Resolved! The US Senate must be reformed: 17th Amendment must be repealed!

Given the realease of President Bill Clinton's no-tell memoir, it's time to launch a movement to reform the Us Senate.

Before the 17th Admendment, ratified in 1913, Senators were selected - as per the Founders - by state legislators. Thus, while many Senators had some wealth, there was no necessity to wage multi-million dollar campaigns then, and thus Senators actually were insulated against the corrupting viscisitudes of public opinion as well as money.

Instead, we've seen the "populist" ideal of direct election by the citizensbecome a farce. The "impeachment" of Presdient Clinton was only a climax of this corruption: for the first time in its history, no actual impeachment trial of charges duly authorized by the House wer held.

Beyond corruption issues, with the office released from the necessity of campaigning, the throttling of the Senate by an exclusive millionaires club could be broken. If the California legislature wants an enviro-wacko advocate (like Ralph Nader - who although a millionaire is a prominant environmentalist - or Carl Pope of the Sierra Club), nothing would prevent the political airing of such disparate voices. Instead of courage like Jimmy Stewart's in "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," we get a herd mentality, with little inpedendent thinking.

In addition, politics has corrupted the confirmation pocess of judges. Abolishing the 17th would open up this absurd blockage on long-lived political processes.

Let the Senate be senatorial! That's the ideal this reform would achieve: the greatest deliberative body in the world! How long has it been since it's live up to its ideal? DECADES~!

To my knowledge, only Zell Miller of Georgia has gotten behind this reform.

--Orson

The Text:
"Amendment XVII - Senators elected by popular vote. Ratified 4/8/1913.

"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

"When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

"This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."

 

ANOTHER THOUGHT:
The last Senator elected President was Kennedy in 1960.

Gore, Dole, Mondale - and likely Kerry - are all Senate talents who could not make the succesful leap into the national spotlight.

Clearly, popular election at the state level is no longer yeilds nationally winning political talent.

Whether or not repeal of the 17th Amentment will change this result, only time will tell. But without this repeal, we may never know!

--Orson

 

The U.S. Senate has the dubious distinction of being the only legislative body (other than certain local, specialized boards such as zoning commissions) that is deliberately NOT selected under the principal of proportional representation. Every state gets exactly two senators, from Wyoming with 500,000 residents through California with 34 million.

The U.S. House of Representatives does not adhere to a strict "one-man-one-vote" rule because every state must have at least one representative, but some effort is made to adjust a state's representation in the House on the basis of its population.

 

I should have restricted my comment to the United States.

 

I had no idea anybody else supported this.

 

Yabbut I don't actually KNOW if anyone else does this. I think Canada might??

 

No, I just meant repeal of the 17th.

 

I know I'm probably being quite dense but I don't see the connection to the Clinton memoir. Help me Orson.
Jack

 

Senate

Yes, the Canadian Senate is appointed by the Governor-General (in reality by the Prime Minister), not elected by provincial legislatures. It's not proportional - one of the Canadians on the Board probably knows the exact formula for distributing the 105 seats.

 

It really wouldn't matter here in MA, since the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature would surely hand our two Senate seats to Chappaquidick Ted & Long Jawn Kerry anyway.

 

Nader

"(like Ralph Nader - who although a millionaire is a prominant environmentalist"

Ralph lives in a crappy apartment and rides a bike to work. If he's a millionaire, he hides it well.