Bicameralism and the Direct Election of Senators

I've usually rolled my eyes and dismissed calls to repeal the 17th Amendment and go back to state legislatures electing the U.S. Senate. I mean, considering that it's supporters are neo-Confederates and other cranks that want to turn the clock back to the 19th century (at least), and it is a move to make the government less democratic, it seems like a terrible idea. But just now it occurred to me that there's a strong argument in favor of doing that.

Bicameralism isn't that odd. What is odd is having two houses with equal powers and equal democratic legitimacy. That has led to all sorts of problems in our country. There's a genuine advantage to having the Senate lack the democratic legitimacy of the House. It would also mean that the Senators wouldn't be afraid of being primaried by Tea Party loons if they cut deals or rolled over. I doubt you'd see the sort of universal obstructionism you saw during Obama's first two years. Heck, I doubt the Democrats would have gone to such lengths to keep Bush's Federal judges from being confirmed.