Last month, eight members of the Freedom Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced House Joint Resolution 198 (HJR198). Congressional approval of this resolution is the first step in a long and complex process to repeal the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Approved in 1913, the 17th Amendment replaced electing U.S. Senators by members of state legislatures with voters electing U.S senators directly in statewide elections.
Congressman Andy Harris, Freedom Caucus Chair and a sponsor of HJR198, has issued a written statement to the media on his support for HJR198. His statement reads: I co-sponsored this resolution because the Founding Fathers designed the House to represent the people and the Senate to represent the states. The 17th Amendment disrupted that constitutional balance. Returning the selection of senators to state legislatures would restore the Senate’s original role and strengthen the voice of the states in our federal system. For instance, if a senator today refused to support (or even debate) a popular measure like the SAVE America Act, but the state legislature supported it, the legislature could replace that senator.”
Here is the political reality in Maryland. Democratic majorities in the Maryland General Assembly do not support the SAVE America Act. They will not support replacing either of the incumbent two U.S. Senators from Maryland.
The Freedom Caucus should also consider future political realities across the rest of the country.
Currently Republicans have full control in 28 state legislatures and Democrats have full control in 18 state legislatures. That could change dramatically in every future election cycle.,
It is not inconceivable that Democrats could have full control of 28 or more state legislatures and Republicans could have full control of 18 or less state legislatures. Without the 17th amendment every one of those Democratic controlled state legislatures could elect Democratic Senators and replace Republican Senators.
Some may suggest Maryland voters already and routinely elect Democratic U.S. Senators, so if a repeal of the 17th amendment is eventually approved it would not change anything They forget or choose to acknowledge that Between 1950 and 1980, a majority of Maryland voters elected and re-elected four Republicans to the United States Senate.
John Butler was elected in 1950 and re-elected in 1956; Charles “Mac” Mathias was elected in 1968, re-elected in 1974, and re-elected in 1980; J. Glenn Beale, Senior was elected in 1952 and re-elected in 1958; and J. Glenn Beale, Junior was elected in 1970. Three of the four were viewed as moderates. Even as moderates without the 17th amendment none of these Republicans would have been elected to the Senate by a Democratic controlled General Assembly
Some may also suggest a majority of Maryland voters may never again elect Republican candidates to the U.S Senate in statewide elections. Maybe so, but it is a given a Democratic controlled state legislature empowered to elect U.S. Senators will never elect Republicans.
Democratic control of the Maryland General Assembly is also a given. There have been Democratic majorities in the Senate since 1900 and in the House of Delegates since 1921. There is no reason to think that will ever change.
By far, the worst outcome if HJR198 is successful would be the elimination of the rights of voters in Maryland and in America to elect their U.S. Senators. That has been a constitutional right they have held since 1913.
For both parties and for America, the 17th Amendment has worked well.
Since the 1980s, neither party has had an irreversible monopoly over the U.S. Senate. The Republicans controlled it from 919 to 1933, and the Democrats controlled it from 1933 to 1981.Since then control has shifted regularly. All these shifts reflect citizens exercising their right to direct voting rather than conceding U.S. Senate elections to politicians in state legislatures.
Now is the time for every supporter of HJR198 to consider the wisdom of former President Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge is often remembered by the public, if he is remembered at all, as “Silent Cal”, due to his aversion to public speaking and his quiet demeanor.
As a conservative President, Coolidge had measurable accomplishments. He successfully championed federal tax cuts, reduced the national debt, eliminated waste in government, reduced government spending, and limited government intervention in private enterprise. Coolidge also fully embraced the 17th Amendment.
On that issue, Coolidge wrote forcefully and eloquently: “If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people.”
Excellent advice to be heeded when supporters of HJR198 make decisions about their next steps. The right decision is simple. Immediately abandon any further efforts on HJRJ198.
Instead, focus on being fully engaged in the hard work of governing and addressing a wide range of foreign policy and domestic policy issues of deep concern to Marylanders and Americans everywhere.
