I believe it is a consequence of the 17th amendment, direct election of U.S. Senators took the people's eye off their own local and state governments. At the t

I believe it is a consequence of the 17th amendment, direct election of U.S. Senators took the people's eye off their own local and state governments. At the time it may have seemed like a good idea to battle corruption, however I don't think they chose the correct solution.