THE 17TH AMENDMENT PUZZLE

A few months ago, I heard Neal Boortz call for the repeal of the 17th Amendment, the one that provided for direct elections of U.S. Senators. I couldn't figure out how this fit into the conservative agenda until last night as I was listening to Mark Levin's show. He spoke with Paul Rahe, a professor from the very conservative Hillsdale College, about the Cosmic Evil that is Liberalism and Rahe concluded by saying that we need to repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments. Apparently, the 17th is an abridgment of States' rights and that's the link to conservative ideology.

I was then reminded of an anecdote from Thomas Franks' book, The Wrecking Crew, pages 34-35, on the corruption of the Senate in the good old days. Chauncey Depew (1834-1928) served as U.S. Senator from New York and according to legend, he was in effect a servant of the Vanderbilt family.