The 17th amendment is a beautiful example of what is wrong with the popular vote.
Here in Michigan the state government is GOP from governor all the way down to the local dog catcher. Both houses of the legislature are firmly GOP but Detroit, Flint, and Ann Arbor elect our senators again and again.
Prior to choosing senators by popular vote they were chosen by those we elected to represent us from the local level. Those senators would mostly be republican and few would serve more than a term or two as our state legislature changed from year to year. Those senators represented the state or else and could be removed almost overnight if they stepped out of line.
The national popular vote is being sold under the empowerment snake oil label as the 17th amendment but means the exact opposite. Its about mob rule where the loudest and most aggressive wins in a system that was never intended to be that way.
I’ve often wondered if it would be better for the electoral votes to be awarded one electoral vote per COUNTY in the U.S.