Quote:I think, instead of giving more power to the people, repealing the 17th Amendment would give more power to the legislatures.   To me, that seems to put more power into the hands of the politicians and less into the hands of the people.   If I can't vote directly for my Senator, but instead I have to vote for a politician who then votes for my Senator, that means it's not my Senator, it's his Senator.   

 

The whole thing is kind of paternalistic.   It's like you think the legislature would make a better choice of Senator than I would.  

 

There would be so much deal-making and horse-trading in the legislature it would be ridiculous.   Legislators would be selling their souls to get the votes from their colleagues so they could become a US Senator.   

 

The way that The Constitution was written, you weren't supposed to vote directly for your Senator.  The Senate represents the States.  They are supposed to look out for the interests of their respective State Government, not constituents.  Representing individuals is (was) the job of the House of Representatives.

 

It gives power to the people who reside in each State to vote for their respective legislators that are going to look out for the best interests of their State.

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