Obama's campaign (quite reasonably, since it takes the spotlight off of Obama) seems to believe the answer to every question is that McCain is associated with Bush and so if you're unhappy with where we are now then you're going to get more of the same from McCain.
Since Obama thinks associations mean so much, is it fair to assert that under Obama we can expect four years of Pelosi, Reed, Rezko, Ayers, Dohrn, Wright, Daley, ACORN...
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How to fix our nation – This actually makes sense!
My name is Joe Eldridge, I am electrician and I live in Massachusetts. I have 3 children, 5 grandchildren and I am deeply concerned about what is happening to our nation right now. Everything is going downhill and there is no end in sight. I would like to share with you a theory about why this is happening and how, by changing one law we can turn things around. If you care about our nation I invite you to take a few minutes and read this.
It has to do with a change that was made years ago which unintentionally shifted the important System of Checks and Balances that was built into our Constitution. Originally there was a balance set up between the State government, the Federal government, and the people. Most of us are not aware that for the first 135 years our Senators were elected by our State Legislators, not by the people. This gave the State government a say in the operation of the Federal Government. The State influence kept the Federal Government from getting too big.
There were also two other benefits to this system. First, because the Senators were elected by a relatively few members of the State Legislature they did not need to raise large sums of money for their election campaigns. This meant that they did not need to surrender to Big Money Special Interest groups in order to get re-elected. They could vote for the good of the nation, not what would help them get reelected.
The second benefit to the original system was that, although the Senators were elected by those State Legislators whom we the people elected, those Senators were not directly elected by us. Because of this they were free to deal with the tough issues that needed to be addressed without having to worry about getting voted out of office by the people if they are not “Politically Correct” This allowed our Senators to do the job of leading our country without pressure from these outside influences. During this time there were many great Statesmen.
So what happened you ask? Well there were two small issues that arose in the process of electing the Senators. First, the original Constitution did not specify how to deal with a tie vote when electing the Senators. This may seem like a small thing but when a tie did occur, no one was willing to change their vote and on occasion some states went for months with empty Senate seats. This needed to be addressed.
The second issue that developed was that Big Money Special Interest Groups began bribing the State Legislators to vote for the Senators which they wanted elected. Both of these issues could have been fixed without affecting the balance of power but the solution that was chosen was the passage of the 17th amendment which changed the way our Senators were elected. It changed the system so that we the people elected the Senators. This sounds like a small change but it accidently shifted the System of Checks and Balances and this has since resulted in the growth of a massive Federal Government which is now out of control and deeply in debt.
Let me explain. With this change, the State governments no longer had any control over the Federal Government. Their power to vote down large Special Interest spending measures which might not be good for the nation was gone. And now that the Senators needed to campaign to millions of people to get elected, they needed to raise large sums of money for their re-election funds. This opened the door for Big Money Special Interest to step in and manipulate the Senators with their donations. The 17th amendment also forced the Senators to deal only with Politically Correct issues for fear of upsetting the people and being voted out of office. This is why no one will currently address our failing Social Security system.
Let me give you an example. Imagine what it would be like for you as a parent or head of household if your children were given the power to vote you out of office. Could you still be an effective leader? Of course not. You would have to give them everything that they wanted. The newest video games, that new bike and you would have to take them on expensive vacations. If you didn’t they would vote you out and elect someone else who would meet their demands. It would completely undermine your ability to act as a good leader. You would soon run out of money, max out your credit cards and face collapse of your family. This is where we are today in our country. On the verge of collapse and if something is not changed soon, the United States as we know it will be gone.
So what can we do? Let me give you another example. This is a little hard to follow but bear with me. Let’s look at the structure of a large company like Ford Motor Company. There is a delicate balance here as well. There are the Stockholders who elect a Board of Directors to represent them at the bargaining table. And there are the Workers who elect their Union Leaders to represent them at the bargaining table. These two opposing powers have to work together if the company is to survive. They oppose each other but the balance keeps the company operating smoothly and the workers get a reasonable wage and the stockholders a reasonable dividend.
Imagine for a minute what would happen if we changed the way the Board of Directors is elected so that the Workers now elected them as well. They would of course elect people who would promise them higher wages, more benefits and shorter work weeks. The company would, of course soon go into debt and face bankruptcy. Without the System of Checks and Balances the company would eventually collapse.
Our system of government was originally designed like this company. The State government was similar to the Stockholders who elected the Senators (or Board of Directors). We the people were the workers who elected our House of Representatives (our union leaders). These two opposing forces worked together to keep our country functioning smoothly for 135 years. When the 17th amendment shifted the election process it tipped this balance of power just as the workers electing the Board of Directors shifted the power in our example. In our current system our Senators represent the Special Interest groups not the people. I don’t blame the Senators; I blame the system that they must operate in.
Our country is now spiraling downward and deeply in debt. What can we do? Let’s look at our example again. What would happen if we restored the election process within the company? It would result in a Board of Directors who would begin making decisions which were good for the company. Slowly, the company would return to good health and avoid collapse.
I truly believe that if we repeal the 17th amendment our country will begin to turn around. It will take a while but it will happen. I believe that our founding fathers designed a great system and that we need to return to it.
We do need to address the two original problems which arose in the election process. The issue of tied votes can be addressed as follows. In the event of a tie vote the Governor of the State appoints a temporary Senator until the tie is broken.
The other issue of Special Interest bribing the Legislators to elect certain Senators can be addressed by applying the same safeguard that we the people use in our elections. The reason no one can influence our vote is that we use a secret ballot when we elect the person to representative us in the House of Representatives. The State Legislature is entitled to this same privacy to prevent outside influence when they select the person who will represent them in the Senate. They need to vote by secret ballot in this one vote. No Special Interest group will bribe a Legislator when that Legislator can vote however they want in the voting booth and no one will know.
Does any of this make sense? If it does, even a little, please research this some more by Googling “Repeal the 17th’. You will find it fascinating and I believe you will soon agree that this imbalance needs to be corrected if our nation is to survive. No matter who we send to Washington, they will only become politicians in our current government structure. We need to repair the system.
I have set up a website for those who wish to join me. It is FixTheUSA.org. Please pass this along to others. If we are to change this it must be done by the people through a grass roots movement. No one in Washington will want this to happen. The Senators won’t want to give up the huge donations, Big Money won’t want to lose their influence over the Senators and the Lobbyists would be out of a job. This needs to start with us!
Thank you for taking these few minutes with me. I am sorry I dragged on. If we join together I believe we can change this flaw in our system and once again become a great nation.
Thanks … Joe
I suspect the previous comment was blog spam, at the very least you're not on topic and indicate you don't actually read my blog, but you're certainly right, so I'm leaving it there.
If you did read my blog you would have found my post on the worst amendment that makes the same points you do. What I don't outline, which I guess I should since we might be about to have at least the third progressive President, is how the 17th was not an accidental trampling of the protections from government; the Progressives knew exactly what they were doing and were intentionally out to loose government from its reins.
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