States lost all their power when they lost their representation in Congress.
McStain was censured by the Az GOP.
So ? All types like McQueeg would have to do is corral the RINO squishies in Phoenix and have all of the Dems vote for him to keep a Conservative out. That’s how it works.
It’s funny, the same people who support having their betters in the state legislator cast their votes for them invariably support those self proclaimed “tea party outsider” or Ron Paul types who would have ZERO CHANCE under that system.
News to the dozens of Republics around the world that have directly elected Senators since the day they were founded. If you don't like that fact, you're free to demand the Czech Republic, Republic of Brazil (which had an appointed Senate when they were the "Empire of Brazil", but changed to an elected Senate when they became a Republic in 1889), Republic of Poland, etc., etc., stop calling themselves "Republics", and try to get other countries to stop recognizing them as such. Good luck with that.
Ironically, most of the countries that use the system you prefer (politicians appoint the upper legislative house for life and the people have no say in the matter) are NOT Republics. An obvious example being the House of Lords in the United Kingdom.
This is my take. The 17th. Amendment was passed because the state legislatures who appointed U.S. Senators were cesspools of corruption at the time. They would have made even the worst current poll embarrassed. Direct election was supposed to bypass them, this ensuring more worthy Senators.
Legislators draw their own districts and they have such contorted lines that they effectively thwart the will of their constituents. Instead of voters choosing their state legislators, the legislators choose their voters. If we do away with that and pass meaningful redistricting reform in every state, than maybe repealing the 17th. Amendment would have merit. But to do so right now would make our current situation much worse.
This is just bringing back smoke filled rooms. If you want to make changes let the legislators appoint the Senators
The people WOULD decide.!! Through participation of election of their state legislature and Governor...
Politics, like money, is BEST kept as local as possible.!!
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