Democratizing the Constitution: The Failure of the Seventeenth Amendment

National Humanities Institute ^ | April 8, 2000 | C. H. Hoebeke

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The article seems to make the case that the corruption in the Senate that existed prior to the 17th Amendment was not because of a lack of democracy, but because the appointment process for the Senators had become more democratized.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

[Ditto]

Bump

[theDentist]

Didn’t you post this same thing yesterday?

[Fractal Trader]

IIRC, complaints about the 17th amendment were one of the key early motivators for John Robinson to start Free Republic.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Bump for later read.

[RightWhale]

That’s right. XVIIth Amend is one of them.

[jack_napier]

If you suggest the ‘average joe’ may not be very good at voting and may be prone to being swayed by short sighted rhetoric, you may be right, but you’re certainly not politically correct in this day and age!

[JSDude1]

The Seventeenth Amendment is an attack on Federalism; and states rights. Not only does it allow ‘out-side money’ from special interests not in that state have an undue influecen over the race (thereby manipulating the people). It also makes the election of state legilators less relevant..

Senators become less accountable to the people becuase they do not have a measurable, noticeable effect on their election. State/local interests are not representated as much and federal interests are increased! I HATE the 17th; Repeal it immidiately!..

[antinomian]

Senators become less accountable to the people becuase they do not have a measurable, noticeable effect on their election.

Exactly. Direct election of senators is less democratic.

I especially love the part about how the seventeenth amendment was supposed to get the money out of politics. It seems to me I've heard that somewhere else.

[Repeal 16-17]

The 17th Amendment took away one of the best checks against the expansion of the 17th Amendment. The Progressives infiltrated the State governments and so you had the unusual circumstance of the States fighting to lose the ability to check the Congress’s authority. This country is still feeling the affects of this amendment. Together with the 16th Amendment, the 17th Amendment gave the Congress the ability to become the pork puking monster it is today.

[Jacquerie]

The only time I did not receive a reply to an email to my rat Senator Nelson, was when I told him he was nothing more than a petty three term Congressman subject to the whims of the mob and unworthy of the title, and was a walking, talking example of why the 17th should be repealed.

[GOP_1900AD]

The 17th Ammendment was a key blunder along the down hill road of transforming the Republic our Founding Fathers vested in us into a Democrazy. And as everyone know, the next stage after Demcrazy is either a failed (conquered) state or a dictatorship.

[GOP_1900AD]

It was a fatal error. Our Republic will not survive unless it is repealed, along with about 6 or 7 additional key countermeasures.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Didn’t you post this same thing yesterday?

No. That was about a blog.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Democracy is overrated, but not to be eliminated entirely, merely limited. A repeal of the 17th should include elimination of popular primaries, referenda, and canvassing w.r.t. Senate candidates. After all, democratization and corruption existed prior to 1913. Towards the end of the pre-17th period, if wikipedia is to be believed, some Senators were actually appointed by referendum!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

It was a fatal error. Our Republic will not survive unless it is repealed, along with about 6 or 7 additional key countermeasures.

Possible countermeasures:

• restoring the independence of the electors in the Electoral College;
• eliminating popular primaries, referenda, and canvassing w.r.t. Senators after the 17th is repealed;
• Repealing the 16th Amendment;
• Educating our young people about our Republic (it's NOT a Democracy);
• restricting, on a state-by-state basis, the franchise to owners of real property and business owners, regardless of sex, race, or political affiliation;
• repealing the 26th Amendment, which allowed green 18-year-olds to vote.

[theDentist]

Will you be posting each article from that blog one by one, day by day?

[theDentist]

Reading up on it, the amendment of Article 1 Section 3 of the Constitution provides for the direct election of Senators by the people of a state rather than their election or appointment by a state legislature. You'd rather revert to such an appointment by Legislatures, often more corrupt than the people, and at the discretion of the majority party? No thanks, I'd rather We People have a more powerful say in who is our Senator.

[antinomian]

After all, democratization and corruption existed prior to 1913.

You're right. But the corruption matters more now because the 17th amendment has made congress more powerful relative to the states.