Edit: 17. Q. 17 No one noticed that on the conversation thus far below.
Original:
Direct election of US Senators. This amendment, on its Fucking face most changed how our country was established. If this didn’t happen, Republicans would hold a MASSIVE majority in the US senate. MASSIVE. There is no local pressure on our county/district officials. None. Everyone looks to Washington. REPEAL THIS. NOW.
1913 coincidence?
The Seventeenth Amendment restates the first paragraph of Article I, section 3 of the Constitution and provides for the election of senators by replacing the phrase “chosen by the Legislature thereof” with “elected by the people thereof.” In addition, it allows the governor or executive authority of each state, if authorized by that state’s legislature, to appoint a senator in the event of a vacancy, until a general election occurs.
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/SeventeenthAmendment.htm https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/17th-amendment
Wait?! So Senators used to be selected by the state legislatures and then it was changed to them being elected by the people of the state? Am I understanding that correctly?
Yes. The Senators were supposed to look out for the interests of the state and the representatives advocate for individuals. But states were more competitive in the beginning, and more rural. Considering the quality of state legislators we've seen lately, I don't see them doing a better job choosing than the at-large population, and since big cities are overrepresented in state legislatures now, giving the whole state a voice somewhat makes up for the big blue city effect.
Agree for the quality of those elected officials now, but that the other half of my point. We SHOULD BE paying more attention to who we put on those local roles. We should care who they are, and the carrot we need back across the country is those people get to put our US Senators in place and hold them accountable to our state. Right now, the ignorant, lazy and corrupt have destroyed our local governments due to our lack of focus on them.
I'd never argue that. Even at the lowest level I see the same people, year after year, just like Congress. No one stirs the pot.