Republicans dislike democracy because it gives Democrats a chance to win. Many conservatives now support repealing the 17th amendment to the U.S. Constitution which calls for the direct election of U.S. Senators. They have a problem with democratically electing Senators, because voters might choose a Democrat to represent them. The idea of repealing the 17th Amendment was popularized by right-wing radio talk show host Mark Levine, in his book The Liberty Amendments. GOP Senators Ted Cruz (TX), Mike Lee (UT), and Jeff Flake (AZ), have all voiced support for ending direct election of Senators. In addition, Supreme Court Justice Anton Scalia, Texas Governor Rick Perry, and Georgia Senate candidate Paul Broun have all backed Levine’s anti-democratic plan.
A long list of Republicans are in favor of ending direct election of U.S. Senators because voter suppression just simply is not doing enough to keep Democrats from getting elected. For this reason, in the eyes of some Republicans, elections must be done away with altogether. America should just become an aristocracy where state politicians, and not the voters, determine who should represent the people. Nevada Lt. Governor candidate and failed former U.S. Senate candidate, Sue Lowden (R) explains why democracy should be done away with. Democracy should be eliminated in her view, because voters in her state vote for Harry Reid.
In an interview transcript posted on the Douglas County (NV) Republican Central Committee’s page on March 27th, Lowden explains that if we repealed the 17th Amendment we could get rid of Harry Reid. In the interview, conducted last November, Lowden is asked whether she would support abolishing the 17th Amendment and she responds by saying:
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I would absolutely support it…I don’t know why the senators wouldn’t want it shown in good faith to the American public that this would be a good idea for our country. Instead we have Harry Reid, the Harry Reid’s of our country who are there over and over again and have a tremendous amount of money to be re-elected. Yes, I think people are really fed up with bad people in government. If that’s a way to change things up in Washington, I would be all for it and do whatever we [need] to do it.
In other words, her opinion is that democratic elections for U.S. Senator are a bad idea because the people do not choose the candidate she wants to win, they vote for Harry Reid instead. Perhaps one reason Lowden is so hostile to voters choosing their Senators is because when she ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010, hoping to defeat Harry Reid, even three quarters of Republican voters rejected her. In that race, she was trounced by “Second amendment solutions” Sharron Angle 40 to 26 percent, with other candidates accounting for the remaining votes. Apparently, Lowden’s loopy plan of bartering chickens for health care was not well received even by her own party.
Sue Lowden simply exemplifies the level of contempt the modern Republican Party holds for the average American voter. However, rather than settling for implementing various subtle forms of voter suppression, Lowden brazenly wants to end Senate elections altogether, so that people like her have a chance to become U.S. Senator instead of leaving that choice up to voters who after all, might re-elect Harry Reid again. Fortunately, the Lt. Governor’s race in Nevada is a direct election, and voters can once again reject Lowden’s arrogance and choose a more capable public servant to represent them.
Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.
