Repeal the 17th Amendment
A Failed Experiment that has Alienated State's Representation in National Affairs
We live in a country - nay! - a world under attack from almost every angle. It didn’t start recently; it didn’t even start in your father’s time. It started a long time ago and has persisted and been resisted for many a generation to this day, and will subsist for many a generation after we are all long gone.
The war is against the Great Republic by foolish men whose aspirational thinking believes they could have framed our Great Houses better than the Founders, if not the entire nation itself. These men, who talk like you, act like you, and may even live near your home, aren’t like you. They think themselves more competent. They consider themselves wiser. They even think of themselves as having a higher superiority in morality. They lie, not just out of both sides of their mouths, but also the voice inside their head, which initiates their foolishness. Many mistakes have been made and perpetuated by such men, and the only way we will ever begin to address and reverse past mistakes is by first talking about them.
The First Lie
Democracy. A system so bad, we impart it upon our enemies as a form of control to keep the adversary locked in endless battles with itself, instead of us.
“Time after time, observers have questioned whether this country, or that people, or this group, are "ready" for democracy -- as if freedom were a prize you win for meeting our own Western standards of progress. In fact, the daily work of democracy itself is the path of progress.
…It is the practice of democracy that makes a nation ready for democracy, and every nation can start on this path.”
“Champions of democracy… understand that democracy is not perfect, it is not the path to utopia, but it's the only path to national success and dignity.”
“As we watch and encourage reforms in the region, we are mindful that modernization is not the same as Westernization. Representative governments in the Middle East will reflect their own cultures. They will not, and should not, look like us. Democratic nations may be constitutional monarchies, federal republics, or parliamentary systems.”
-Former President George W Bush, November 6th, 2003
Address to the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy
The United States is not a Federal Republic, a definition meaninglessly broadened under our modern language. Each State within the Union grants consent to that Union and its Division of Authority to act as a United Unit of States, not a Federal perversion masquerading as a Democratic Principled Authority.
Without going into a long diatribe of legal and historical explanations or diving into the Federalist Papers themselves, the central concept one needs to keep in mind when comparing and contrasting Democracy versus the Constitutional Republic is this:
The Constitutional Republic defends the rights and interests of the individual from the interests and populism of a Democratic Mob, which is the enemy of a Free People, most especially its minorities in both opinion and social groupings. A Democracy interests itself in the will of the 51%, or even the 90%, whether by emotional pleas or crisis. In contrast, a Constitutional Republic protects the public, most especially the minority of that public, from those threats.
Observe with me, dear reader, that this is not a partisan issue of either party:
If you count yourself among the Liberals, then you must defend the Republic in the interest of protecting the interests of the minority classes you suppose yourself to care for. Whether of sexual, class, race, creed, religion, or opinion - it is your self-identified principle as a Liberal to defend the interests of everyone, but most especially those who count themselves among the voiceless, the oppressed, and the unrepresented.
However, suppose you count yourself among the Conservatives. In that case, your duty to this Republic is most enshrined within your foundational principles - The core principles of Individual Liberty, Human Dignity, Religious Freedom, and Freedom of Speech, especially that which is controversial, offensive, or a threat to powers that threaten your own. The Constitutional Republic defends and gives you authority to protect those principles. A Democratic Mob would arrest your principles under the guise of “The Greater Good” of today and today’s ideas instead of the “Greater Good” of tomorrow, of yesterday, and of all people.
The “Greater Good” of a majority is not the “Greater Good” of the minority and, therefore, is incompatible with the “Greater Good” of everyone.
Whether you like or dislike figures such as Former President Donald Trump, Former President Barack Obama, or even Senator Bernie Sanders - a Constitutional Republic is the first line of defense from the rhetoric and emotional arguments of personalities you may disagree with, and even those which you may find yourself in agreement with.
While many on the continent love to decry election losses as a loss for Democracy and a partisan win as a win in turn for it - the idea of Democracy being a stable or suitable situation across every house and branch of government is, at best laughable and worst damn near criminal. It is a most violent assault on the interests and concerns of every Citizen, even those who consider themselves the enemies of our shared principles, regardless of who they voted for or what they believe otherwise.
Look to today, I ask you, and tell me of another period not plagued by war that was so heatedly partisan. The Great Republic is under ever-constant threat of the looming Democratic Principle, and in turn, the ability to project a better form of Representative Government is lost to the world stage and the billions around the world who look to America as the beacon of potential for themselves and their own nation’s governance.
Need it be said, and I’ll say it a thousand times and a thousand more until the Collectivist Press stops repeating the lies - America is NOT a Democracy.
Though… if we aren’t careful, it will be.
As per the US Constitution, Article 1, Section 3, Clause 1 and 2 which were Repealed by the 17th Amendment:
“The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.”
-US Constitution, Article 1, Section 3, Clause 1
{Repealed by 17th Amendment}
…and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.
-US Constitution, Article 1, Section 3, Clause 2
{Modified by 17th Amendment}
Where the Founders had discussed the issue of Popular Vote elections of Senators, the idea was struck down on the grounds, among many, that turning the Senate into a less accountable House of Representatives was outside the ideals of a Republic. The Federal Government has two Populist offices - the Presidency and the House of Representatives. Within these two offices, We the People decide and can elect those Populist Voices to speak of more localized or populist matters and ideas, which may inflame or incite the rest of the country. Within these offices, 51% of the Public gets its voice and makes itself heard by the 49%.
What was not framed within the original Constitution was the Three Offices of Populism (Executive, House, and Senate) or even the Judicial, for that matter. Could one reasonably imagine our Supreme Justices ruling on cases merely to earn votes among the electorate every few years while endlessly campaigning for donations among prospective organizations and plaintiffs seeking Constitutional clarification or redress of grievances? Ridiculous!
The US Senate, as it is today, the second most important body within the Federal Government, is now occupied and has been since completion on March 4th, 1919, with 100 Representatives actively in campaign and donation gathering processes among Organizations, Corporations, and the General Electorate, to ensure for themselves, not the States they Represent, a continuance of support from the respective Party they pay their allegiances.
The Second Lie
In the event you weren’t aware, it is ordinary course among those so-elected Congressional Representatives that a majority of their time is not spent governing the nation, debating legislation, or even reading the very bills they are expected to vote on. Instead, most of their time is spent Rolodex calling affluential and well-financed potential donors, seeking donations for future campaigns and general Party Funds. The quality of a candidate and, therefore, the degree of support granted by the Party they align themselves with is directly measured by the dollar amount of donations the elected official and future campaigner can deliver to the coffers of Party officials.
The second lie told here is this belief that Senators work FOR YOU.
They don’t work for you. The Senate hasn’t worked for the American People since the 1918 Election of Senators that finalized packing the Congressional House with partisan personalities instead of Statesmen. With costs to run for the Senate dramatically increasing since the 1990s, upwards of $100 Million in some elections, most Congress Members spend over 50% of their time on campaign fundraising.
This isn’t a sustainable experiment.
In case you forgot or didn’t know - Here is a 51-second video of former Representative David Jolly (R)(13th District, Florida) describing the issue on 60 Minutes.
Dated April 22nd, 2016:
The Third Lie
One might ask, ‘Why would the States ratify the 17th Amendment?’.
Democracy, dear reader, they felt we needed a little more Democracy. That creep into our systems of poor ideas, which has never stopped and will never stop until the destruction of sound systems is assured, and returning to Constitutional Principles is impossible.
Following the arguments that started around 1860 and had various periods of heightened rhetoric and later abandonment, most of the statements were what one might expect if they attempted to build a counterargument to the Constitutional Provisions of the Senate as they existed before the 1913 amendment ratification. The rhetoric of “vote buying” amongst State Legislatures and Fraud. Of Cronyism among potential Senators and even nepotism.
In one case, a State Legislature had difficulties reaching a consensus on electing a Representative to the Senate for two years, which was heavily cited as cause for the 17th Amendment passage, along with the abdication of duty by some Legislatures in simply abandoning their Constitutional Duty and instead holding referendum votes among the public to choose vacant Senatorial seats.
Meanwhile, the ten allegations of fraud against prospective senators never materialized in the 125 years of history before the passage of the 17th Amendment. Most, if not all, of these allegations were merely Politicians Playing Politics.
On a more positive note, one of the best things to come out of the 17th Amendment was essentially the cure for the fundamental issue relating to Clause 2, which was the Filling of Unexpected Vacancies in the Senate by Resignation or otherwise by State Governors - pending a full legislative hearing and vote on the formal applicant(s).
Previously, the Executive of a State only had the temporary appointment power if the Legislature of that State was out of session. The 17th Amendment addressed this minor oversight by allowing a temporary assignment to the Senate pending an election. The Federal Senate would never drop below full membership for very long.
Though a minor alteration, if maintained following the repeal of the 17th, this would satisfy previous issues with Clause 2 of this Constitutional Article - most pronounced among the few more dysfunctional State Legislatures.
The Second US Convention of States
As you probably know, the Articles for the 2nd Convention of States are circulating amongst the Union. The various issues those States have with the Federal Government would be solved through the Repeal of the 17th Amendment and the restoration of the US Constitution, as originally written and conceived.
A fact that shouldn’t be too surprising.
Repeal the 17th Amendment - restore State Representatives and Interests back into the Federal Government, as was originally intended and framed by the Founders.
If you aren’t aware, you can check our article and the corresponding links to that particular topic here:
Trends: The Second US Convention of States
There has been a growing movement building since 2013. A movement that can shape our nation and its sovereign States to our most fundamental core – a movement to modify our Constitution through the debate and Ratification of new Constitutional Amendments.
Conclusion
The Repeal of the 17th Amendment and restoration of the Original Framework would result in the following:
Less Campaigning and Fundraising by Federal Elected Officials
Return the Senate to Statesmen and Representatives, not Politicians
Federal Senate held in Direct Accountability to State Legislatures, who can revoke their Senate Representative(s) who fails to advocate for or represent State issues from a Federal Branch perspective
Return of State Influence and Accountability within the Federal Government regarding Spending and Policies - including declarations of War, Social Policies, or Impeachments, as is the duty of the Senate
The Second Convention of States Movement and their grievances with the Federal Government would be addressed both currently and into the future for generations to come
The Health of the Union would improve overall
State Legislative Election Turnout would expectedly improve
»»»»
The United States is not a Confederacy. It is not a Monarchy. It is not a Democracy. It is not a Federalist Republic. It is not a Fascist State. The framework of the Original Constitution was the deployment of a near-perfect system that worked near-perfectly. Nothing created by mankind is perfect, but sometimes mankind surprises us by creating or imagining systems and things that move beyond the mundane and unoriginal and genuinely break into the spirit of Revolutionary - which indeed is what the United States Constitution is, a Revolution in National Government systems.
The United States is a Constitutional Republic that enjoys the Consent of its Union.
If we can keep it.
As always,
Farewell, and Good Luck.
-Dark Philosopher
Article Updates
None.
Links
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/preview-dialing-for-dollars/
https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031106-2.html