Utah Lawmakers Call for Seventeenth Amendment Repeal

The Heartland Institute ^ | May 20, 2016 | Matt Hurley

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Maybe some people don’t want the will of the people. I understand that it might need some refining.

Well, the people do elect the state's legislature, so indirectly, the elect the senate under the pre 17th rules.

More important, how would this improve the senates moral compass? Mark Twain thought they were crooks before the 17th A. How would the change in electing the senate isolate them from corruption? I don't see a difference.

[ganeemead]

Ever wonder how states like Florida whose legislatures are overwhelmingly Republican still vote for bad dem candidates for president, or how you get a dem senator in a place like Louisiana? What you're seeing is that manufacturing votes cannot buy a state house. In other words, dems can manufacture all the votes they want in places like Dade County or Philly, and the GOP will still win its own territories, it's only in a national or statewide race that vote manufacturing can decide a race for a public office.

That says that the very first thing we need to do is rescind the 17'th amendment and return the election of US senators to the state houses.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“Senate positions were originally created to represent the individual States.”

I thought each state was created as a Republic, and that the United States was a group of Republics.

[Popman]

“Second, it would require a degree of understanding of the importance of constitutional structure that virtually none of the public or elected officials today could or would be willing to understand.”

That just may be the understatement of the century...

Interesting he included "elected officials" in his statement...!

We have basically become a type of oligarchy where elected officials are bought and sold like chess pieces by the power brokers...

Just imagine if elected officials took their constitutional duties seriously ...

Leavenworth would be filled up...

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Good!

[trebb]

Seems like the 17th was/is in direct conflict with the 10th. How do the Feds get off telling the States how to decide who the State reps in the Senate will be? If a State wants to hold a lottery for the positions, more power to them.

[skimbell]

It was a "good idea" when we started but look around the country today. Most state governments are at least as crooked as the federal government.

As an example, I live in Illinois, we recently had a governor impeached and thrown in the slammer for attempting to sell 0's senate seat after his Ascension to the presidency.

I'd like to think chitcanning the 17th would help but I think that action might cause bunch of new problems.

I really believe that no "meaningful" change can occur in our political structure until very restrictive term limits can be implemented.

I simply believe that our elected officials, and the way that they are allowed to betray the electorate, cannot be trusted to represent the people who elected them.

Career politicians are the problem. Our government was designed to be populated by ordinary citizens "taking a turn". Elective government service was supposed to be a civic responsibility, not a lifetime license to steal.

[central_va]

Because you live in a corrupt state doesn't make it a bad idea.

[central_va]

There is no way someone opposed to the repeal of the 17th amendment should be posting their opinions -ever- on a web site called “Free Republic”.

[jch10]

A step in the right direction.

[skimbell]

See the part where I wrote "as an example"?

However, if you think that that sort of thing is limited to Illinois, you're just not paying attention.

[Sasparilla]

...I thought each state was created as a Republic, and that the United States was a group of Republics...

Only two states were Republics. California for a few days in 1846, and the Republic of Texas from 1836 to 1845. Texas even had several Presidents, including Sam Houston and Anson Jones.

The Constitution and the Bill of rights only refers to States and “the people. “ States are referred to numerous times in the Bill of Rights.

[Ray76]

YES!

Put the States back in the United States

[Lurker]

I live in Illinois, too. I’m willing to rely on the wisdom of the Founding Fathers in this case. Allowing the direct election of Senators was a horrible mistake even considering the risks inherent with that.

L

[Amendment10]

”… Trump tweeted out that the people of KY should vote for him as he can bring in a lot of federal money to their State."

Based on the excerpt below, I think that Trump and other rich people would start playing a different tune about federal funding for the states if they understood that a chunk of the federal taxes that they have been paying for years are probably unconstitutional imo.

“Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States.” —Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.

Trump needs to understand that the individual states could afford to run their own social spending programs without federal government interference if voters were to wake up and put a stop to unconstitutional federal taxes.

[Rusty0604]

Exactly. The States should collect what taxes they need to take care of their own business. The federal doesn’t have any business redistributing it and holding it as ransom.