Repeal the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Amendments added to our Constitution become the law of the land. There are 27 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The seventeenth deals with election of U.S. Senators. And 17th Amendment makes selection of Senators to represent their state a direct vote by the people.

There are several benefits for repealing the Seventeenth Amendment through special events. Every event held in at an important site will:

Generate a national awareness through media, which will demonstrate a viable solution to rein in an out-of-touch Congress,
Leverage energy and great support from paid attendees.
Bring pressure on state legislatures and officials to call for a Constitutional Convention.
Aim for a focused Constitutional Convention to add this 28th Amendment, repealing the Seventeenth Amendment.
Restore each State's Sovereignty
Restore local voter power. The direct vote for your U.S. Senate candidate at the local level yields more connectedness from that elected Senator.

What causes sparked the change to void state appointed U.S. Senators? There is a constant nagging issue about a balance between state sovereignty and national powers. When writing a bicameral legislative branch, those drafting the Constitution faced 2 frustrating problems: how the Senate would be composed, and what the Senate would serve. Our Founding Fathers feared too much power concentrated in a national government. They created the Senate through a compromise, an adjunct to the states: two senators appointed by legislatures of each state. As an assurance, they included Article V..."That no state, without consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the senate."

Senatorial selection system eventually became fraught with problems, with consecutive state legislatures sending different Senators to Congress. These struggles, during and following the Civil War, forced the Senate body to decide who the qualified state candidate was. Also, the selection system became corrupted from bribery and special interests.

In several states during this era, the selection of Senators was left up to the people in referenda; usually, the legislature approved the people's choice. A classic example is the Lincoln-Douglass debates. Steven A. Douglass was officially appointed by the Illinois legislature. Later, newspaper articles written by early 20th-century muckrakers also provided grist for the popular election mill. For example,
The 17th Amendment did away with all the ambiguity with a simple premise � the Senators would be chosen by the people, just as Representatives are. Of course, since the candidates now had to cater to hundreds of thousands, or millions, of people instead of just a few hundred, other issues, such as campaign finances, were introduced. The 17^th is not a panacea, but it brings government closer to the people. The Amendment was passed by Congress on May 13, 1912, and was ratified on April 8, 1913 (330 days).

In today�s America, what is one of The Big National Problems? The citizen voter feels impenitency, because of the crisis within expanding federal legislation. Individual voters, who reside in different states and inside congressional districts, feel isolated. As individuals, we are unable to restrain congress, whose members become indifferent. Once elected to office, members Congress are untouchable until the next election cycle..

Our entire U.S. Congress gets elected by registered voters in their state and district. The distance from residents intensifies the distrust factor. Then, distrust grows into a greater lack of accountability by Congress. Voters elect in a secret ballot, which is a forced choice. As candidates campaign around a state, each make �campaign promises�. Voters choose on what is promised. After winning a congressional seat, then newly elected officials exit to Washington, D.C. Far away from their local electorate, the U.S. legislator usually casts votes in line with national party politics.

Voters, living in their state, are disenfranchised. Realistically, an individual voter cannot stop any Congressional vote in Washington, D.C. Nor does the average citizen hold any sway in Congressional committees, hearing or bills. Personal complaints by phone, letters or e-mail fall on deaf ears. Yet, another election cycle follows every 2 or 4years, which repeats that same flawed and fatal political pattern.

What is The Purpose of this national, grass roots, constitutional repeal movement? We want the several State Legislatures to call for a Constitutional Convention, not the U.S. Congress. This proposed Constitutional Amendment XXVIII frees citizens from the grip of a foul, immoveable past. Our goal is return power to voters through their state legislatures by one single amendment, which will presented at a Constitutional Convention. The new amendment will restore the original constitutional principle is known as� Dual Sovereignty�. Repealing Amendment Seventeen of the United States Constitution has historic and legal basis:

1. In 1776, American colonists became angry, felt
disenfranchised with the gluttony and taxation policies
of Great Britain. First, the 13 colonies declared their
independence. Then, a group of patriotic colonists
wrote a governing constitution for the republic,
in which national power was diluted.

2. Originally, the United States Constitution mandated individual
states appoint its own U.S. Senators. States controlled
which individual went to Washington D.C, as well who could
be �recalled�: U.S. Constitution, Article I, sect 3.

3. The XVII amendment, ratified in April of 1913, purposely weakened state powers, and diluted Dual Sovereignty power. The Seventeenth Amendment increased the power of a unified, central federal government. The role of federal mandates has geometrically risen to an abusive level.

4. Voters can regain the 1776 spirit by overturning this strident
amendment. These United States could, again, claim fiscal
responsibility by restoring state legislative powers, which
would cause realignment in the federal government.

A). voters in each state would regain a powerful hold
      over their U.S. Senators though their state
       representatives. I.e. before the Seventeenth
       Amendment, many states had preferential election,
       where voters voted for a choice. Most legislatures
       appointed whom the voters wanted.

B). the original intent and wisdom of the drafters of our
U.S. Constitution would become restored.

C). a more equitable power structure between voters and
national government would emerge, as individual
states select and oversee their U.S. Senators.

The Seventeenth Amendment was ratified by the states in April of 1913, which supersedes Article I, sect 3 of the original U.S. Constitution. This massive shift of power caused states to abort their Constitutional rights of appointing their special state representative to the U.S. Senate. Locales and geographic areas lost control of fiscal accountability.

Following the American Civil War, a movement began for transferring power from states to the federal government. Much wrangling with state legislatures created gridlock. Then, in the 1900�s, the powerful publishing magnet, William Randolph Hurst, threw his muckraking skills behind its passage. Hurst championed the idea of U.S. Senators being elected directly by popular vote.

What are some faults with a direct state vote by voters for Senators? The Seventeenth Amendment re-wrote Article I, sect 3 from �chosen by the Legislature thereof� to read �elected by the people thereof�. That small shift in wording gave special interest groups the leverage to manipulate BOTH houses of federal legislature. Generally, Congress votes with impunity. Any U.S. senator can move into a six year term, hide in the existing insolated federal system without being bridled by voters.

Of further interest, the need to repeal Amendment XVII has a long history and crosses political party lines. Plus, some contemporary national figures are seeking to repeal this heinous abuse of federal power. Some efforts have come from U.S. Senators� Russ Feingold, John McCain, Richard Durbin and John Conyers.

The U.S. Constitution does not claim perfection. It does, in Article I, assign broad powers: �All legislative powers herein granted�. But, these are structured powers and limited by attached amendments. ALL other legislative powers not granted to the federal government reside with the states. As American History can attest, the federal government continuously erodes state powers and individual liberties.

Fortunately, �We, the people� can regain much needed control of big government. By repealing the Seventeenth Amendment, we will reform government. The new Amendment Twenty-eight does not limit nor circumvent Congress. It goes a long way in curtailing excessive power of Congress.

Benefits for undoing five decades of federal power are:

Restore the original intent of U.S. Senators: an advisory board
Cut federal bureaucracy in the Senate and reduce committees, spilling into the Executive Branch.
Restore States guaranteed powers under Amendment Ten.
Give the voters a more direct and powerful voice in who their Senators shall be. ( At present, Senators disappear for six years, until next election cycle.)
Make Senators accountable to their State Legislators, who have the ability to recall them.
The people's disenchantment with their Senator would be aired locally! The distance for affirmative action is as close as the state capitol and its legislature. Senators would represent their state and the people's need within that state.
All politics is local! Prior to ratifying the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, citizens saw more of their Senators. They voted for their choice, and state legislatures appointed the popular choice.. The best know example is the famous Lincoln and Douglas debates; Lincoln lost to Douglas, who was appointed to the Senate by the Illinois State legislature.
More Money to the States: An important component that will prove beneficial to the several states is taxes! Each State needs money; better to keep monies at home than to send to the federal government in far away D.C. Allow the voters with in each state to elect officials who can best allocate tax revenues for their individual state
Money is the key factor in growth and it is the key motivator for the several states. Each State needs money, and they need it yesterday. The repeal of the 17^th, as a stand-alone Constitutional Amendment, gets them no money. But a combination where the states control tax money as well as their U.S. Senator necessitates the power and the programs returning to the states. Each States would become a capitalistic entity, competing with one another for business and people�s purchasing power. From a completive, capitalistic perspective, State would reduce their size and scope of their governments.

Do your own search the web by goggling: "Amendment Seventeen + repeal".

Call for a Constitutional Convention to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment through state legislatures.

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