“The Continuing Fall of Federalism” was written by the Pulitzer Prize winning conservative columnist George F. Will. The article was an editorial for the Washington Post and was picked up by The State.Com. The article was intended for the readers of the Post and any other national outlet with whom Will is syndicated.
With the recent controversies and the coinciding media attention regarding the filling of the vacant seat in both Illinois and New York, Senator Russ Feingold is proposing that the 17th amendment be changed to allow the equivalent of a run off election to fill a vacant senate seat. This will allow the senate to, in Feingold’s words, “be as responsive to the people as possible.” Will’s basic argument is that the framers’ had intended for the House of Representatives to be the more “responsive body that more closely resembles the will of the people. The Senate was to be a more contemplative body in place to balance the House, as the Framers were both terrified of a tyrannical single ruler and the unchecked will of the average citizen. He views this proposed change to 17th as just one of many small changes that are chipping away at Federalism as the framers intended it.
