I recall Caro being at least somewhat sympathetic

by Flann , Central New Jersey, Wednesday, June 03, 2026, 10:29 (6 days ago) @ Jack

to the aspects of the Senate that insulated it from public pressure. Although of course that process of slowing things down- “the cooler” could be used for good or ill (Civil Rights most obviously as that’s the key issue in LBJ’s Senate career). It’s been a while since I read that chapter though.

I’ve mentioned Pappy O’Daniels as a comparison to Trump. He’s one of the many historical characters that Caro is so good at sketching out. And he’s an example of the kind of buffoon populist you can get as a U.S. Senator with direct election. But my subject title in the original post was somewhat tongue in cheek. As Publicola points out my issue is really with the primary system.