Repeal the 17th Amendment and end popular election of the Senate?

[DAZ]

I mentioned this in another thread, but I'd like to hear y'all weigh in on this.

Here's a pretty good wikipedia article in case you are totally unfamiliar with the topic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constit ution

Basically, the Senate was originally meant to act as a representation of the various state governments to the Federal gov in DC. This was another of those pesky "checks and balances", only this time it was to protect the whole idea of federalism that was enshrined in the Constitution.

Currently, the state of Georgia (or any other) has no one in the Federal government looking out for its interests. No one whose job might be forfeit for not voting against legislation containing unfunded mandates, for example. This lack of protection has led in large part to the serious erosion of federalism and concentration of power within Federal government in DC.

While some might argue that we need our senators to represent the people, that's actually still the job of the House of Representatives.

The previous thread in which I brought this up was originally about increasing the size of the House so each Rep. would have fewer constituents. But think about how many more constituents each Senator is supposed to represent, especially for a state the size of, say, California. Do you really think those two Senators care about your needs? No! They represent the individuals and businesses with the money to fund their campaigns. Much moreso than the Members of the House.

I have no idea what Ron Paul thinks about this, but I'd wager he'd be in favor of re-establishing federalism. However, I'm not trying to attribute this to him. I just want to know if I'm the only one here who thinks we should repeal the 17th Amendment.

Thank you for your attention. Now, discuss......

[SeekLiberty]

I mentioned this in another thread, but I'd like to hear y'all weigh in on this.

Here's a pretty good wikipedia article in case you are totally unfamiliar with the topic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constit ution

Basically, the Senate was originally meant to act as a representation of the various state governments to the Federal gov in DC. This was another of those pesky "checks and balances", only this time it was to protect the whole idea of federalism that was enshrined in the Constitution.

Currently, the state of Georgia (or any other) has no one in the Federal government looking out for its interests. No one whose job might be forfeit for not voting against legislation containing unfunded mandates, for example. This lack of protection has led in large part to the serious erosion of federalism and concentration of power within Federal government in DC.

While some might argue that we need our senators to represent the people, that's actually still the job of the House of Representatives.

The previous thread in which I brought this up was originally about increasing the size of the House so each Rep. would have fewer constituents. But think about how many more constituents each Senator is supposed to represent, especially for a state the size of, say, California. Do you really think those two Senators care about your needs? No! They represent the individuals and businesses with the money to fund their campaigns. Much moreso than the Members of the House.

I have no idea what Ron Paul thinks about this, but I'd wager he'd be in favor of re-establishing federalism. However, I'm not trying to attribute this to him. I just want to know if I'm the only one here who thinks we should repeal the 17th Amendment.

Thank you for your attention. Now, discuss......

I 100% agee with you!

1913 was a BAD year for America.

I'm glad you brought this up. It's a VERY important issue. States lost their power through this amendment. Federal power usurped it. In addition, it also takes big money to become a Senator nowadays which likely means they'll cator to special interests. Repealing the 17th Amendment will fix this.

For the full scope of the problem AND the solution ... go here:

http://www.articlev.com/repeal_the_17th_amendment.htm

Our federal government is WAY beyond the size and power that was intended for it. We Americans have got to fix this! It's not up to just Ron Paul. A site http://www.downsizedc.org/ is working hard to make this happen. Check it out.

- SL

[DAZ]

Anybody else have an opinion? I think it has become quite obvious in another thread that both SeekLiberty and I are pro-federalism.:)

What about the rest of you?

[angrydragon]

I believe Ron has said that the 17 amendment was very bad, but there probably won't be a chance of repealing it anytime soon.

I think repealing it would also be a good thing, giving more power back to the states against the federal government.

[BackToTheConstitution]

Wow. I never even knew this, and I am very Constitution savvy! That is definitely a great idea.

[torchbearer]

repeal the 17th. give power back to the states.

[angelatc]

I've long been a proponent of repealing the 17th.

[constituent14]

I'll second that, but I think some kinks need to be worked out in my home state, namely the way we've been railroaded by the Railroad Commission. Anyone have anything similar in their state?

[angelatc]

We have the Teachers Union - does that count?

ACtually, I'm in Illinois. Everything here is corrupt beyond belief. What truly amazes me, because I'm not really "from" here, is how much everybody accepts it.

[gravesdav]

Democracy's overrated. I'd rather be free under a king, but the original Constitution was the best. It worked so well. The senate sucks now anyway. Their bought and sold as much as the President.