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• Hogwash (Score:2)

  by djberg96 (2603)

  The fundamental flaw in this guy's argument is that the duty of a Senator is to represent the best interests of his state, and not (necessarily) the will of the majority, as he seems to think.

  Another flaw in his think is that allowing the state legislature to pick each senator simply moves the problem, it doesn't solve it.

  To me, the fundamental problem lies here:

  As far as their jobs as US Senators are concerned, the only thing they really want is to continue being a Senator. After all, if they didn't w
  • Re:Hogwash (Score:1)

    by pudge (1) on 2002.05.20 23:39 (#8604) Homepage Journal

    Well, whom the Senators represent is different depending on in what sense you mean the word. They represent the beliefs and desires of the people of their state, but should represent the best interests of the people of the United States within that context. The problem is that because of the dissolution of the Tenth Amendment -- the one that limits the power of the federal government to what the Constitution says it can do -- our representatives in Washington have started to do more than they are supposed to do.
    
    Example: a Senator brings home monry for a local public works package. Senator makes voters in his state happy. The problem is, there is nothing in the Constitution granting Congress power to fund local public works packages. The power of Congress is supposed to be limited to things that are related to the entire nation (for the most part), or things involving multiple states. These people are supposed to represent the people of the United States, but instead, they break the Tenth Amendment to make the people back home happy so they can stay in office.
    
    It is, indeed, a mess. But it has little, if anything, to do with direct election of Senators.

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