For the last three decades or so, the United States of America has been gradually changing from a constitutional republic to a democracy. Many in the nation want not only Senators to be elected by the public, contrary to the original plan of the founders, but to have the President elected by the majority public vote rather than the Electoral College. The gradual assumption by the Federal Government of authority not given to it by the Constitution replaces the Sovereignty of the States and Citizens. Additionally, a second attack on the Constitutional Republic is the power of the unelected bureaucrats who promulgate regulations that have the force of law and who also have the power of adjudication of these regulations.
I believe that, as difficult as it would be, repealing the 17th Amendment that made popular vote of Senators the law of the land would help restore the Republican nature of our government. This would affirm the sovereignty of state governments but still retain the primacy of the people through the popular election of the representatives actually choosing the Senators from their states.
The second problem, that of the “deep state” can be corrected by two possible means. Firstly, and probably easier, would be to give elected officials the ability to actually control the actions of the bureaurcrats by firing them. The theory that experts can govern better than elected officials has proven to be wrong in my opinion because they become more interested in extending their own power within the government and make decisions based only on their narrow view of a problem rather than considering the effects of their regulations on society as a whole or on the tyranny over individuals.
A more effective way of controlling the bureaurocratic agencies and their regulatory power would be to Congress re-assert its power of actually legislating rather than giving it away to the administration. Granted it is impossible for Congress to legislate ever detail necessary to implement the goals of a particular law, but giving the authority of Congressional Committees to invalidate administrative regulations may accomplish it. Presently forcing the Congress to pass legislation to invalidate regulations doesn’t work because the President, acting on behalf of his administration will veto the bill. Granted it would take a united President and Congress to make this happen occassional this union of the two occurs and would return power to the elected officials.
