The Utah Senate asked Congress to repeal the 17th Amendment, which was ratified under the Progressive’s of 1913. Utah has boldly challenged a system that was never the intent of the Founding Fathers and suggests that the 17th Amendment has resulted in Senators being bound to special interest groups, that donate enormous sums of money for the Senator’s re-election, and not representing the needs of the people of Utah.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Al Jackson of Utah, believes that Senators need to “come home every weekend and take direction from their state legislative (sic) body and from the House and the Governor on how they should vote in the upcoming week.”
Passing with 20-6 SJR2 was sent to the House. It demands that Congress repeal the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Read a history of the 17th Amendment and why Utah has made such a bold call to action on the following page.
The whole purpose of the 17th Amendment was to take the power of choosing the Senate away from a few dozen State legislatures and disperse it among many millions of voters. By removing the States’ control over the composition of Congress, Political power was transferred from the States to the Federal government.
The People lost because even though they gained the right to vote for members of the Senate, political power, like money, becomes less valuable the more widely it is dispersed. One million people with $1 each don’t have much buying power, but one person with $1 million dollars does.
I’m for states rights. You can’t have great statesmen when 98% get automatically re-elected with out of State donations.
If the 17th had never been passed, the state’s sovereignty would not be in jeopardy!
They did anyway, both Congress & Senate!
Republicans suck
Put the entire article on one fucking page !
I find the Sixteenth Amendment to be of particular irritation to me, personally.
You people better be ready to take up arms. The time is coming.
Dumbass, only the people can repeal an Ammendment.
COOL.