Washington State Republican Party Resolution Supporting the Repeal of the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
WHEREAS the Founding Fathers came to a great compromise at the Constitutional 6 Convention of 1787 and provided for proportional representation of the people in the 7 House of Representatives of the United States and equal representation for each 8 independent state in the Senate of the United States; and 9 10
WHEREAS the Founding Fathers determined that equal representation of the states in 11 the Senate of the United States recognized the individual sovereignty of each state; and 12 13
WHEREAS James Madison in Federalist Papers, Numbers 37 through 48, concluded 14 that a balance of powers between the branches of government and the levels of 15 government (general, state, and the people) is necessary for stability, and detailed in 16 Federalist Papers, Number 39, that the Senate deriving its power from the states is 17 necessary to maintain the federal nature of the general government; and 18 19
WHEREAS the selection of the United States Senators by the state legislatures was the 20 political mechanism against congressional encroachment into the sovereignty of the 21 states; and 22 23
WHEREAS a US Senator's general responsibility as intended by the Founders, and 24 discussed by James Madison in Federalist Papers, Number 10, was to represent state 25 legislature as their agent; and 26 27
WHEREAS each state was given the right to prescribe its own procedures regarding the 28 selection process for United States Senators, including appointments in the case of 29 deadlock; and 30 31
WHEREAS the state legislature has a role in compelling accountability from United 32 States Senators; and 33 34
WHEREAS the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913 changed the 35 selection of the United States Senators from that of being “chosen” by the state 36 legislatures to that of being “elected by the people” of the states, thereby divesting the 37 states of any direct voice in the federal government; and 38 39
WHEREAS the Congress of the United States and the executive branch have, since the 40 ratification of the 17th Amendment, steadily encroached upon the sovereignty of this 41 and the other states united by and under the Constitution of the United States; and 42 43
WHEREAS the existing 17th Amendment relationship between the states and the 44 federal government is guaranteed to further transfer power from state governments to 45 the federal government; 46
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we declare the 17th Amendment process of 2 electing United States Senators by the popular vote to be defective, that it fails to 3 represent the interests of the individual states, and we implore the Congress to propose 4 an amendment pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States to repeal 5 the 17th Amendment in order to restore the states to their prior status as partners in the 6 political process. 7 8
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