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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

17th Amendment Repeal Shot Down

It’s the issue in Idaho politics that keeps popping up in the political process: repeal of the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gives the general public the ability to directly elect U.S. senators. With the rise of the Tea Party into modern politics, the issue has been brought to the forefront of discourse, with states’ rights advocates firmly behind it. The subject was broached in a GOP congressional primary debate last year, and the Idaho Republican Party installed language in its platform last June calling for repeal of the amendment. The issue was brought to the Idaho Legislature Tuesday by Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, in the form of a nonbinding resolution that would have officially called for the federal government to repeal the amendment. But the issue – at least for now – has been put on the backburner, following a 13-6 vote of the House State Affairs Committee to kill the measure/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. More here.

Question: How can a movement or an elected official who wants to be taken seriously advocate the direct election of U.S. senators by state legislators?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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