If we toss the 17th Amendment it should include the following proviso, that being “The selection of a state’s US Senator shall not be influenced by referendum or other plebiscite and must be the made by the state legislature in its entirety.”
The 17th Amendment came about because a number of states started using referendum to choose their senators. Senators must be beholden to their states, not to the people who paid to get them elected. The 17th opened the door to making Senators nothing more than “super” Representatives and damaged the balance between the House and the Senate.
If we are going after the 17th, freeing the Senators from a popularity contest, we should also look into the 16th. Our founders had an excellent way of taxing the states based on their population.
“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,”
The more people, the higher the taxes due from the state, with their Senators watching out how it is spent.
June 16, 2025 at 2:09 am
Swansonic
Hey Chris – a check is snailing its way to you. Thanks forerverything that you do!
7 Comments
Is the 19th still even relevant? Why would we need it if the democrats can’t even define what a woman is?
Personally I think we would get more bang for the buck if we tossed the 17th.
Heh. Good observation.
If we toss the 17th Amendment it should include the following proviso, that being “The selection of a state’s US Senator shall not be influenced by referendum or other plebiscite and must be the made by the state legislature in its entirety.”
The 17th Amendment came about because a number of states started using referendum to choose their senators. Senators must be beholden to their states, not to the people who paid to get them elected. The 17th opened the door to making Senators nothing more than “super” Representatives and damaged the balance between the House and the Senate.
Well said.
If we are going after the 17th, freeing the Senators from a popularity contest, we should also look into the 16th. Our founders had an excellent way of taxing the states based on their population.
“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,”
The more people, the higher the taxes due from the state, with their Senators watching out how it is spent.
Hey Chris – a check is snailing its way to you. Thanks forerverything that you do!
Arrrrr, Matey, thank’ee kindly, ’tis good to have a Krew of such Deplorables aboard!