Hey Justice Holder! How's this for "ridiculous"?

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Janice Holder notoriously referred to contested elections of judges as "ridiculous." Well, Justin Owen of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research is proposing another "ridiculous" idea. ("The current plan on judges is ridiculous"):

When it comes to democracy, I think it's time for a change. Average Tennesseans can't be trusted to make sophisticated decisions like picking their representation in the state legislature. To clear things up, I propose a Legislative Merit Selection Act.

Under the Act, the General Assembly bypasses the state constitution and creates a 'Legislative Selection Commission' made up of lobbyists. This unelected and unaccountable committee will nominate three candidates for each House and Senate seat. The governor will then select one person from the slate of candidates to represent each district.

Instead of holding contested elections, voters will only be asked whether their legislators should keep their jobs in a simple 'yes/no' retention election held every few years.

How 'bout it?