Today's question: The Constitution has four methods for an amendment; which do you favor for repealing the 17th Amendment?
* Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state conventions
* Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state legislatures
* Proposal by Congress, ratification by state conventions
* Proposal by Congress, ratification by state legislatures
* Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state legislatures
* Proposal by Congress, ratification by state conventions
* Proposal by Congress, ratification by state legislatures
Cast your vote on the widget to the right.
If you have any thoughts on the subject, we'd like to hear what you have to say, so leave a comment.
5 comments:
I don't know. What difference does it make?
(I ask this as someone who used to dismiss the argument to repeal 17 as irrelevant, and have only in the last couple of years saw the call one too many times and decided to educate myself and only now realize that it is the single act that must occur before any real reform can begin. So I'm not dismissing your qustion, I really don't know and need to be informed: WHAT difference does it make?)
The only difference is that the state governments will have representation in the federal government. Everything else is a matter of opinion or prediction.
People often speculate stuff like this:
-States' rights (tougher for the federal government to pass laws states don't like, e.g. medical marijuana laws)
-No unfunded mandates (e.g. Real ID) on the states
-Less federal laws (the Senate becomes a barrier to federal laws being passed)
-More limited government (see above)
-The Senate selects Supreme Court justices, which since 1913 have made countless pro-federal-government anti-state-government rulings
-The Senate ratifies treaties, which includes trade agreements such NAFTA, which reduce jobs in states
-Special interest groups would have to increase efforts behind not only Washington DC, but each individual state as well.
As you can see, quite a difference is possible :)
It's not that simple a question. Which do I prefer as the most safe, or which do I prefer as the most likely? Those are two different things. Clearly, proposal by Congress is safer, but less likely, than a Constitution convention.
Results:
* Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state conventions: (1) 8%
* Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state legislatures: (5) 41%
* Proposal by Congress, ratification by state conventions: (1) 8%
* Proposal by Congress, ratification by state legislatures: (5) 41%
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