Blago’s legacy

Don’t expect to see a repeat of the Rod Blagojevich saga any time soon, his recent expulsion from office aside.

In light of recent scandals involving the appointments to Senate seats vacated by Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Joseph Biden, Sen. Russ Feingold proposed a constitutional amendment last week that, should it pass, would mandate special elections to fill all future vacant Senate seats.

We welcome the adoption of this amendment, as the current system is clearly broken. Having governors appoint candidates to vacated seats lends itself to political nepotism, such as in Delaware; public relations fiascoes, as in New York; or outright corruption, as was the case in Illinois.

Furthermore, the 17th Amendment, enacted in 1913, ensures the right to democratically elect our senators. If Congress is to truly represent the will of the people, shouldn’t candidates have to make their case before the public if they wish to serve in higher office, regardless of when the election takes place?

We acknowledge that enacting this legislation presents its own share of challenges. Obviously in the case of a special election, there is little time to meet the candidates; in this last election cycle it seemed to take the public two years to get to know the candidates. Can Americans be expected to get to know their candidates in a matter of weeks?

Certainly having a governor with intimate knowledge of the individual candidates’ qualifications eliminates this issue and expedites the process – but at what cost?

We believe that the proposed amendment should alleviate the issues that have recently manifested themselves within the current system, strengthening the fabric of our democracy and providing a boost in public confidence for a Congress that seems to be perpetually viewed with skepticism.