Senators and the 17th Amendment

I'm sure the origin of direct election of Senators is not the sexiest topic to pick for discussion.  However, I believe it is an infinitely important example of the abuse of the national government's power and destruction of the Federalist system.*

Remember, in its infancy, this country created a government that could unite and provide specific, enumerated services to the States.  The Federal government did not create the States.  The States created the Federal government and granted it a portion of power.  Though a surprising and horrifying number of Americans are unaware of it, Senators were not meant to be elected by a popular vote of State's residents, but nominated and sent to Washington D.C. by the state legislators as true representatives of states' interests.

The 17th Amendment was adopted in 1913 and states "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote."

So, why is the direct election of Senators such a big deal?  It means the people are better represented right?  No!  It gave more power to the central government of the United States by removing the states' influence over national affairs.   Now, states basically just have to accept what the federal government tells them, rather than the other way around.  Senators elected by popular vote and guaranteed a job for six long years with no term limits have little incentive to truly serve state sovereignty.  It is the different choices provided by the diversity of the States that preserves freedom and makes our republic (not democracy) unique.   Senators, though they have a state attached to their names, are essentially tenured government cronies.  There are exceptional Senators who have truly fought for their states in the last hundred years.  However, since the 17th Amendment was passed, Senators seem to feel obligated to impose greater restrictions on freedom and the sovereignty of the States rather than championing and defending them.

*A federalist system requires power to be distributed between various levels of government (national, state, local) rather than centralized like most European countries.