RiverDog wrote:Not to get political, but back during the formation of the Constitution, one of the arguments against a direct popular vote was that the common man wasn't smart enough to be trusted with such a responsibility. After 240 years since it was written, I can understand and agree with this argument.
A conservative lawyer friend of mine (he's one of the good guys, I swear!) has said that many of our political problems would be solved by repealing the 17th Amendment granting citizens the right to elect their senators. When they have to pander to their base for re-election, we're guaranteed gridlock as any sign of bipartisanship is cause for a challenge in the primary. When I asked him about the corrupt smoke filled rooms producing shady characters (*ahemchicagodemocraticpoliticsahem*), he shot back with "and you think our current system doesn't produce corrupt and shady politicians?"