[K-oneTexas]

Good article about an old idea.

[Lurker]

The 17th is the single worst Constitutional Amendment every ratified.

Bar none.

L

[fix]

That is a bell that cannot be “unrung” now because of the nature of the amendment process. What senator in his right mind is going to vote himself out of what has essentially become a lifetime appointment? The article hits the nail on the head, but I’m afraid it’s about as productive as pissing in the wind.

[Beth528]

Republicans for Amnesty; Flood Their Offices With Email Telling Them You Will Vote Them Out

http://www.savage-productions.com/republicans_for_amnesty.html

[RightWhale]

This is one of the reasons FR exists.

[Teacher317]

The 16th and 17th were passed when the Socialist party had a decent influence in American politics. Their quickly growing numbers (from 13,000 registered voters in 1901 to 118,000 in 1912) made them an occasional player on the stage. The 17th was a Eugene Debs creation. (Debs got 400,000 votes for President in 1904)

[MarkL]

I've long said to anyone who'll listen, that the 17th Amendment was the worst things ever done to the Constitution. The last thing that the founders wanted was delivering a democracy, which is why they designed the government so that only 1 of the 3 branches were to be democratically elected. The 17th means that 2/3s of the government is now democratically elected.

Mark

[CollegeRepublican]

For reference: http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a399342cd553c.htm
The Constitution of the United States of America with Amendments

[Nightbird]

“Delaware once went four years at a stretch without a Senator”

Fine by me.

[CPT Clay]

Agreed

Scrap the 17th Ammendment!!

[windcliff]

ping

[hschliemann]

The 17th is the single worst Constitutional Amendment every ratified. Bar none.

That assertion could lead to a fiery debate.I think the 16th -19th are all contenders,with the 14th not far behind.Of course the 18th was repealed,and the 19th should have been part of the repeal package.I don't know what was in the water during that decade.The 19th aqmendment is the one i would overturn if I had my way,even over the income tax.Women and government mix like oil and water."Welcome to kindergarden" is what signs should say greeting visitors to this country.

First the government convinced women to go out and compete against their husbands in the work place,and now we face the specter of federal government officials wasting our time and money discussing "the children".Repeal the 19th amendment!

[KEmom]

Good article. I am also a very strong supporter of term limits for ALL elected offices and use of staff/office to seek re-election should be prohibited.

[MissouriConservative]

bump for later reading.

[Vermont Lt]

and on top of this, I think one of the dumbest things that happened was the changes to the primary system, that took the nominations out of the “smoke filled rooms” and put them in the public’s hand. The only ones that have won from that mess are the media and advertisers.

[Political Junkie Too]

Another aspect of this problem is the amount of campaign donations that come from outside any particular state to fund a Senate run. Lieberman’s unrepresentative opponent was heavily funded by forces well outside the state instead of by the citizens who would actually elect him to office. This has the effect of driving the costs of running for office ever higher in key races.

That's why the biggest impact of repealing the 17th amendment is campaign finance reform. If you eliminate 33 of the most expensive elections that occur every two years, you eliminate the need to finance them, and in the process you dry up the money flow to the national parties in Washington.

-PJ

[x]

The choice was either to allow the popular election of Senators, or to watch the Senate, an "undemocratic" body, lose power. For inevitably, a Senate still chosen by state legislatures would increasingly come to look illegitimate to voters.

I'm not sure that the Senate did look after the interest of states before the Amendment was passed. The growing national economy helped make the Senate more representative of economic interests than of state governments.

What changed most with the Amendment was that Senators, having won state elections, came to think of themselves as presidential timber. Before that, Senators didn't have to be popular or attractive vote-getters and hence were rarely considered as presidential candidates.

[M. Dodge Thomas]

The primary effect of this proposal would be to further increase the present overrepresentation of a rural voters in national politics.

[M. Dodge Thomas]

"Another aspect of this problem is the amount of campaign donations that come from outside any particular state to fund a Senate run. Lieberman’s unrepresentative opponent was heavily funded by forces well outside the state instead of by the citizens who would actually elect him to office. This has the effect of driving the costs of running for office ever higher in key races."

Some people sure love to write about things they don't know about.

Lieberman raised 80% of his campaign contributions form out-of-state donors, the 23M Lieberman raised from these donors was more than six times the 3.5M Lamont raised from all donors.

[Eastbound]

BTTT!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!