Wisconsin voters are lucky to have a contested U.S. Senate race this year. Three credible Republican challengers - state Senator Robert Welch and businessmen Tim Michels and Russ Darrow - are waging vigorous campaigns and staging debates. Any of them would run a strong race against incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold this fall and give voters a real choice in November.

However, if some notable members of Congress have their way, this kind of campaign wouldn't happen at all. They've actually called for repeal of the 17th Amendment, which allows voters to choose their U.S. Senators.

Before the amendment was ratified in 1913, Senators were picked by state legislatures. Now, two prominent lawmakers - Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, the only Democrat in either house of Congress who openly supports the re-election of President Bush, and Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the number-two Republican in the House of Representatives -- want to turn the clock back 90 years and cut voters from the process. Said DeLay: "I am willing to have a debate that electing Senators by the popular vote has had a very real negative impact on this country."

Fine, let's debate. Since the 17th Amendment was passed, Congress has established Medicare and Social Security, legislated the 40-hour work week and minimum wage, created the GI Bill, passed several landmark Civil Rights laws and established the regulatory structures that ensure stable banking and securities transactions. Politicians who long for the good old days need to explain why America was a better country before women could vote or racial segregation was repealed.

Another argument for keeping the 17th Amendment: Senate elections are more competitive than House races. The Founding Fathers had intended for the Senate to act as a check on a popularly elected House, but reapportionment has turned that notion on its head. Senate races are far more competitive because state lines, unlike Congressional boundaries, can't be reapportioned. Only 30 to 50 House races out of 435 are genuinely competitive in any given year, and Ron Kind is the only Wisconsin incumbent who faces more than a token challenger. If Senators aren't elected, it's possible that voters in some jurisdictions will go decades without participating in a meaningful Congressional race. It's particularly ironic that DeLay wants to abolish the 17th Amendment, given his involvement in the egregious gerrymander in Texas.

Most voters probably believe that electing Senators through the popular vote is a good thing, but the fact that two notable politicians want to repeal the 17th Amendment is more evidence of how radicalized Congress has become. Let there be no mistake - the achievements of the Progressive Era and New Deal are under attack from 21st century people with 19th century values, and it will frame the choices that voters face this fall. Thanks to Zell Miller and Tom DeLay, those choices are absolutely clear.