One interesting difference between our United States and the one Jack grew up in is that Senators are not popularly elected. The original Constitution had them voted on and sent to the Senate by the State Governments, but that was changed back in the early 1900s to allow for popular elections. The argument was that they would better represent their States if they were beholden to the people at large, through a direct vote. But the end result was that by the time of the Second Great Depression the Senator candidates who promised the most free stuff to the people were those who usually won. Which contributed greatly to the eventual collapse of the American economy. So when the States reformed the Federal Government, they repealed the Amendment allowing for direct elections and reassumed their natural right to appoint those they wanted in the Senate. Senators who would be properly deferential to the wishes of the State governments. It was the States’ not-so-subtle way of telling the Feds that the tables had turned and the States were going to do the telling of what was going to be done in the future.