Tammany politicians could be the most effective vehicles for reform legislation

Evidence

But a handful of reformers, those who had actually had occasion to work with Smith, had astounded their friends even before his nomination for Governor by arguing not only that Smith was not a typical Tammany politician but that this red-faced, jut-nosed, gold-toothed, harsh-voiced smoker of big cigars and wearer of brown derbies and suits with wide stripes was, in fact, the best hope that existed for the actual enactment into law of the social welfare measures for which they had fought so long with so little real success. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 404

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the core theme that reformers’ contempt for Tammany obscured Smith’s genuine utility to their cause.
• XREF: connects to: Social welfare legislation was adopted by Tammany as good politics — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 566; Reform-minded women saw Tammany politicos as instruments for social welfare — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 404

Broader Connections

• Social welfare legislation was adopted by Tammany as good politics #corroborates (0.85) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 566
• Reform-minded women saw Tammany politicos as instruments for social welfare #expands (0.80) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 404