In 1913 our nation suffered a collective failure of judgment when we passed the 17th amendment. It was not a mistake to hand the power of electing senators to the voters rather than state legislatures, but we really dropped the ball when we put in an “option” for each state to pick and choose whether their governor could make interim appointments. The fundamental harm this causes far exceeds any benefits paid in either expediency or fiscal savings for extra elections. There is no greater example of how this opened the door to abuse than the actions of Massachusetts between 2004 and today, with other states now looking at that particular shell game with envy. This is the subject of my column this week at Pajamas Media. You are, as always, invited to read and share your thoughts.