A House Divided Will Not Expand

So knew the Founders, the separation of powers was central to establishing responsible and accountable federal government...

So knew the Founders, all men are corruptible ... The individual man, a potential tyrant; The masses as a whole and groups of all sizes may be lured into corrupt schemes; The church; The body politic. All are subject to the temptation of abuse, the lure of money, access to absolute power.

So acted the Founders ... They separated; They divided. They separated the power of the church from the power of the state. They separated the judicial from the executive, and from the legislative. They separated our legislative bodies. They divided the legislature into two houses or chambers.

Yes, they separated the House from the Senate. They separated the representation of the people from the representation of the States. There were thirteen State Constitutions to protect. There were thirteen State Governments that were already operating. The States had to be represented and protected at the new federal level of government.

So knew the Founders, there was great risk of the new federal government usurping the power of the States. They created a house divided ... Divided by length of terms; Divided in numbers; Divided in accountability; Divided by means of achieving office. U.S. Senators were originally appointed by the State Legislatures.

... A House divided will not expand.

With differing interests and accountability, the House and the Senate had to work hard to achieve common agendas. They had to work hard at coming together for the common good of the people and the existing State governments. They had to unite their divided interests to establish new law or new federal agencies.

With the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1914, we the people, have destroyed a key separation of powers, the central genius of our constitution. With the Seventeenth Amendment we have removed federal accountability to state government. With the Seventeenth Amendment, we have subjected the Senate to the same multi-million dollar campaign cycles as the house. We have made them both chambers near identical targets vulnerable to corporate lobbyists and special interests. The vast distinctions between the two legislative bodies are gone... for now.

With the Senate and the House now united in power, the size of federal government as exploded. How many federal agencies existing prior to 1914? How many have been created since? There are currently over one hundred thirty listed on the White House web-site. Adding the Seventeenth Amendment paved the wave for FDRs New Deal, and its expansive growth of federal government.

My friends, the federal government is now out of control. Election of Senators by popular vote, election by the masses, is not working. We are now witnessing perhaps the most expansive and corrupt era of federal government in the history of the United States of America.

It is time to again divide the body politic. It is time to again vastly separate the powers of the legislative houses. It is time to again make the federal government accountable to the State governments.

A house divided will not expand...