Every day, the federal government seems to be taking more and more of our rights away. We protest, contact our Congressmen, but the mandates come down anyway. We the People are not the influence that MAKES things happen in Washington, D.C. Why?
Our Founding Fathers decided it was best for the states to come together and form a small federal government that would have limited power over certain areas. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution clarifies it well: the powers not given to the feds are reserved for the states and the people.
The states and people are the two groups that have the say in the federal government. Or at least, they are supposed to. The original Constitution was designed with this in mind. The House of Representatives were elected by the people to represent the people. The Senate was appointed by the states to represent the states. Should the people dislike their Representatives, they would elect a different one every other year. Should the states not like their Senators, they could recall them and replace them.
In 1913, the 17th Amendment was passed. This changed the Senate from being a representation of the State to (supposedly) a representative of the people. We all know they actually represent lobbyists and whoever pays the best incentives for each vote.
If the states are to tell the feds what to do, and not vice versa, how do they do that? What voice do they have in Washington? With the 17th Amendment in place, none. Legislators in Frankfort complain all the time about the feds just telling us what to do. But we have no good recourse.
Back in 1913, there was a Big Government agenda to get pushed through. This era includes the creation of the Federal Reserve and IRS. Due to horse-and-buggy travel, and states recalling their Senators, they had too many empty seats to be able to conduct business efficiently. This is the kind of business we want to put the brakes on.
If a Senator were to go to Washington and vote for reckless spending that asks the States to go into the red, you can imagine what will happen. States still have to operate on budgets. States scream at unfunded mandates. States know that the federal government hands them everything with carrots attached. And States will know that if their Senator did not keep all this in mind in his voting record, he will be out of a job.
It is time now to repeal the 17th Amendment. It can easily be summarized as the “teeth” of the 10th Amendment. Most legislators agree that the 10th Amendment exists and is good. But hardly any really understand what it means in daily application. The 17th Amendment puts it into practice for them.