crap shoot

One truism about America's political process is "politics is ever changing, fluid". From the first Jamestown settlers to the War between the States, no one principle maintained a "lasting value". At present, the federal government has grown massive; it is a glutton. Our elected officials believe a person's earning, property and business are owned by Washington, D.C. They tax more and spend more of citizens' private wealth.

Freedom and Liberty are just words in some dictionary. In order to effect lasting values, voters have to legally change how Congress can create legislation. Historically, governing power started from the original thirteen colonies. Based on this history, any powers granted to our national officials should come out of the States.

The United States Constitution, Article I, sec. 9 and sec. 10, spell out federal limiting authority. This section of our Constitution provides lasting value to States.

Not every Amendment to the Constitution was a winner. Yet, every amendment is intended to guard citizen rights, freedoms, and liberties. Some of those ratified are crap shots, while others roll snake eyes.

The Fourteenth Amendment was never formally proposed as an amendment to the Constitution. The Fourteenth did not proceed through the normal constitutional amending process; its ratification was not voted on by the respective states.

· The Sixteenth Amendment gave Congress the power to lay and collect taxes. At first Federal income tax was a low percentage, and that intended power has mushroomed to an abusive level: snake eyes.

· The Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors: snake eyes.
(It was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933.).

· The Twenty Seventh Amendment grants congress to increase its own salaries. Now, The House of Representatives and Senators have their separate retirement plans and health care: snake eyes

The Seventeenth Amendment was a crap shoot, because voters wanted their say about their senators. Voters believed their ballot was better than state appointed senators. Unfortunately, direct voting removed state sovereignty constraints, freeing senators to act as they wanted. The Seventeenth Amendment remains a crap shoot,

Two main reasons call for its repeal.
First, the 17^th did not clean up the corruption surrounding U.S. Senators. Campaign finance reform has not worked in stopping powerful interest groups from seizing control of the Senate. (Less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the U.S. population gave 83 percent of all campaign contributions in the 2002 elections. Those who give money in political contributions get back billions in tax breaks, subsidies and the right to exploit public land at ridiculously low prices.)
Second, it worsened the nagging problem of federal powers abusing state rights/sovereignty. Its repeal regains state rights/sovereignty some parity with the federal government. Through the 17th, states’ role has been reduced to a beggar or a lobbyist. At present, many states have term limits on elected officials, budgetary restraints, and tough election laws tougher than for Congress.

Repealing the Seventeenth Amendment has a history. Long standing research exists. One web site that fully exposes weaknesses is www.articleV.com., and open the link Repeal 17^th.

Organizations are working to repeal it, such as States Liberty Party, the Southern Party, The Future of America Foundations, etc.

Several states want to reclaim their sovereignty: Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Another legal expert, John W Dean notes
(from http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/dean/20020913.html )
…..Professor Zywicki offers an explanation for the Amendment's enactment that makes much more sense. He contends that the true backers of the Seventeenth Amendment were special interests, which had had great difficulty influencing the system when state legislatures controlled the Senate. (Recall that it had been set up by the Framers precisely to thwart them.) They hoped direct elections would increase their control, since they would let them appeal directly to the electorate, as well as provide their essential political fuel - money.

This explanation troubles many. However, as Zywicki observes, "[a]thought some might find this reality 'distasteful,' that does not make it any less accurate."

Other voices for repeal include Senator Zell Miller (D-GA), Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), Representative David Dreier (R-CA), Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Representative John Conyers (D-MI),Columnist George Wills, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Alan Keys, Tom DeLay, plus others.

Concerning the federal government's giant power grab, Supreme Court Justice G. Byreyer's opinion on Printz v the United States, 1197, wrote..." undue centralization of national power..."

The bigger our federal bureaucracy grows, the greater the corruption.
Compelling 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
Warning about an open Constitutional Convention.

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

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