The Independent View: Kansas Looking at Repealing the 17th Amendment

On July 12, at Wichita State University, an event was held in Kansas to promote Republicans. The brain-trust in attendance represented the ideas of Kansas conservative future: Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, current sitting Representative from District 4, Todd Tiahrt, the Republican who is running against Mike Pompeo (frmr. US House of Rep), and Milton Wolf, candidate for US Senate.

The gathering, sponsored by The Kansas Fairtax group, an organization who has as a chief goal the abolition of the IRS took time on Saturday to explain to Kansans why they too should be clamoring for and end to the IRS.

One notable Kansan that was pee-announced as a potential attendee who did in fact not attend became the launching point for a new discussion. Pat Roberts, sitting US Senator elected not to attend. His lack of attendance led the Fairtax organization to an entirely new discussion, the repeal of the 17th Amendment, or the Popular Vote for US Senators.

There are some ideas that on first blush when you are told about them you have to laugh. They seem as though they represent the opinion of the absolute fringe. In 2004, Republican Candidate Alan Keyes brought up the idea of ending the common election of US Senators, reverting it back to the prior method, having the statehouse chose the two representatives.

In 2004, when Keyes made his pitch, most thinking people wrote it off as quackery. Even his fellow Republicans on stage were not impressed.

The 17th Amendment, which provided a direct election of senators by the populace was designed to help combat the wealthy from buying political power. In the era of Citizens United that may seem a stretch, but we have to go back to history and remember what it was like before the 17th Amendment.

On Saturday, repeating the Alan Keyes talking points, Republicans in Kansas reminded us of the powerful senators who were selected prior to the 17th Amendment... Henry Clay, Calhoun and so on.

As Republicans speakers advocated getting rid of the democratic process in selecting a sitting US Senator, at one point yelling from the stage that: It is time for us to return to our constitutional government! As it was originally imagined by our founding fathers!

This new call to repeal the 17th Amendment has apparently become a calling card for the Tea Party. As more conservative rallies address the idea and speak of it glowingly. The audience was asked again in Wichita:

"Do you want the government our founders imagined?"

Which of course delivered the expected cheers. What kind of government is that though? That repealing constitutional amendments is now a part of their rally cry toward their base.

While Republicans from the stage were keen to promote the idea of federalism and why the Senate was supposed to be 'The States House" they failed to mention exactly what precipitated the 17th Amendment. It's funny, especially in Kansas, as the conviction of Joseph R. Burton for taking direct checks as an act of bribery happened right in their backyard. That's right, one of the last senators sent to prison is the one that helped the push for the 17th, came from Kansas.

Intimidation and bribery marked some of the states' selection of senators. Nine bribery cases were brought before the Senate between 1866 and 1906. In addition, forty-five deadlocks occurred in twenty states between 1891 and 1905, resulting in numerous delays in seating senators. In 1899, problems in electing a senator in Delaware were so acute that the state legislature did not send a senator to Washington for four years.

This included Senators who made their way into office after specifically bribing statehouses, and parties who intentionally refused to select. This led to Grover Cleveland referring to the Senate as the "Robber House".

Still, nothing stopped Kansas Republicans from taking up the new talking point: Repeal the right of a popular vote.

Because as we all know, the greatest problem facing our country is there is just too darn much voting.