17th Amendment – Lee Duigon

The Neverending Political Campaign

leeduigon(patty)November 10, 2021

The elections are over–right? They happened last week. There are winners and losers. And there won’t be more elections until next year.

So how come all these out-of-state campaigns are still snowing us under with requests for money? Always more money! Like a bunch of baby birds crying for more worms.

The other day we got an email from the Youngkin Campaign, in Virginia, citing some kind of “desperate” need for more money. Dude, the election’s over and you won! Why do you think people who don’t live in Virginia should keep on sending you money?

I know it has become routine, but I don’t like the whole idea of candidates soliciting funds from out of state. When the smoke clears, whom do they represent?

The 17th Amendment made U.S. senators independent of their respective states. Now they’re dependent on nationwide special interests. “Never mind those little peasants in my state! How can I get more money from the teachers’ union?” And now it’s getting to be just as bad with our House of Representatives.

Who are they representing?

‘Whom Do Our Representatives Represent?’ (2018)

leeduigon(patty)October 25, 2021

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I live in New Jersey, but I get dozens of emails every single cotton-pickin’ day begging me to send money to political campaigns in every state but my own.

Isn’t the guy in Georgia, for instance, supposed to represent the state of Georgia in the U.S. Senate? Where’s the canned laughter when I need it?

Whom Do Our Representatives Represent?

Senators represent the huge and powerful special interests that fund their campaigns and get them elected. If it comes down to a conflict between a senator’s home state and the National “Education” Assn., whose side do you think he’ll take?

If you guessed “the people’s,” you are probably from another planet.

The remedy, of course, is to repeal the 17th amendment and go back to having senators appointed by their state legislatures. Honk if you think that’ll ever be allowed to happen.

Whom Do Our Representatives Represent?

leeduigon(patty)October 26, 2018

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Let me put on my cap and gown and be Mr. Political Science for a few minutes.

It used to be a truism that all politics is ultimately local. Only now it looks like all local politics is ultimately national.

Originally U.S. Senators were appointed by the legislatures of their respective states, to represent their states in Congress. But when the 17th Amendment changed that, making senators elected by direct popular vote, it opened the door for the whole nature of the Senate to change.

Senators no longer represent their states. They represent the nationwide special interests–like teachers’ unions, for instance–whose contributions finance their election. Besides securing pork barrel projects for their states from time to time, U.S. Senators have very little to do with the people who voted for them.

What we see today is national political organizations pouring cascades of money into states to elect their favorite candidates. This money comes from out of state: the nearly $30 million, for instance, that Nancy Pelosi–from California–funneled into the West Virginia Senate race. To Joe Manchin, the Democrat. Who will, if elected, continue to represent the national interests of the Democrat Party.

When they’re not pouring out-of-state money into an election, the special interests are providing, free of charge, consultants and “volunteers.” Often they provide those along with the boxcar-loads of money.

They finally made it illegal to accept campaign contributions from foreign donors. Duh–why did they even have to discuss that? Now something ought to be done about deciding state elections with out-of-state money.

Because, you see, it’s undermining our federal republic. Our elected representatives aren’t representing us anymore. They represent the big fat cats who pay their bills and get them into office. Political parties, unions, foundations–our representatives don’t have time for us, whom they are supposed to represent. Only around election time do they remember we exist.

We need to find some ways to jog their memories.

Repeal This Amendment!

leeduigon(patty)February 17, 2018

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As usual, leftids and noozies are clamoring for the repeal of the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. They want only criminals and the government to be armed, and normal people to be defenseless.

Forget about it. The amendment most in need of repeal is now, as it has been ever since it was adopted in 1913, the Seventeeth Amendment.

Originally the Constitution provided for each state’s two U.S. senators to be selected by their respective states’ legislatures. That was because their job was to represent their states.

But in 1913 this was changed so that from then on, senators would be elected by popular vote. This has been an inexhaustible source of mischief and corruption.

Now, instead of representing their states, U.S. senators represent national and even global special interests. Every time a lobbyist buys a senator, he becomes the proud owner of 1% of the total vote. And you’d better believe the senators are for sale. And it’s really hard to get rid of them. If you’re a senator and the National Education Assn. is supporting you, that means virtually unlimited funds for your re-election campaign.

Out-of-state money and even foreign money pours into key elections, with the people of those states at best a minor consideration. It’s become a disgusting spectacle.

You can talk about draining the swamp from now till Doomsday: but the popularly-elected U.S. Senate is the very heart of the swamp. The Senate is the Swamp. If it were returned to its original, pre-17th Amendment form, the swamp would find it hard to stay in business.