Could repealing the 17th Amendment help fix Washington, DC?
Former Governor Mike Hucakbee and Col. Allen West believe it could.
Gov. Huckabee pointed out in a tweet last week that repealing the 17th Amendment, which instituted the popular election of Senators, would ensure that Senators work for their states and respect the 10th Amendment.
"Time to repeal 17th Amendment," he said on July 28th. "Founders had it right-Senators chosen by state legislatures. Will work for their states and respect 10th amid."
Col. Allen West made a similar point in a much longer piece on his website:
Imagine if those GOP senators who blocked the repeal of Obamacare could be recalled by their state legislatures! If they could be subjected to a vote of “no confidence” and be removed! How differently would these senators act? Or any senator? It would certainly preclude the arrogance and defiance of what has become a very lucrative club — not of citizen servants but of those who believe their political position entitles them to lord over us with no retribution, enabling them to become career politicians.
The Founding Fathers created three different means by which our legislative and executive branches are populated. The leadership of the judicial branch is determined via presidential nomination, although with senatorial confirmation — but perhaps it’s time to change the “lifetime” appointments of the Supreme Court.
Yes, I believe it’s time to talk about the 17th Amendment, for people to understand what it is, and why we changed the original vision of Madison, Hamilton, and Jay. Our U.S. Senate is not a House of Lords, albeit they tend to believe they are. Yes, the 17th Amendment gave the state’s governors the power to appoint a replacement, until a special election occurs or until the next election cycle. But it’s time we assess the repeal of the 17th Amendment, and give state legislatures the ability to elect, and recall, their senators. I just have to ask, if the 17th Amendment didn’t exist, would Arizona, Maine, Alaska, West Virginia, and a few others be looking to replace their current senators?
Col. West makes a great argument, and he knows how to accomplish his goal. He -- along with Gov. Huckabee -- has endorsed the Convention of States Project, which aims to propose constitutional amendments that limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.
These amendments could include a repeal of the 17th Amendment and a restoration of the Founders' vision of a Senate accountable to their state governments.
