Quote:But isn't the representation of the state still and extension of representing the people? 

 

No, you have to remember that when the Constitution was ratified the State governments were considered to be the primary 

 

Quote:I disagree.  I think the main reason we have a separate Senate and House of Representatives was because when they wrote the Constitution, the smaller states wanted equal representation and the larger states wanted proportional representation.  So they compromised by having a Senate with equal representation, 2 Senators for each state, and a House of Representatives with representatives apportioned by population. 

 

I know that before the 17th Amendment, there was no direct election of Senators; the legislatures did the electing, but from what I have read, there were a lot of problems with that process and a movement to reform and clean up the process by passing the 17th Amendment and getting the state-level politicians out of it. 

 

I really don't know how anyone could favor putting the Florida legislature in charge of selecting our Senators for us.  That seems like such an invitation to corruption, and history shows that when it was done that way, there were many instances of corruption that were investigated.   That's what led to the 17th Amendment.  

 

Sorry bro, Madison in Federalist #62:

 

"II. It is equally unnecessary to dilate on the appointment of senators by the State legislatures. Among the various modes which might have been devised for constituting this branch of the government, that which has been proposed by the convention is probably the most congenial with the public opinion. It is recommended by the double advantage of favoring a select appointment, and of giving to the State governments such an agency in the formation of the federal government as must secure the authority of the former, and may form a convenient link between the two systems."

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