It has become a reliable pattern in American politics that when the plumbing breaks down, the superintendents appear promptly to fix it. Progressives in the teens and '20s tried to clean up the electoral process with the secret ballot and the direct election of Senators. In the 1960s smoke-filled rooms gave way to primary beauty pageants, and after Watergate, big-money contributors had to form PACs instead of flushing money directly to their candidates. The avowed goal is always the same: to ensure communion between the voters and their leaders.
This year has brought a new call to clean the pipes because...
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