Infuriated by the notions of popular democracy, millionaires paying income tax or a colorblind society? Some Tea Partiers are, too. David Knowles from AOL News writes about it in his article “8 Candidates Who Want to Amend the U.S. Constitution”:
Does the U.S. Constitution grant Americans citizens too many rights?
That seems to be the conclusion reached by some tea party activists and the candidates they have helped propel to victory. While in years past, a scattered number of political aspirants have spoken about scaling back the Constitution so that it more closely resembles the original version, this year’s rise of the tea party has resulted in a slew of candidates who view the revered document as bloated.
Surge Desk has a roundup of the politicians who believe that, when it comes to the number of amendments tacked on to the Constitution, less will mean more.
THE 17th AMENDMENT
Before the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913, state legislatures, not the voters, appointed the senators from a given state.
Mike Lee
In an interview with CNN in July, Utah Republican Senate candidate Mike Lee termed the 17th Amendment a “mistake” that lessened the power of the states. Thought Lee admitted that a repeal of it was unlikely, it is clear that he favors such a move.Joe Miller
Senate write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski has posted footage of Alaska GOP nominee Joe Miller proclaiming his belief that the 17th Amendment be repealed.Ken Buck
At an event in 2009, Colorado Republican Senate nominee Ken Buck declared that the 17th Amendment had “taken us [the country] down the wrong path” and indicated his support for the idea of repealing it. Democrats seized on Buck’s remarks, releasing video of the event in an ad. Buck then clarified his stance, telling The Huffington Post, “It is not a position I still hold and it wasn’t a position I held a day later when I called back the guy who asked the question and talked to him about the issue and reflected more on it.”Steve Southerland
Like Buck, after telling an audience that he was “fine with” the idea of repealing the 17th Amendment, Florida’s “conservative Republican” Southerland later backtracked after his opponent, Democrat Allen Boyd, brought the initial statement to light in a campaign ad…
[continues at AOL News]
