...proposing passing resolutions to return the appointment of Senators back to the States. Instead of direct election.
Consider that 24 states are solidly Republican. 19 states are solidly Democratic. And the rest are split between Democratic, Republican governorships with opposing legislatures. Would mean a solid:
48 Republican Senators. 38 Democratic Senators. And the rest a toss-up.
As Republican states have already admitted to gerrymandering House of Representative districts for another decade of Republican control...
And just how is it that several Republican leaning states are considering the very same resolutions? ALEC.
The Republican wing of the Plutocratic Party is doing its job to cement plutocratic control of our government.
Now, consider that fascism by plutocratic control of a government does not happen over night. To acclimatize the public to accepting the unacceptable, plutocrats and their collaborators (for the US, collaborators would mean both political parties, the President - whomever they are, and key regulators) must plan for small steps. It was very fortunate for the plutocrats that 9-11 happened - as this provided the opportunity to make a giant leap forward in their plans ala The Shock Doctrine (Naomi Watts).
The PATRIOT ACT. Guantanamo. Executive assassinations (not officially practiced in common law since John the First of England in the 13th century except by various dictators) first targeting "others" "over there" now being applied to American citizens on American soil (this is called "planning for the future" and will be done in the context of "law enforcement" of dangerous criminals, at first). Institutionalized financial corruption with explicit government support and guarantees (Wall Street). TARP passed by Congress while the Federal Reserve doled out over $27 trillion to banks and financial houses without the need for Congressional approval (why bother, after all - TARP was for show and the Federal Reserve tried to keep the details secret and the public will never fully understand, anyway). Fraudclosure, the legalized theft of real estate (what better for the new landed aristocracy: the plutocrats - now all they need are official titles of nobility). The accepted breaking of contracts and corporate theft by corporations while you are shamed publicly, and humiliated; the average American believing after being told that breaking contracts is immoral; while corporations practice this on a daily basis. Etc...
Fascism does not happen over night. Dictators do not come to established democracies with centuries of democratic tradition in a coup. They creep up on you. Taking their time. Planning in decades. They already own the wealth. They can wait a few decades to finally own you.
Now, going back to the original Republican led proposals of directly appointing Senators? Baby steps to solidifying the plutonomy (look this one up on how Wall Street feels about you - written in 2007 by JPM - interesting read on how the ultra-wealthy and the servitors feel about you - both corporate and political servitors). The Chamber of Commerce, if direct appointments of Senators is ever allowed, will have a huge say in who runs the government.
"Welcome junior Senators Dimon Jr. and Koch Jr. May we wash your feet?"
The idea (and more importantly, justifications) of appointing Senators has been implanted in the public consciousness. Just like many ideas, mentioned above, have been put into practice after the justifications were made.
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