Posted on 02/22/2009 7:11:41 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
A simple apology would have sufficed. Instead, Sen. Russ Feingold has decided to follow his McCain-Feingold evisceration of the First Amendment with Feingold-McCain, more vandalism against the Constitution.
The Wisconsin Democrat, who is steeped in his state's progressive tradition, says, as would-be amenders of the Constitution often do, that he is reluctant to tamper with the document but tamper he must because the threat to the public weal is immense: Some governors have recently behaved badly in appointing people to fill U.S. Senate vacancies. Feingold's solution, of which John McCain is a co-sponsor, is to amend the 17th Amendment. It would be better to repeal it.
The Framers established election of senators by state legislators, under which system the nation got the Great Triumvirate (Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John Calhoun) and thrived. In 1913, progressives, believing that more, and more direct, democracy is always wonderful, got the 17th Amendment ratified. It stipulates popular election of senators, under which system Wisconsin has elected, among others, Joe McCarthy, as well as Feingold.
The 17th Amendment says that when Senate vacancies occur, "the executive authority" of the affected state "shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct."
Feingold's amendment says:
"No person shall be a Senator from a State unless such person has been elected by the people thereof. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
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A simple apology would have sufficed. Instead, Sen. Russ Feingold has decided to follow his McCain-Feingold evisceration of the First Amendment with Feingold-McCain, more vandalism against the Constitution. "I will work with Democrat friends of mine as we address specific issues, like I always have..." Feingold's solution, of which John McCain is a co-sponsor, is to amend the 17th Amendment. It would be better to repeal it. What were you expecting from two Democrats?
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When Wisconsin sent PATRIOTS to DC.
Repeal of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments
We consider the federal income tax to be destructive of our liberty, privacy, and prosperity. Therefore, we are working to bring about its complete elimination and the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We recommend that the current system be replaced by an equitable, simple, noninvasive, visible, efficient tax, one that does not destroy or even infringe upon our economic privacy and liberty.
We also call for the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment. Its enactment greatly reduced the power of our state legislatures and state governments – which are much closer to the people – and damaged our system of federalism.
About every 15 or 20 columns Will gets something right. This is one of those time.
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What is your party’s position on how to prevent the numerous deadlocks on choosing Senators that plagued state legislatures prior to 1913?
Also, what is your party’s position regarding the Federal Reserve and the Gold Standard?
I hope this isn’t a backdoor to do away with presidential term limits... something already been introduced in the congress. I worry about slipping it into something like this when no one is paying attention... since this likely would receive 3/4 of the states voting for it.
The 17th Amendment destroyed our Republican form of government. The founders knew what they were doing when they formed our government.
The people had a house...the House of Representatives to serve the people in various districts. Then they formed the Senate, the state’s representatives in Washington D.C. In this way, the federal government was a partner with the states. The states had a say in how the federal government operated. The states couldn’t be railroaded by an overpowering central government.
Then came along the 17th Amendment and gave the people two houses and took the states out of the equation and made them subservient to the federal government...something the founding fathers did not want at all.
Repeal the 17th Amendment now!!!!!
Mr. Will apparently wants to repeal the 17th Amendment and return to state legislatures choosing Senators.
It better not be. I sure don’t want Obama getting a permanent mandate for power like Hugo Chavez just did.
By “permanent mandate,” I mean the ability to be re-elected forever if that’s what the drooling masses want.
There is a reason the history of the 17th Amendment isn’t covered in publik skools.
I would never want to lose the ability to vote for both Senators and Congress...so I would never vote to repeal the 17th amendment. Why would I allow an incompetent corrupt government to choose my Senator...no way.
No way this would ever pass in the states so, it will not happen. Feingold’s bs won’t be ratified either.
Despite what those smug stupid communists like Feingold, and his lackey, McCain, believes, we have the brains, the will, the guns. We just need the one thing that exceeds our gag limit. And Feingold, Pelosy, Reid, et.al. are searching, desperately, high and low, to find that last indigestable tidbit.
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