Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Taking elections away from voters hardly a panacea

After reading Kenneth W. Johnson’s Tuesday letter to the editor, headlined “Consequences of 17th Amendment have been terrible,” I wonder how the U.S. Senate would benefit if its members were chosen by state legislatures, as he suggests.

Would repeal of the 17th Amendment create any less corruption? Would state legislators choose U.S. senators based solely on their abilities, or is it possible their connections and influential “friends” might cloud their judgment?

Mr. Johnson wrote that the instances of 19th-century corruption, described in a Saturday Las Vegas Sun editorial, can’t compare with 21st-century moral bankruptcy. Would repealing the 17th Amendment produce better U.S. senators?

Furthermore, Mr. Johnson wrote that the Founders were “big thinkers.” True, but as history has demonstrated, they were also human and made mistakes. Our Founders didn’t bestow the rights of freedom and citizenship for all. Slavery was a protected institution with human beings considered property, only “landed” gentry were allowed the right to vote and women were all but ignored by the U.S. Constitution.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy