Colbert: Why do we need to vote for our U.S. Senators anyway?

Thursday night on "The Colbert Report," host Stephen Colbert examined the curious mission of three Republican candidates for U.S. Senate who are trying to repeal the 17th Amendment.

The 17th Amendment isn't one of those glamorous Amendments that everyone gravitates toward, like the 1st Amendent is for free speech people or the 2nd is for gun owners, or even the 5th Amendment, which is mostly popular with people in trouble. Number 17 is more of a wallflower Amendment. Most people barely even know that it's there.

The 17th Amendment decreed that there should be "two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof." It placed the power of electing the U.S. Senate into the hands of voters. Prior to the Amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures. Now, three Republican senate candidates are trying to roll back that Amendment.

Ex Congressman Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) and Indiana's Richard Mourdock are all running for Senate seats this November, and all three want to repeal the 17th Amendment and place the process of choosing 100 of the most powerful politicians in the country back into the hands of each state's legislature. That process, according to Senate website was marked by "deadlocks" and "bribery and intimidation."

"In other words," Colbert said, "exactly as it is now, minus all that stupid voting."

He asked, "Why should I have to vote for my Senator when I've already voted for my state senator? He knows what I like. Let him order for me. It makes me feel pampered. Order me something nice. But remember, I'm allergic to shellfish, and black people."

Watch the clip, embedded via Comedy Central, below: