Voters should do their jobs

State Sen. Jim Smith claims in his [June 2] letter to the editor that Doug Masson missed most of the story regarding the legislation to repeal the 17th Amendment.

One does not need to search the archives for what the Founding Fathers wanted nor to quickly understand what is wrong with the system today. There are clear differences of duties between the House and Senate. The problem lies with those who occupy the seats in those bodies.

Although none of us were around, including the senator, when our Founding Fathers developed the basis of our government, is it safe to say that at best they tried to give us a democracy in the form of a republic.

Basic to that concept, “we the people” means just that. It is up to the people to decide who we send to the halls of government. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the government shall elect its counterbalance. That is exactly what Smith wishes to accomplish. His argument, when you strip back the outer layer, is nothing more than one political party trying to gain control of what they could not do in a general election. I wonder if the Democrats controlled the House and the Republicans the Senate if he would be the flag bearer for the repeal?

Thanks to the Supreme Court and the good ol’ boy system (of both parties) we may have open elections that give the appearance of what the Founding Fathers wanted, but once the election is over, the lobbyists, party bosses and billionaires rule the day because they are the ones who get you re-elected. All you have to do is strongly support their cause. Eliminating the 17th Amendment isn’t going to change that. It will only make it worse.
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George Keely, Greenwood