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There is much talk of a Great Reset. I couldn’t agree more, let’s discuss that. The progressives of early 20th century did great damage to our Constitutional governmental construct. We must reset to as originally set forth. Now to get specific…
Reading the Constitution, article 1, section 3, might be confusing. The description for selection of Senators is notably not how we select our senators. In comes the 17th amendment.
Unbeknownst to many at the time, that amendment was a dagger though the heart of our republic. May 31, 1913 marked the day our republic indeed died.
To better understand how the 17th amendment killed our republic we must start with original intent it altered.
To better understand how the 17th amendment killed our republic we must start with original intent it altered.
On July 16, 1787 delegates adopted a mixed representation plan giving all states equal votes in a Senate and a proportional House after long debate.
The senate is comprised of two representatives per state, the People’s House will have representation proportional to the states populations. This “great compromise” between the large and small states established our bicameral congress.
Every Federal representative was selected by a different method. Executive officer by the Electoral College, Senators by the state legislators, Peoples House directly by the people they represent, and judiciary via executive appointment, then confirmation from the senate
The main focus of the framers was to prevent the concentration of power. The aim of that focus is to best secure individual liberty and best preserve the republic. Hence, each branch is set up differently, its members selected by unalike methods.
Every branch is a counter weight to the others. A brilliant system of checks and balances the likes of which the world had never seen.
The issue at hand is how our senators are selected. The idea of direct elections was offered and roundly rejected at the Constitutional convention.
Alexander Hamilton offers some insight. In Federalist 59, Hamilton on the selection method "So far as that construction may expose the Union to the possibility of injury from the state legislatures, it is evil…”
an astonishing admission to public concerns, Hamilton handled masterfully; Adding,
"…but it is an evil, which could not have been avoided without excluding the states, in their political capacities, wholly from a place in the organization of the national government."
"…but it is an evil, which could not have been avoided without excluding the states, in their political capacities, wholly from a place in the organization of the national government."
The senate was the sovereign states way of being represented WITHIN the federal government rather than devoured and subjugated by the federal leviathan, a process well underway today.
James Madison noted in Federalist 62, in part "It is recommended by the double advantage of favouring a select appointment, and of giving to the state governments such an agency in the formation of the federal government, as must secure the authority of the former;
And may form a convenient link between the two systems." In particular, this was said as oppose to the Peoples House selecting the senators and noting the necessity to "secure authority" speaking of state governments to the federal government.
Madison continued "No law or resolution can now be passed without the concurrence first of a majority of the people, and then of a majority of the states" an intricate check on federal legislation and moreover a marvelous method of passing legislation.
Madison later concedes there can be necessary down falls associated "It must be acknowledged that this complicated check on legislation may in some instances be injurious as well as beneficial..."
Our Constitution, vigorously debated by enlightened men, the provisions set forth in framing are all based on the accumulated knowledge of trial and error from ancient to contemporary societies and a host of prolific writers and thinkers.
Incredible genius with centuries of human civilization, experience and understanding went into the original drafting of our constitution.
By popularly electing senators, the state’s sovereignty has eroded, and become more dependent on the federal government. The usurpation of authority the framers specifically set out to avoid.
Montesquieu observed republics only survive over smaller areas, city states in particular. Large land masses have too diverse interests to remain intact as a republic.
Federalism is the answer to that historically observed ill. The sovereignty of the States is a critical component of the complex apparatus that was once our republic.
Today the federal government devours more and more authority and has effectively subjugated the states. Oddly enough, if it opposes President Trump, states rights suddenly exist again. I brief anomaly that will not out last the Trump administration.
Special interests have taken hold of the Senate in massive campaign financing and lobbying. Senators barely step foot in their home states anymore. Obviously, Senators feel little to no obligation to their true constituents any longer.
This is a clear and present danger in our governmental structure, and cannot be permitted to continue as the status quo.
The existence of states has come into question. Some have raised the argument of abolishing the senate. The Electoral College is always under attack. Any of which would serve to advance centralized power and further the republic’s demise.
The foremost reason to repeal the 17th amendment is the resurrection of our republic. If our Constitutional republic structure is not first restored, any subsequent effort will be in vein.
A pleasant byproduct of our constitutional “great reset” would be effective term limits. As states representatives’ turnover, when senate terms come due the senator likely will too.
Repealing the 17th amendment to restore our constitution requires yet another constitutional amendment. No easy feat.
This would remedy the actual problem the 17th amendment was initially meant to cure, the speculation of corruption in state legislators failed to ever materialize in any significant way. State legislatures are elected via popular vote by the citizens of the state.
Another huge benefit is the effective overnight campaign finance reform. Eliminating senate races will alleviate hundreds of millions of dollars of donations. No more California money pouring into New Jersey’s senate race for example.
The restoration of greatest deliberative body to original stature will truly be corrective to many systemic problems that have plagued our congress.
We the people must restore the Senate selection method to restore our republic. This will reinvigorate federalism, eliminate senatorial elections, removing a large chunk of campaign finance funds, and allow for greater turnover in the senate.
There are two possible ways of instituting these corrections. First, two thirds of Congress, both chambers, can repeal the 17th amendment, also requiring three fourths of states to ratify.
That’s asking senators to likely vote their job away. With just a cursory understanding in human nature, to actually expect such action would be naive at best.
Article V offers one other way, a convention of the States. State legislatures, with everything to regain, can circumvent congress all together; propose, pass, and ratify amendments to the Constitution.
This safe guard was put in place at the behest of George Mason at time of drafting.
Some say Madison, Hamilton and their peers did a fine job framing the constitution; we would not do better today. This is a persuasive point. They were masterful in framing. No, we would not do better than they.
However, the Constitution those men framed is not the Constitution we currently live under today. This offers us the opportunity to restore the necessary link of the states into the federal government originally provided by our framers.
Some say this may become a “runaway convention”. Convening the convention with the expressed narrow purpose of only reviewing the 17th amendment for possible repeal and perhaps providing remedy for the original extended vacancy problem the 17th was intended to cure.
James Madison long ago warned ‘mere parchment barriers’ were insufficient in maintaining individual liberty. It is on We The People to remain vigilant and to hold OUR government accountable.
Hamilton said “every government ought to contain in itself the means of its own preservation”
Here we are, nearly 232 years later, do we still posses the wherewithal to preserve our republic and by extension our liberty? Will our state legislators seek to regain their rightful seat at the Federal table?
It was assumed that power would be guarded by it’s wielder and that ambition would check ambition. Clearly this assumption broke down in 1913. Can it be revived in 2021? We the people must rise; there is much work to be done. 
