July 30, 2006
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07/29/06 - Saturday Forum: A
New York Reader Learns The True Story Behind A Killing
In A Massachusetts Public Housing Complex; etc.
A Mississippi Reader Says Don’t
Look For Any Changes In the 17th Amendment
From:
Steve Rankin [e-mail
him]
Re: George
Warm’s Letter:
A Florida Reader Calls For A Repeal Of The 17th
Amendment
I
comment on Warm's letter that called for repealing the
17th Amendment.
The
Founding Fathers provided that U. S. senators would
be elected by the state legislatures: to check the power
of the federal government, senators were to represent
their state governments as ambassadors to the national
government. This was the states' main check on the
federal government.
With
the advent of state-mandated party primary elections in
the early 20th century, some states began conducting
senatorial preferential primaries. The legislatures in
those states would usually rubber-stamp the results of
those primaries. So the movement began for direct
election of U. S. senators, which culminated in the
adoption of the 17th Amendment.
I
was recently disappointed to learn that
Calvin Coolidge, who was then active in
Massachusetts politics, supported the direct
election of
U. S. senators.
Loyola College in Maryland economics professor
Thomas DiLorenzo has written an excellent piece
calling for
repealing the 17th Amendment which is available on
the
Mises Institute’s website.
While I think restoring the founders' intent would be
a good thing, I don't see it ever happening.
Rankin, who lives in
Jackson, posts on his
Free Citizen blog.
