ABSTRACT
Although the resolution for the amendment passed the Senate, at last, on June 12, 1911, it was not the same version that had already been approved by the House. Thus, a deadlock ensued in which the two chambers wrangled for eleven months over whether the states or the Congress should have the regulatory power over the popular election of senators. In the great enthusiasm for this advance of popular rule, no one seemed to notice that those same political bodies that had been charged with representing special interests had themselves engineered the change. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with senators belonging to the wealthier classes. More disconcerting is how influential, if not indispensable, money has become to win an election. Opinion polls consistently reveal that the vast majority of Americans think members of Congress are "dishonest" and "favour special interests over the needs of the average citizen".
