Lessons from HCR - Time to repeal the 17th & 19th amendments?

Back in February, when it looked as though health care reform might be dead as a doornail, Jonathan Chait predicted that if it passed after all, the right-wing freakout would be "something to behold." My guess is that the next few months will confirm that prediction in a big way.

Meanwhile, the reaction of Congressman Louie Gohmert of Texas, who is always good for political comic relief, may be an early straw in the wind.

In the wake of the passage of health care reform, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) has decided enough is enough and it's time to repeal the 17th Amendment which ended the appointment of senators by state legislatures in favor of direct election by the people.

That would help restore states' rights, for sure. But would that be enough? David Kurtz suggests an alternative, or perhaps supplementary, approach:

But why go all the way back to 1913? You could just freeze time in 1920 by repealing the 19th Amendment. There's no way we'd have health care reform without women voting and a female speaker of the House. So there's your real culprit.

--Jeff Weintraub