on The 17th

Ratified in 1913, the 17th Amendment changed the way America votes for its senators in the federal legislature. Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution states:

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Federal Senators represented the interests of the state prior to the 17th amendment.

Let's go on a journey. Let's pretend that the nations of Europe decided one day that it would benefit them to knit their nations together into one super-nation, let's call it the European Union. Each country would be represented in the daily legislative activities of the EU by people selected by each member country's government, to represent the wants and needs of those particular governments. The member countries people aren't out of the loop either; no, they were a part of the national elections that selected the government as a whole. The people cast their vote for their local representatives and the local representative chose one among themselves to represent them in the EU.

If the above situation looked familiar, that's because it was. That is similar to how it used to be. The states shouldn't be regarded as some antiquated part of the governmental system we live in. Think about it this way, the country we live in is supposed be a Union of States, not a homogeneous Union of People. Each state has a say in the course the Federal Government takes. Each person has a say too; it's at the local level. Good government filters up. If the only thing you are voting for is the Federal Election, you are missing all the elections in between that actually affect your daily life. If you want better roads, look to your county or state, not the federal government. If you need more schools, that's also your municipal government. It's amazing how many things we take for granted that ought to originate as local policy or legislation and not as federal.

When the 17th Amendment was enacted it took away some of the checks that the state governments had within the Federal Government.

I want to talk about war. Why do you suppose that a declaration of war has to filter its way through the Senate? Perhaps because each state has a vested interest when our entire country decides that there is a threat which must be pursued. If a state such as East Jimbob isn't entirely keen on war, the state government has the ability to let its senator know they want to vote against it.

The bicameral legislature is supposed to be an opportunity for the people to weigh in against the state governments. When the state governments are no longer a part of the legislative process, they lose their ability to protect their own sovereign rights as granted by the 10th Amendment. For example, the REAL ID Act of 2005 was a rider in a spending bill that requires all states to meet certain standards with their drivers' licenses. The cost of compliance is fairly large, in Maine the cost to the state is estimated at $185 million dollars in five years. Why the large cost? The Federal Government doesn't plan on subsidizing it. Maine's state legislature has voted to ignore the REAL ID Act; as have 19 others, including Georgia. Another 19 states have pending legislation that would also serve to block REAL ID. That's 78% of the states that aren't interested in what the Federal Government has planned. Amazingly enough, the REAL ID Act of 2005 had zero opposing votes from the Federal Senate.

The number of states that oppose REAL ID are enough to pass an Amendment.

representation
people need it like water
what about the states?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REAL_ID_Act
http://mason.gmu.edu/~tzywick2/Cleveland%20State%20Senators.pdf