From the Letter to the Editor, The Reporter, Vacaville California:
On Jan. 19, our House of Representatives voted to repeal the Obama health-care bill, with a vote of 245 yeas and 189 nays. Subsequently, a vote was held in the Senate, where the repeal was defeated, with a vote tally of 51 nays and 47 yeas.
You would think that the House vote represented the will of the people, a premise most polls support. And with the Senate defeat, you would think the states were in a majority against repealing the law. Yet 27 states now have joined in a lawsuit with the state of Florida, suing the federal government over the unconstitutionality of the health-care law. With two senators apportioned for each state, one might expect 54 votes in favor of repeal. What happened?
Senators are free to vote however they wish. They can be cajoled, bribed, arm-twisted or influenced into voting for or against any bill, unencumbered by the will of or needs of their respective states. This was made possible by ratification of the 17th Amendment to our Constitution on April 8, 1913. Until then, senators were chosen by their state legislatures. As a senator, their job was to protect and promote the interests of their respective states in Congress.
As long as the 17th Amendment stands, senators will act in their own interest first, with any consideration toward representing their respective state coming in a distant second. This Senate vote is another prime example of why we need to repeal the 17th Amendment. Restore the balance of power and make senators represent their states.
Frank Wall
Vacaville
Comment: Mr. Wall is spot on! By the very fact that they have the ability to vote without their Constitutional constituent's prerogatives means they are voting for the special interest group's; be it the defense industry, GE, Goldman Sachs, GM, Environmental Defense Fund, World Wildlife Fund, Monsanto, PETA, HSUS, War Inc., Food Inc., Statist Inc., Harvard Inc., and the list goes on...
1 comment:
Excellent! This is a point i've been making to my friends since the vote and the lawsuits began.
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