One of the primary protections against the will of the masses regarding policy was the election of senators by the state legislatures. The Founders saw the valu

One of the primary protections against the will of the masses regarding policy was the election of senators by the state legislatures. The Founders saw the value in a House of Lords / upper chamber that was not _directly_ beholden to the whims of the people, but rather to the states themselves. That's been gone a long time now, and what we've got are more-powerful, longer-termed representatives sitting in the Senate. I don't claim that abolishing the 17th will fix much now, but it probably would have helped significantly over the last 100 years.