From: Pete BEAULIEU ('62) Sandstorm Extra that might be political Re: Political ? Extra Re: Senators and stuff To: Ed WOOD ('62) You ask the question: "So what caused six-year senators to start acting like two-year Representatives? Was that the 17th Amendment?" I think not. The 17th Amendment (1913) provides that senators will serve for six years. This longer term of office was supposed to serve in part as a check (not a blank check!) on the appetites of representatives with shorter two-year terms. To answer your question, and at great risk of tarnishing two idols of Washington state, I do wonder if the trigger event was the perfect storm of President Johnson's slushy Great Society in the mid-sixties, significantly combined with the enormous influence of the two senior senators from our fine state--" Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnusen. For whatever good they did (and they did do good), no one here has ever accused them of not bringing home the bacon (acting like two-year representatives intent on immediate re-election). I propose that their success at the sausage factory played a big part in setting the tone for the political culture on the Hill ever since. -Pete BEAULIEU ('62) ****************************************************************