Ben Sasse: Senator Calls for Repealing 17th Amendment, Eliminating Popular-Vote Senate Elections | National Review
Before the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913, Article I of the Constitution mandated that each state legislature vote to send two senators to Washington. Sasse argues that returning control to state legislatures would be a way of increasing local control in the Senate in a time of polarization and nationalization in politics.
Different states bring different solutions to the table, and that ought to be reflected in the Senate s national debate, he wrote. The old saying used to be that all politics is local, but today thanks to the internet, 24/7 cable news and a cottage industry dedicated to political addiction politics is polarized and national. That would change if state legislatures had direct control over who serves in the Senate.
The Nebraskan Senator also suggested ridding the Senate of cameras because in the presence of cameras, Senators aren t trying to learn from witnesses, uncover details, or improve legislation. They re competing for sound bites.
Without posturing for cameras, Republicans and Democrats cooperate on some of America s most complicated and urgent problems, he wrote.