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Keyword: 17thamendment

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  • The Path to Give California 12 Senators, and Vermont Just One (barf alert)

    01/05/2019 5:13:44 AM PST · by Impy · 100 replies
    The Atlantic ^ | 1-2-2019 | Eric W. Orts
    In 1995, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan declared, “Sometime in the next century the United States is going to have to address the question of apportionment in the Senate.” Perhaps that time has come. Today the voting power of a citizen in Wyoming, the smallest state in terms of population, is about 67 times that of a citizen in the largest state of California, and the disparities among the states are only increasing. The situation is untenable.
  • Progressing the Constitution - The Ninth Amendment Part III

    12/16/2018 4:17:22 PM PST · by Jacquerie · 4 replies
    ArticleVBlog ^ | December 17th 2018 | Rodney Dodsworth
    Subtitle: Robert Yates & Alexander Hamilton Debate the Scotus. What happened to the Scotus? In this squib, we’ll find the Framers blameless for today’s runaway federal courts. Background. Under the British system, colonial court judges were appointed by, and served at the pleasure of, the Crown. The ninth indictment of George III in our Declaration charged him with making “judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their Offices, and the amount and Payment of their Salaries.” In a system in which the House of Lords was the supreme tribunal, colonial defendants logically feared political influence against them...
  • One of the most odious figures in the history of America and the Democratic Party

    12/11/2018 1:22:42 PM PST · by NRx · 13 replies
    Wiki | December 2018 | various
    Benjamin Ryan Tillman (August 11, 1847 – July 3, 1918) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as Governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894, and a United States Senator from 1895 until his death in 1918. A white supremacist who opposed civil rights for black Americans, Tillman led a paramilitary group of Red Shirts during South Carolina's violent 1876 election. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, he frequently ridiculed black Americans, and boasted of having helped kill them during that campaign. In the 1880s, Tillman, a wealthy landowner, became dissatisfied with the Democratic leadership...
  • Right Seeks Unprecedented Convention to Amend Constitution

    11/03/2018 3:05:27 PM PDT · by Jacquerie · 139 replies
    Associated Press ^ | November 3rd 2018 | MATT SEDENSKY
    NEW YORK (AP) — Whatever success Republicans have amassed in taking control of all three branches of U.S. government, and whatever fate awaits them as midterm elections near, some on the right are working to cement change by amending the Constitution. And to the mounting alarm of others on all parts of the spectrum, they want to bypass the usual process. They’re pushing for an unprecedented Constitutional convention of the states. While opponents are afraid of what such a convention would do, supporters say it is the only way to deal with the federal government’s overreach and ineptitude. “They literally...
  • Why Your Vote Hasn’t Mattered Since 1913

    10/07/2018 7:29:48 PM PDT · by vannrox · 123 replies
    The daily bell ^ | 6OCT18 | By Joe Jarvis
    “No taxation without representation!”That was a popular phrase during the decades leading up to the Revolutionary War. Colonists thought it was unfair to be taxed and subjected to English rule without consent.Today Washington DC hands down laws and taxes to every one of the 320 million people living in the United States.And just like under English rule, we are not represented in the federal government.Now I know what you’re thinking… we have the right to vote for our leaders.Our votes send Representatives, Senators, and the President to Washington DC. And they represent our interests in government. US Representatives are...
  • George F. Will column: The president who knew too little about the Electoral College

    05/04/2018 6:41:25 AM PDT · by Tolerance Sucks Rocks · 68 replies
    The Richmond Times-Dispatch ^ | May 2, 2018 | George F. Will
    Among the recent garbled effusions from today’s temporary president — cheer up; they are all temporary — was one that concerned something about which he might not have thought as deeply as the subject merits. During an episode of government of, by, and for “Fox & Friends,” he said: He won the 2016 election “easily” but wishes the electoral vote system were replaced by direct election of presidents by popular vote. He favors this “because” — if you were expecting him to offer reasons drawn from political philosophy or constitutional theory, grow up — “to me, it’s much easier to...
  • Girl, 9, unknowingly hands out THC-laced candy to classmates, school says

    01/21/2018 6:06:57 AM PST · by familyop · 251 replies
    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. A 9-year-old girl unwittingly ate, and handed out to other classmates, THC-laced candy, school officials said. The girl brought the candies to school last Thursday and said she could not see...The student who brought them to school did not know they were medicinal...
  • Congress Job One

    01/20/2018 9:31:33 AM PST · by IndispensableDestiny · 11 replies
    Job One. Congress has one task mandated by the Constitution: ensuring that the Federal Government has funds appropriated to continue operations. Click on the links in the column on the right. The last time all appropriations bills were passed individually prior to the start of the fiscal year was 1994. The last time the spending laws were passed on time was 1996, but that included an omnibus appropriation.
  • A Senate of the States – The 17th Amendment Part III

    01/04/2018 2:10:11 AM PST · by Jacquerie · 6 replies
    Article V Blog ^ | January 4th 2018 | Rodney Dodsworth
    Subtitle: Progressives Blow Up the Framers’ Constitution. Despite the lessons of history, Progressives promote ever more democracy, which, unless tempered and limited, is like turning one’s household over to the majority rule of teenagers. Is this household arrangement fair? Sure. It is also idiocy which no parent would consider. A senate of the states, and not the parchment barriers of the Constitution stood athwart democratic rule by social justice emotions little different from that of the typical teenager.What was the 17th Amendment (17A) supposed to do? The post-17A senate was to respond to the people’s needs, and free the senate...
  • A Senate of the States - The 17th Amendment Part II

    12/28/2017 12:36:40 AM PST · by Jacquerie · 7 replies
    Article V Blog ^ | December 28th 2017 | Rodney Dodsworth
    In opposition to the Framers, late 19th century progressives promoted a new purpose, and a new foundation for the senate. Rather than block the will of the people, the new senate should facilitate their will. To facilitate their will, it follows that senators must, like representatives, stand for popular election. In 1891, Senator David Turpie (D-IN), said that direct election, “would serve the needs, wants, aims, and aspirations of the masses of men in our communities to be more faithfully reflected, more clearly imaged forth in the laws of the country and administration.” Self-interest led the House of Representatives to...
  • A Senate of the States - The 17th Amendment

    12/21/2017 12:54:36 AM PST · by Jacquerie · 31 replies
    Article V Blog ^ | December 21st 2017 | Rodney Dodsworth
    In continuance of the Senate of the States series, the next three squibs leave the Federal Convention and visit the decades leading to the destructive 17th Amendment (17A). The 17A triggered a cascade of stunning downwind consequences, perhaps only second in effect to the immediate post-Civil War amendments. As opposed to the 13th – 15th Amendments which reset society, the 17A reset our republican governing form. Overnight, the 17A transformed the Framers’ exquisite compound democratic/federal structure into a democratic form deadly to republics.1 Why the 17th Amendment? What enormous forces convinced the people, states, and congress to trade a proven,...
  • US Senator John McCain is proof positive that we need to repeal the 17th Amendment

    11/21/2017 12:32:38 PM PST · by Sean_Anthony · 15 replies
    Canada Free Press ^ | 11/21/17 | Arthur Christopher Schaper
    End the 17th Amendment, and take away power from Washington DC The new class of United States Senators like John McCain, the ones taking on the Swamp in the Republican Party, want to put an end to the Third House, the special interests, the K and J Street lobbies which put their individual, perverse interests at the direct expense of the American citizenry. As a reminder, here is the text of the 17th Amendment:
  • To Avoid Debacles Like Roy Moore, Repeal The 17th Amendment

    11/17/2017 5:51:31 PM PST · by Tolerance Sucks Rocks · 113 replies
    The Federalist ^ | November 16, 2017 | John Daniel Davidson
    With less than a month to go before AlabamaÂ’s special election to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Republican candidate Roy Moore refuses to quit the race amid fallout over credible allegations of sexual assault dating from the 1970s, including that he initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32.Some polls still show Moore leading his Democratic opponent Doug Jones, while a poll conducted by the National Republican Senate Committee earlier this week shows Moore trailing Jones by 12 points.Senate Republicans are calling on Moore to withdraw from the race, saying...
  • A Senate of the States: June 12th – June 13th, 1787

    10/19/2017 1:37:59 AM PDT · by Jacquerie · 7 replies
    Article V Blog ^ | October 19th 2017 | Rodney Dodsworth
    As of June 12th, the evolving senate still had no powers beyond those of the Confederation. Additional powers arrived after delegates determined its institutional shape and characteristics. At issue was the senate’s relationship with the lower house and the executive branch. Governor Randolph reminded the committee “the democratic licentiousness of the state legislatures proved the necessity of a firm senate.” The best model was the senate of Maryland, which consisted of fifteen members appointed to five-year terms by an electoral college of two electors from each county and one each from the cities of Baltimore and Annapolis. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Senate] Yet, even...
  • A Senate of the States Part I: May 25th – May 31st, 1787

    10/09/2017 1:36:24 AM PDT · by Jacquerie · 3 replies
    Article V Blog ^ | October 9th 2017 | Rodney Dodsworth
    In this series I will relate the debates at the Federal Convention surrounding the structure and responsibilities of the US Senate. We’ll find that the Framers assigned the new government its functions, beyond those of the Confederation Congress, after the convention determined the mode of senatorial elections and the number of senators per state. Like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, the structure and powers of the various pieces of government shaped, and were shaped by, the checks and balances between the three branches and the states. The shape of each piece influenced the shape of adjacent pieces. The pulling of...
  • THE 28TH AMENDMENT 'REBALANCING'

    09/27/2017 6:17:05 AM PDT · by Hostage · 39 replies
    FreeRepublic ^ | September 27, 2017 | Hostage and others
    September 27, 2017 A summary of understanding the issue is as thus: THE 17TH AMENDMENT ALLOWED VOTERS TO 'HIRE' THEIR US SENATORS DIRECTLY WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT FRUITS WOULD BE CREATED. A RECALL POWER ALLOWS VOTERS TO 'FIRE' THEIR US SENATORS ONCE THE ROTTING OF FRUITS BECOMES VISIBLE, BUT RECALL IS NOT SUFFICIENT. VESTING BOTH HIRING AND FIRING IN VOTERS LEADS TO DENIAL AND TENSION IN THE 'FOG OF DISTANCE' AS ROTTEN FRUITS BECOME ALTERNATELY VISIBLE, THEN HIDDEN, THEN FORGOTTEN, SOWING CONFUSION AND FRUSTRATION. A THREE-WAY SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTABILITY REMOVES THE FOG OF DISTANCE AND ALLOWS FOR INSPECTION AND REMOVAL OF...
  • Huckabee calls for repeal of 17th Amendment after healthcare failure

    07/30/2017 1:30:46 PM PDT · by Tolerance Sucks Rocks · 72 replies
    The Hill ^ | July 28, 2017 | John Bowden
    Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Friday called for the repeal of the 17th Amendment and the return to senators selected by state legislatures after the Senate GOP's effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare died in a late-night vote. The 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and established the popular election of senators. Previously, senators were elected by state legislatures. @GovMikeHuckabee Time to repeal 17th Amendment. Founders had it right-Senators chosen by state legislatures. Will work for their states and respect 10th amid The Senate's "skinny repeal" of ObamaCare failed late Thursday night by a vote of 51-49. The...
  • The Bitter Harvest of the 17th Amendment

    04/07/2017 1:57:56 AM PDT · by Jacquerie · 47 replies
    Article V Blog ^ | April 7th 2017 | Rodney Dodsworth
    Our once Free Republic continues to reel from a one hundred and four-year-old mistake: the 17th Amendment. Pardon me if I don’t celebrate tomorrow’s anniversary. Republican theory demands the consent of the governed. From ancient Greece, republican Rome, Saxon Germany, and the English kingdom from which we declared our Independence, the component members of their societies had a place at the lawmaking table. Greek ecclesia, Roman tribunes and senators, Saxon Micklegemots, English commons, lords and king, encompassed the totality of their societies. By this, the consent of the governed was present in every law. Unlike simpler Greek or Saxon societies...
  • DONALD CONKEY: Electoral College versus popular vote

    12/15/2016 7:45:45 PM PST · by Tolerance Sucks Rocks · 25 replies
    The Cherokee Tribune and Ledger-News ^ | December 14, 2016 | Donald Conkey
    Because Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College, there are now voices clamoring for America to abandon the Electoral College and become a pure democracy with the winner of the presidential election by popular vote. Not a good idea. In fact it is a very bad idea. Americans should remember that the United States is not a democracy — it is a federated form of government where the role of the federal government is limited to delegated powers by the Founders. This action was then solidified by the 10th Amendment that declares “The powers not delegated...
  • The Role of States, as States, in the Electoral College

    12/09/2016 7:46:27 PM PST · by Tolerance Sucks Rocks · 10 replies
    Cato At Liberty ^ | December 9, 2016 | Roger Pilon
    Of all those whose predictions were dashed by this year’s presidential outcome (“Trump is headed toward a major loss” his Oct. 19 headline blared), few have been more exercised than the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne (“white identity politics and male self-assertion triumphed” he railed the day after). Yesterday, in a piece titled “America will soon be ruled by a minority,” he joined the chorus now condemning the “undemocratic” Electoral College—in the name of the Founders, no less, the very men who created it. Ever the good progressive, he fails to appreciate the role states were meant to play in ordering...