Post by degicank on Mar 10, 2003 8:13:58 GMT -5
American Reform and Libertarian Party members,
States' rights is an ever elusive idea, and will always be, until the 17th Amendment is repealed.
The 17th Amendment gave the people a direct vote for their United States senators, but in the process removed state legislators' representation in their own central government and duplicated the responsiblities of the House of Representatives, the Founding Fathers' real "House of the People".
We effectively now have two Houses of the People, one with proportionate representation and the other giving residents of small states up to 56X more representation than people in large states, and each of these Houses will introduce similar bills and then bicker over which bill becomes law. In the process, any state which blindly passes a similar bill that may be better suited to their more local residents will find that bill negated by the "parental" federal law.
This is not what the Founding Fathers had intended.
If we were to repeal the 17th Amendment, the people would have their representative voice in the House, and legislators would direct Washington through the Senate, introducing new bills or blocking undesired bills originating in the House, and confirming or rejecting federal court nominations, the latter of which would change from whether the judge is for or against abortion rights to if he will honor or ignore constitutional States' rights.
Several states have tried to repeal the 17th Amendment, including New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and just recently Montana.
The States' Liberty Party, with aid from a number of our approx. 1000 subscribers and members nationally, answered Montana Senator Jerry O'Neil's request for out-of-state encouragement, and his resolution to repeal the 17th Amendment this year passed through committee 6-4, but failed in the full legislature because, said Jerry, there were no Montana groups or individuals present to support it.
The lack of internal support is entirely 100% due to lack of knowledge by citizens. Montanans, many of whom would be highly favorable to States' rights, didn't know about the bill or the impact that the 17th Amendment has had on the government.
Jerry has told us that he intends to reintroduce this bill in the next session, assuming the good citizens of Montana again return him to the legislature. If others such as your organizations could help to generate internal support (as well as outside, for the national issue), then we may see a substantial difference. Legislators have no reason whatsoever to refuse to give themselves back a voice in their own central government, excepting that the public may not approve and proceed to remove them from office. We must show legislators that the people do want representative republican government, responsive at the local level.
The Liberty Newsletter, a monthly publication of the States' Liberty Party, will contain news, announcements, and information regarding future efforts by the States to repeal the 17th Amendment, as well as articles and information regarding principles of religion; our primary focus points. You may subscribe at www.statesliberty.org or reply to this message with the word "subscribe" in the subject of the message, or send a blank email to subscribe@statesliberty.org.
www.ArticleV.com, a web site focusing entirely on constitutional amendments, will periodically produce an e-mail announcement regarding specifically repeal of the 17th Amendment. You may sign up at the web site or reply to this email with the word "Subscribe to Article V" in the subject.
You may find more information and links regarding the 17th Amendment at these web site bookmarks:
www.repeal17.com (ArticleV.com)
www.StatesRights.info (States' Liberty Party)
www.FriendsForAmerica.com (National organization setting up regional branches in every state for repealing the 17th Amendment)
Repealing the 17th Amendment is an issue that is good for the country and not dependent on a particular party affiliation or ideology.
The States' Liberty Party will be following this issue closely, as several other states appear to have an interest in it. We have received coorespondence from representatives in New Hampshire, North Dakota, Hawaii, and other states. One state successfully passing a resolution would encourage others. We must focus not just on the state legislatures but also talk radio and regional news media, so that many people know of and support the idea, prior to the legislatures acting.
R. Bacci
www.statesliberty.org
States' rights is an ever elusive idea, and will always be, until the 17th Amendment is repealed.
The 17th Amendment gave the people a direct vote for their United States senators, but in the process removed state legislators' representation in their own central government and duplicated the responsiblities of the House of Representatives, the Founding Fathers' real "House of the People".
We effectively now have two Houses of the People, one with proportionate representation and the other giving residents of small states up to 56X more representation than people in large states, and each of these Houses will introduce similar bills and then bicker over which bill becomes law. In the process, any state which blindly passes a similar bill that may be better suited to their more local residents will find that bill negated by the "parental" federal law.
This is not what the Founding Fathers had intended.
If we were to repeal the 17th Amendment, the people would have their representative voice in the House, and legislators would direct Washington through the Senate, introducing new bills or blocking undesired bills originating in the House, and confirming or rejecting federal court nominations, the latter of which would change from whether the judge is for or against abortion rights to if he will honor or ignore constitutional States' rights.
Several states have tried to repeal the 17th Amendment, including New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and just recently Montana.
The States' Liberty Party, with aid from a number of our approx. 1000 subscribers and members nationally, answered Montana Senator Jerry O'Neil's request for out-of-state encouragement, and his resolution to repeal the 17th Amendment this year passed through committee 6-4, but failed in the full legislature because, said Jerry, there were no Montana groups or individuals present to support it.
The lack of internal support is entirely 100% due to lack of knowledge by citizens. Montanans, many of whom would be highly favorable to States' rights, didn't know about the bill or the impact that the 17th Amendment has had on the government.
Jerry has told us that he intends to reintroduce this bill in the next session, assuming the good citizens of Montana again return him to the legislature. If others such as your organizations could help to generate internal support (as well as outside, for the national issue), then we may see a substantial difference. Legislators have no reason whatsoever to refuse to give themselves back a voice in their own central government, excepting that the public may not approve and proceed to remove them from office. We must show legislators that the people do want representative republican government, responsive at the local level.
The Liberty Newsletter, a monthly publication of the States' Liberty Party, will contain news, announcements, and information regarding future efforts by the States to repeal the 17th Amendment, as well as articles and information regarding principles of religion; our primary focus points. You may subscribe at www.statesliberty.org or reply to this message with the word "subscribe" in the subject of the message, or send a blank email to subscribe@statesliberty.org.
www.ArticleV.com, a web site focusing entirely on constitutional amendments, will periodically produce an e-mail announcement regarding specifically repeal of the 17th Amendment. You may sign up at the web site or reply to this email with the word "Subscribe to Article V" in the subject.
You may find more information and links regarding the 17th Amendment at these web site bookmarks:
www.repeal17.com (ArticleV.com)
www.StatesRights.info (States' Liberty Party)
www.FriendsForAmerica.com (National organization setting up regional branches in every state for repealing the 17th Amendment)
Repealing the 17th Amendment is an issue that is good for the country and not dependent on a particular party affiliation or ideology.
The States' Liberty Party will be following this issue closely, as several other states appear to have an interest in it. We have received coorespondence from representatives in New Hampshire, North Dakota, Hawaii, and other states. One state successfully passing a resolution would encourage others. We must focus not just on the state legislatures but also talk radio and regional news media, so that many people know of and support the idea, prior to the legislatures acting.
R. Bacci
www.statesliberty.org