To the editor:

People are frustrated and disgusted with what is going on in Washington DC and think there is nothing We the People can do anything about. Well, you are wrong.

There is a movement about an Article V, Convention of States being promoted and the powers that be are doing their best to try and scare people into believing that it is a dangerous thing to do. If you know your Constitution, if you know the history and the intent of our Founders, it is the only way that “We the People” can regain control over our government rather than letting the government and the bureaucrats control us.

ABOLISH THE 17th AMENDMENT!!!

The State Delegates that debated and wrote our Founding Document, the Constitution of the United States, spent weeks debating over a two house system that represented both the People and the States. The House of Representatives were voted into office by “direct” popular vote by the People, thus representing the “People”. The Senators, two from each state, were to be “appointed” by the State Legislators to represent the “State”.

The 17th Amendment destroyed that by having US Senators “directly” elected by the People. Do the US Senators represent the states that elected them or their political party? How many of you have the phone number of your US Senator where you can call or write them and they will answer? Can your State Representative or State Senator call them and will they answer? Most likely, the answer is no. How many of you can call or write your State Representative or Senator and have them answer? Most likely, the answer would be yes. In more cases than not, you probably know them and them you. They live among us.

My point is, that if those US Senators were appointed by our State Legislators, US Senators would definitely answer, because State Legislators are the very people that appointed them. They would be accountable to those State Legislators whom “We the People” elected. Can you see how much closer We, as citizens, can be much closer to having a voice on the goings on in Washington, DC?

We need to get that back and it can be done through the Article V, Convention of States process. The power mongers in Washington, DC are the ones that need to be frightened of this, not us. Abolishing the 17th Amendment would put back in place the original intent our Founders had from the beginning whereby the People and the states have the power to govern ourselves. The best government is the government that is closest to the People.

Roger Baumann

Wabasso