The United States Senate: Beholden to No One

Ready to vote? If you’re an American citizen, you have the ability to exercise a very unique and powerful right. Don’t let it go to waste, but don’t take it lightly, either. There are a lot of politicians out there fighting to get your vote, they’re well funded, they’re making a lot of promises, and it’s getting more and more brutal the closer we get to Election Day.  Things are getting heated enough that Barack Obama pulled in over $1 billion dollars in campaign contributions in 2008 and Meg Whitman is spending $150 million of her own money to try to become governor of California this year.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the Congressional election process and why they would work so hard and spend so much money to get your vote and a seat in Congress, particularly the Senate. Now, we know that politicians are after power and money, but have you ever wondered why people from the outside would contribute millions, if not billions, to get a particular person into the Senate? Well…because arguably, a United States Senator is one of the 100 most powerful people on earth.

Yes, you read right. You see, together with the House of Representatives, the Senate has the power to do such things as declare war, make laws that tax the citizens of the United States to raise billions for the Treasury, decide how to spend it, and impeach the President. But unlike the House of Representatives, which is composed of delegates from each state according to population for a total of 435 members, the Senate only sends 2 delegates per state for a total of 100, which means that the vote of each Senator packs a whollop! Add that to the fact that their terms last 6 years and they have no term limits…draw your own conclusions, my friends.

Now, why would the founders construct the legislative branch this way? Well, the Senate was not always an elected body, and for very good reason. Our election process has changed quite a bit over the 200-plus years since we became a nation. Not all change is good.

Here’s the thing. There was a lot of debate going on during the writing of the Constitution between those that thought the legislative branch should represent state governments, and those that preferred that the people themselves be represented instead. So, to provide a middle ground, two houses were created. One, the House of Representatives, was elected by the people of each state and had representation based on population. The other, the Senate, gave equal representation to each state and was appointed by the legislature of each state. It balanced out because while states with bigger populations had more representation in the House, smaller states had an equal vote in the Senate. Both the people and the state governments were represented at the Federal level. The Two-Senator-Per-State rule gives States (the only members of the Union) true representation and freedom from the tyranny of mob rule (or “democracy”, as my Greek-speaking friends like to call it).

But even more importantly, Senators were entrusted with greater voting power and longer terms (that whollop I mentioned) because they were beholden and accountable to the state legislatures that appointed them. These state legislatures could not afford to appoint senators who made bad choices in Congress, because they in turn were accountable to voters in their local counties for re-election (and legislatures in states turn over pretty frequently.)

Then something disastrous happened. I discussed it here. On April 8, 1913, the 17^th Amendment was ratified. The year 1913 was a really bad one for the Constitution. I really wish we could have skipped that year, kind of like high rise buildings skip over the 13^th floor?

Anyway, in a nutshell, the 17th changed it so that the Senate was now elected by popular vote. O. M. G. Were they out of their minds? These very powerful Senators were suddenly beholden to no one! State legislatures now had no representation at the Federal level and no say in the Federal law-making process. Foreign governments have representation in Washington; state governments, none.

But the repercussions are much worse than even that, if that’s possible.  The makeup of Congress as prescribed in the Constitution not only gave smaller states an equal vote in the Senate. By having state legislatures appoint the Senators, it also prevented large population centers from dictating to more sparse, but equally important areas. 

Here’s an example: California has a few ridiculously large and populous cities, and the rest of the state is pretty rural and not as populated. California sends 53 representatives to the House, and 2 Senators. Representatives are popularly elected by district. If the Senators were appointed by the State Assembly, then each member of that Assembly, representing each California county, would get a vote regarding whom to send to Washington, D.C. from California, and the Assembly members from the less populated counties would get as much say as the ones from Los Angeles County or the Bay Area. In a popular election, however, the two Senators from California will always be elected at the complete whim of the voters of Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and San Diego, regardless of the desire of the voters of the surrounding counties. See how that works?

Think about it. If it hadn’t been designed to work that way (initially), what would have been the impetus for people to move west and settle the less populated areas, plow the fields, and produce the food that we enjoy every day thanks to our vast supply chains? There are many people that actually prefer that lifestyle, and pretty much to a person do not like the culture of big-city life.  If they (via their representatives in the state legislatures) hadn’t been given equal voting power and representation in those remote areas, then people simply would have remained in the cities and America would never have expanded to what we know it to be today. So admit it, the Founders were geniuses. And then, with the 17th Amendment, we decided to screw those people. No wonder they’re furious.

It doesn’t end there. Since the state legislatures decided not to do their jobs and instead subject the appointment of the United States Senators to popular votes, then outside parties (foreign countries, corporations, unions, cartels) decided they could influence the outcome of those very important elections (only 100 of them, remember?) by injecting lots and lots of money into their campaigns. These are what we call “Special Interest Groups.” They purchase those very powerful Senate seats and control the passing of United States laws. So now, instead of being accountable to their state governments, these very powerful men and women get seated by organizations with lots of money who can inject it by the billions into their campaigns and influence the popular vote.

Why am I telling you all this? Because if your state is electing a United States Senator this November, you have a very important responsibility when you go to the polls. Since the 17^th Amendment, your state legislature decided that it was your job, not theirs, to appoint the United States Senators. Look carefully at each candidate, and step into the shoes of your state senator/representative/assemblyman. Will this candidate act in your state’s best interests, or will they vote away your state’s rights as a member of the union (as they have done repeatedly since the 17^th Amendment was ratified)? Who is backing them financially? Why? Would they survive in the Senate if they had to be appointed by your state’s legislature and be held accountable by that body?

Next, I would encourage everyone to contact their state legislature (and their Senator and Representative) and press upon them the necessity of repealing Amendment 17. Say something like, “Ok, now that I did your job for you, can you please go back to doing it yourselves? Thanks…”

Good luck and go vote!