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Title: The 17th Amendment

Original CoS Document (slug): [[https://conventionofstates.com/the-17th-amendment|the-17th-amendment]]

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Created: 2021-10-18 22:25:55

Updated: 2021-10-22 10:40:27

Published: 2021-10-22 03:00:00

Converted: 2025-04-14T21:13:50.677835778


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//Article 1 Section 3 of the US Constitution: "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature for six Years) and each Senator shall have one Vote."//\\
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The founders decided on this method because they wanted to create a more thoughtful process for selecting senators. They didn't want senators to be elected by the general voting populace because people can be affected by the passions of the day. In this manner, senators were chosen based on the knowledge, wisdom and experience of the legislatures.\\
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The 17th Amendment called for the direct election of senators.\\
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If the 17th Amendment hadn't been enacted in 1913, would it be necessary today? The answer is probably no.\\
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**PART I**

Two positive results from repealing the 17th Amendment?\\
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A. First there will no longer be any influence from billionaires and Super PACS affecting the selection of senators. At least, it will be much more difficult for these entities to affect senator selection in all 50 states.

B. Second, term limits will be the natural consequence, as over time the make up of the members of legislatures and the party in majority will change, and the subsequent selection of senators.\\
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What harm has the 17th Amendment done to the States in the overarching concept of Federalism? First, it has allowed for senators to make a career out of being elected to the senate and waste time fundraising (which wouldn't be necessary, absent the 17th Amendment).

Second, the direct election of senators in both parties tend to have more connections to their respective national parties, rather than to their states.

Third, it denies the voters in each state the focused representation in the senate for choosing their senators, who are tied to the national parties, that facilitates fund raising.\\
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Additionally, the voters cast their ballots for senators, largely influenced by billionaires and Super PACs and their slick advertising campaigns. Conversely, when senators are selected by their respective legislatures, there is much more discussion and deliberation on the merits and qualifications of the senate candidate being considered.\\
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The wisdom of the founders in crafting Article 1 Section 3 was in effect a safety valve to ensure that a more thoughtful process for selecting Senators. Senators chosen by their respective state legislatures were selected/guided by the wisdom, knowledge and experience of the legislatures.

And most importantly, senators were answerable to the legislatures if they desired reappointment when their term was up. One other leveling factor in the selection of senators was that over time the parties controlling the legislatures would consequently change the choice of senators.\\
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**PART II Using the Democratic Playbook**\\
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In the 2020 election cycle, the Democratic Party used the Cloward and Piven concept of "overwhelming the system" to win the election (see the Time magazine article on how they did it). Basically, by subverting election laws and through massive mail-in ballots and with the complicity of the media in burying news which could have been detrimental to the Biden campaign, they effectively overwhelmed the election process by creating confusion and mistrust of the system.\\
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My recommendation is to overwhelm the system back (the system being all 50 State legislatures.) There are some significant national leaders on board with the COS Project, including many politicians, historians and journalists.

If these leaders can join the five million Americans already working towards a Convention of States, perhaps the 17th Amendment can be repealed and the Senate will again claim the title of the world's greatest deliberative body.

An Article V Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that limit federal power, spending, and terms of office. These amendments can re-empower the state governments and return decision-making authority to the state level.

Join the grassroots army of [[https://conventionofstates.com|Convention of States]] volunteers to help pass meaningful Amendments that will rein in the federal government and impose term limits on all its members. 

 

//References//\\
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https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign