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Oct 11, 2010

Paul Gosar has a problem with the Constitution

GOP candidate critical of allowing U.S. senators to be elected by VOTERS

It's no wonder Paul Gosar has been ducking debates in CD1. The Republican candidate might have to answer for his downright unconstitutional views of the U.S. Constitution. Gosar has a problem with the 17th Amendment -- he doesn't trust the voters he claims he wants to serve.

The 17th Amendment allows for the direct election of senators by the public rather than by state legislatures. Its ratification in 1913 directly empowered voters, and Arizona was the second state in the nation to ratify it. Abandoning this amendment would put even more influence in the hands of career politicians and their special-interest backers -- and take it away from the people.

But back in July, before Gosar was concerned about general-election voters, he was comfortable enough with a Flagstaff Tea Party audience to give this response to a term-limits question:

“I think that you have to go back to the Constitution ... If you look at our 17th Amendment, it used to be that our senators came from our statehouse directly. Now we came up with the 17th Amendment, and all of a sudden now we have, we have some problems in the senior circuit (in the Senate). So be careful what you ask for.” [Flagstaff Tea Party 7/13/10]

Gosar's troubling comment to the Tea Party wasn't a fluke. He also criticized the 17th Amendment during an event with Hugh Hewitt in August, saying:

“There’s an unintended consequence when you change this document (holds up a copy of the Constitution). I bring up the 17th Amendment. ... Prior to the 17th Amendment, our senators came from our statehouse. ... And you look at some of the problems we now have in what I call our senior circuit, the U.S. Senate -- five years you can do whatever you want and then that last year you can go ahead and campaign to try and get re-election. ... So I'm not in favor of that.” [Hugh Hewitt event, 8/12/10]

So, would stripping Arizonans of their right to vote for their U.S. senator be an intended consequence?

“Paul Gosar wants to revoke your right to vote and hand it over to the politicians in Phoenix,” said Luis Heredia, Arizona Democratic Party executive director. “Gosar needs to answer for this -- that is, if he'd bother to show up for a debate.”

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