Well it certainly reduced the influence of party bosses and machines on senators. These days senators are largely independent atomistic narcissistic political entrepreneurs. Of course, party bosses and machines are in most places simply comatose period. Williams Jennings Bryan got his way. The New Jerusalem has arrived.
Well it certainly reduced the influence of
state and local party bosses and machines on senators.
But it is obvious from the constitutional convention and debates that the Founders had counted on the Senators being very influenced by the state governments.
Now the influence is nationalized; that has weakened federalism.
And there was one good thing about the corrupt influence of state machines- it wasn't the corrupt influence of national machines.