Don't know about Jonah, but I have long advocated for a repeal of the 17th Amendment.
The point of having Senators selected by state legislatures was to have the several states represented and not just the people en masse. This was also why the Senate was deemed the proper court for impeachments, and why the Senate was given ratification power over treaties and confirmation power over officers of the Executive Branch.
Direct election of Senators shifts power away from state capitals towards Washington DC, and that is not a shift that has worked well for the American people.
I also seem to remember part of it was so that the senators wouldnтАЩt saddle the states with bills they couldnтАЩt afford. Got an out of control senator? State executes a recall and appoints someone more attuned with the stateтАЩs outlook.
In a true federal system the national government has a limited and defined set of powers granted it by the member states of the federation, under the supervision of the member states.
The United States government has never been truly a "federal" system as the word is traditionally apprehended, but in the aftermath of the 17th Amendment, it is even less so.
Maybe Jonah would support going back to when state legislatures picked their senators for the upper house vs popular vote as well.
Don't know about Jonah, but I have long advocated for a repeal of the 17th Amendment.
The point of having Senators selected by state legislatures was to have the several states represented and not just the people en masse. This was also why the Senate was deemed the proper court for impeachments, and why the Senate was given ratification power over treaties and confirmation power over officers of the Executive Branch.
Direct election of Senators shifts power away from state capitals towards Washington DC, and that is not a shift that has worked well for the American people.
I also seem to remember part of it was so that the senators wouldnтАЩt saddle the states with bills they couldnтАЩt afford. Got an out of control senator? State executes a recall and appoints someone more attuned with the stateтАЩs outlook.
In a true federal system the national government has a limited and defined set of powers granted it by the member states of the federation, under the supervision of the member states.
The United States government has never been truly a "federal" system as the word is traditionally apprehended, but in the aftermath of the 17th Amendment, it is even less so.