A Not-so-distant Mirror: the 17th Amendment and Congressional Change

A Not-so-distant Mirror: the 17^th Amendment and Congressional Change; Sara Brandes Crook and John R. Hibbing; American Political Science review; Vol 91, No. 4, December 1997.

Abstract:

At the beginning of the century, the Constitution was amended to permit direct election of U.S. senators. We examine the shift to determine the extent to which an electoral reform can result in meaningful change. Variables are analyzed that tap the Senate’s membership and responsiveness before and after direct election, and House data are employed to control for history effects. The results indicate that changing the mode of senatorial selection did indeed lead to alterations in the composition and sensitivity of the senate, a finding that should encourage caution regarding electoral reforms being advocated at the end of the century.

Wrap-up the 17th Amendment on the Web 28 March 2007

This week’s wrap-up was fairly good; however there was no analysis of the issue.

BD

This Move by Utah to Monitor Their Senators Bears Watching
By TBlumer
... that forces US Senators to pay at least some heed to the state they actually represent is a good thing. Thought it is something the Founders clearly intended, it has been almost totally lacking since the 17th Amendment was “ratified.”
BizzyBlog - http://www.bizzyblog.com

America is a Democracy?
Atlantic Free Press - Groningen, Netherlands
Until the 17th amendment was passed in 1913 the general public had absolutely no control at all over any legislation(both houses must pass any proposed bill ...
See all stories on this topic

Should You Vote?
By Kevin 'Joooooooooo!!!' Feasel
Polk or Calvin Coolidge, but if you don’t understand that the consequenes of greenspace laws, building height limitations, and rent control are to increase overall costs of housing, or understand what the 17th amendment entails (bonus...
36 Chambers - The Legendary Journeys - http://36chambers.wordpress.com

2008 Presidential Contender: Ron Paul
By Terry Mitchell
Paul supports the repeal of the 17th amendment to the US Constitution (he believes US Senators should be selected by state legislatures once again, and not directly elected), opposes campaign finance reforms, advocates better ballot...
CommenTerry - http://commenterry.blogs.com/commenterry/

Specter’s Plan to Run at 80 More Evidence That Age is Less of a ...
CQPolitics.com - Washington, DC, USA
Direct popular election of senators was not established until the 17th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1913. ...
See all stories on this topic

DC Voting Rights: Unconstitutional Unless Done So Through Amendment
By Syd And Vaughn
Section 3 states the same for the Senate, with the exception that senators are no longer chosen by State legislatures, but by the people, as the 17th Amendment enumerates. The point being is that STATES have representation in the House ...
The Asylum - http://sydandvaughn.blogspot.com/index.html

Political Party History in New Hampshire--Part One
By professorf
In the first election following ratification of the 17th amendment to the US Constitution in 1913 mandating the direct election of US Senators, the Republicans swept back into power and remained the dominant party, until the 2006 ...
Political Parties, Elections... - http://politicalpartieselectionsandinterestg.blogspot.com/index.html

An Argument for the Repeal of the 17th Amendment
but debates where ideas are discussed in a civilized manner and thought is put in. For a debate, I'd like to put forth the notion that the 17th amendment, the election of senators by popular vote of the people, needs to be repealed.
writingUp blogs - http://www.writingup.com/blog

Wrap-up of the 17th Amendment on the Web 16 March 2007

It was a light wrap –up from the last time I posted.

Regards,

BD

17th Amendment Repeal
By Rich in MT
Lately, I've been taking an interest in the 17th Amendment, or rather, the repeal of the 17th Amendment. If you will recall, the 17th is the one that calls for the direct election of Senators. Prior to that, the Constitution called for ...
Rich in Montana - http://richinmontana.blogspot.com/index.html

Proposed Constitutional Amendments
By Craig(Kelly)
The four proposed amendments that will be under consideration are as follows:. War Powers Amendment; Repeal of the 17th Amendment; Balanced-Budget Veto Amendment; Congressional Power Amendment.
The Governance Imperative - http://governanceimperative.blogspot.com/index.html

[ Poll ] A Case for the Repeal of the 17th Amendment in ...
Register666666, 12/03/07 (2 Replies)
Political Crossfire Forums - http://www.politicalcrossfire.com/forum

United States Senators as Presidential Candidates

United States Senators as Presidential Candidates; Burden, Barry C.; Source: Political Science Quarterly, Volume 117, Number 1, Spring 2002, pp. 81-102.

Abstract:

Barry C. Burden uses data to show that governors have done far better as presidential candidates than senators, though they are less likely to run. Four explanations connected to the notion of campaign investment are offered to account for the fates of 139 presidential contenders who ran between 1960 to 1996.

The Remaking of an American Senate

The Remaking of an American Senate: The 17^th Amendment and Ideological Responsiveness; William Bernhard and Brian Sala; The Journal of Politics, Vol.68, No2, May 2006, pp. 345-357.

Abstract:

The 17th Amendment established the direct election of senators. Although scholars have discounted the Amendment as inconsequential, we argue that it significantly changed patterns of election-seeking and legislative voting behavior. First, the Amendment negated the influence of state legislatures in senators' decisions to stand for reelection, inducing more incumbents to run. Second, the Amendment introduced incentives for senators to moderate their public ideologies in pursuit of reelection. We employ a selection model to test the impact of the 17th Amendment on the interdependent decisions to stand for reelection and to shift late-term roll-call behavior. Using W-Nominate scores for major party senators serving from 1877 to 1932, we show that post-Amendment senators, particularly Republicans, were systematically more likely to moderate ideologically as elections approached.

Mark Levin’s Comments On the 17th Amendment

A caller, Rich from Montana, to the Mark Levin Show discusses the 17^th Amendment. You can listen to Mark’s comments at the Mark Levin Fan website by clicking on to the audio link.

Link here:

Comment: Mark Levin’s comment was pretty short and spot on, but I would like to hear Mark elaborate more on the history and consequences of the amendment as he has done recently explaining the U.S. Constitution in general.

Lastly, Rich, the caller, has joined the Repeal the 17^th Amendment Discussion Board at Yahoo. Thanks Rich for the heads up and effort.