Responding to a very simple question of my opinion on the U.S Senate, I continued my overindulgent answer by pointing out that the Senate was supposed to be for elder stewards who have proven their worth to the ones who choose to handle the minutia of budget construction, tax laws, and other exciting parts of governing. This idea is eloquently expressed by John Jay in Federalist No. 64-
“The State legislatures who appoint the senators, will in general be composed of the most enlightened and respectable citizens, there is reason to presume that their attention and their votes will be directed to those men only who have become the most distinguished by their abilities and virtue, and in whom the people perceive just grounds for confidence. The Constitution manifests very particular attention to this object. By excluding men under thirty-five from the first office, and those under thirty from the second, it confines the electors to men of whom the people have had time to form a judgment, and with respect to whom they will not be liable to be deceived by those brilliant appearances of genius and patriotism, which, like transient meteors, sometimes mislead as well as dazzle.”
State legislators are not full time, career politicians. Keep in mind that state legislators in Virginia earn a whooping 20 grand a year for their service. They are more like servants in government than career politicians at other levels and I believe that they are better suited to select someone to handle a job they understand. But under the popular vote system Al Franken can become a senator for his first job in government. Oh man, I can’t believe Stuart Smalley was a senator; that is just wrong. If the state legislature had the responsibility to send representatives to the upper chamber of Congress I doubt they would have asked Stuart Smalley, the Church Lady, Opera-man, or any other Saturday Night Live character.
Did you see the confirmation hearings for now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh? It was a circus. Senators Booker and Harris competed for biggest grandstander to further their own political aspirations of winning the Democrat nomination for president. It was a despicable display created by populism.
Moreover, the popular vote at a statewide level allows for a well-organized and well-funded minority to subvert the popular will of the state as a whole. Take Northern Virginia’s high concentration of residents as an example. Fairfax and Arlington counties, along with the City of Alexandria, have given Northern Virginia a look and political make-up that is greatly different from the rest of the commonwealth. Why should the over populated urban North tell the rural southern parts who is best to represent them? Bringing the votes down to a more proportional system levels the playing field thus giving the people a larger piece of the decision making process. Otherwise someone like the SEIU can sweep in with their paid door knockers in just Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria and yet the result of the election is supposed to reflect the will of the entire commonwealth. C’mon. Democracy is better than that and statewide elections need the state legislature to serve as a safeguard.
“Well I was just talking about,” he tried to get in, but I kept talking about how flawed the entire effort to institute the 17th Amendment was in the first place. As I started to tell him about how the whole thing was the life work of William Jennings Bryan the bus came up to the stop. As the door readied to open I began to wonder if this poor gentleman was thinking that the arrival of the bus will save him from having to hear more of my exciting thoughts on restoring our Republic.
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Tune in tomorrow for part 3 of Restore The Republic, Repeal The 17th Amendment. You can check out Part 1 through this link here.
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