Electoral Process Quotes
Since the early 20th century, conservatives have nominated candidates who were ideologically pure but so extreme that they offended too much of the electorate to get elected. Buckley advocated weeding these candidates out, His principle became very material in the early 21st century when the conservative fundamentalist Tea Party unseated strong conservative incumbents in primary elections in favor over more extreme conservative candidates who could not win general elections.
Originally it was published in Boston under the name “A Columbian Patriot.” She was right about the lifetime tenure of a senator, but it is the power of incumbency and not the senator getting forgotten that causes it. So she made an accurate prediction but gave the wrong reason.
Note that his beginning of the quote mimics General Sherman’s famous quotation about the Presidency.
In the beginning of the 21st century, many republican state legislatures attempted to change the voting laws to eliminate the possibility of voter fraud which was not a serious practical problem in America. However, a consequence—some argue indented and some argue unintended—was that it was harder for certain groups of people to meet the new requirements and therefore was a de facto voter suppression for some people such as the very elderly, the homeless, and the poor. Many of these efforts were declared unconstitutional by the courts.
It would be over 30 years more before American women could vote for President. Lockwood never could.
