Sen Issa calls Holder a liar

[RoyGBiv]

I consider repealing the 17th amendment to be much more important.

Why would you want to do away with direct election of Senators by popular vote?
Maybe you meant the 16th (Federal income tax )? Maybe MY list is wrong?

The 17th amendment wiped out the intended design of the two legislative houses. One was to be the voice of the population (the House), the other the voice of the states (the Senate). Historically, state governments elected senators, who represented the voice of the state and functioned as genuine stewards of the contract between the states and the federal government (i.e. The Constitution). Senators still refer to themselves as the true "Guardians of the Constitution", but the meaning is genuinely lost except through tradition.

It is of my humble opinion that the 17th amendment has strongly contributed to the true loss of the state's powers, and instead has rendered states as (mostly) spectators in the mechanics of the federal government. This has completely inverted the purpose of the federal government, which was created to serve the states. Instead we now have a hierarchy, where the federal government is at the top. In fact, with the existence of the 17th amendment, you should think long and hard about this question: "Why do we need states anymore?"

So, yeah, I think your list is wrong

Never looked at it that way.... Interesting... Makes sense..

EDIT: I wonder what the downside would be if State legislatures still held this responsibility? The political system at the state level isn't all well-and-good either. We see this still playing out in the Bllagojevich fiasco. Similar concerns exist with legislature-selected Senators. Looking at the history, while there is some reason for concern, my initial feeling is that the gain (repeal of the 17th) would outweigh the potential downside... Again.. an interesting point I had not considered before.

[74novaman]

Think about the 17th amendment this way. If senators were still elected to represent the states, do you think obamacare, with all of its burdens on state budgets would have been passed?

As Neal Boortz says often on his radio show, the country of Georgia has an official representative in Washington DC, but the state of Georgia does not. How messed up is that?

[Heartland Patriot]

I'm pretty much on board with the opinion that the bulk of the media is/will give Holder and company a pass on this one. It might cause a big enough stink that the fabulous Mr. Holder issues a very weak "mea culpa". He'll say how he's so sorry that he didn't pay enough attention to this and didn't have the proper oversight on the operation and possibly submit his resignation...and get off free and clear. Meanwhile, that man in the White House will just find another leftist political hack to put in charge of the In-Justice Department and not one thing will change...for the better. Lets just see how far off the mark I end up being.

[jocat54]

I'm pretty much on board with the opinion that the bulk of the media is/will give Holder and company a pass on this one. It might cause a big enough stink that the fabulous Mr. Holder issues a very weak "mea culpa". He'll say how he's so sorry that he didn't pay enough attention to this and didn't have the proper oversight on the operation and possibly submit his resignation...and get off free and clear. Meanwhile, that man in the White House will just find another leftist political hack to put in charge of the In-Justice Department and not one thing will change...for the better. Lets just see how far off the mark I end up being.

As much as I hate to see it happen this way, it probably will.

[RoyGBiv]

I'm pretty much on board with the opinion that the bulk of the media is/will give Holder and company a pass on this one. It might cause a big enough stink that the fabulous Mr. Holder issues a very weak "mea culpa". He'll say how he's so sorry that he didn't pay enough attention to this and didn't have the proper oversight on the operation and possibly submit his resignation...and get off free and clear. Meanwhile, that man in the White House will just find another leftist political hack to put in charge of the In-Justice Department and not one thing will change...for the better. Lets just see how far off the mark I end up being.

As much as I hate to see it happen this way, it probably will.

As I said previously, Holder would be smart to get out while BHO is still in office so BHO can give him a pardon.
IMO, Justice is an accessory to murder... Someone's gotta pay..

[74novaman]

I find it interesting to compare this to the Iran Contra stink. We gave guns to people fighting communists in that shake up...and people went to jail for trying to cover it up.

In this one, we're arming people killing American citizens, but there hasn't been any outrage yet. This should be a MUCH bigger scandal then Iran Contra ever was.

[magillapd]

How different would things be if only US Taxpayers were allowed to vote. To vote for any federal election one must have filed and paid Federal income taxes. To vote in local and state elections one must own property and pay property taxes and/or state/federal income taxes. Paying state sales taxes wouldn't count towards voting rights.

[wharvey]

Seems it use to be that way. Wonder what happened?

[G.A. Heath]

How different would things be if only US Taxpayers were allowed to vote. To vote for any federal election one must have filed and paid Federal income taxes. To vote in local and state elections one must own property and pay property taxes and/or state/federal income taxes. Paying state sales taxes wouldn't count towards voting rights.

or better yet, what if everyone who paid taxes (income and property) and was legally eligible went out and voted!

[mr surveyor]

anyone remember Poll Tax