Puttin' on Heirs: Why I'm Not Voting for Malia Obama
IInherited political office reeks of the royalism that drove our forefathers to revolution. As in 1829, we saw off a Presidential son this week — although unlike George II, John Quincy Adams did not chopper off with Pops. Instead he served in Congress — the only former president ever to do so.
Until today, the governor of New York was trying to decide which of two Kennedy clansmen to appoint to a Senate seat being vacated by a fellow political heiress. It looks like David Patterson will not appoint the plainly unqualified Caroline Kennedy. Hopefully he avoids Andrew Cuomo or any other political scion to replace the talented Senator who leveraged her famous and dysfunctional marriage into high office.
Dynasties pervade American politics and seldom for the better. Obama considered Evan Bayh and Chris Dodd for VP, even though in the tradition of Al Gore, both men hold Senate seats handed to them by their fathers. He instead picked Joe Biden, who is by all appearances scheming to hand his Senate seat to his son. The Kennedy's have produced three senators, two Congressmen, two
ambassadors, a President, a duchess, and numerous political spouses
including Andrew Cuomo (son of Governor Mario) and our own Arnold Schwarzenegger. Obama comes out of Chicago politics dominated by Richard M. Daley, who inherited his office from his dad, Richard J. Daley. He is represented in Congress by Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Nor is the problem mainly Democrats: Colin Powell's son Michael ran the FCC (that was old fashioned nepotism — a variation on the problem). The Bush dynasty has produced two Presidents and a governor — the Rockefellers two governors and a senator. Admiral's son and grandson John McCain beat governor's son and governor Mitt Romney for the nomination.
The problem is worse in big states — and most states get bigger over time. California campaign professionals estimate that it costs about $50 million to achieve the statewide name recognition of a prominent political family. Small wonder that political scions like Jerry Brown (son of governor Pat Brown, sister of former State Treasurer Kathleen Brown) start off with an enormous advantage.
What to do? How to encourage the Bill Clintons, Barack Obamas, and Ronald Reagans? Matt Miller toys with the idea of trampling the first amendment (as many campaign reforms do) and forcing generation skipping. A nonstarter.
Miller asserts that the core problem is that copies fade — that heirs are pale imitations of the original. Plenty of anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. Jeb is easily the most skilled Bush. The current Mayor Daley puts his father to shame. Jerry Brown is arguably more gifted than Pat and Al Jr. is plainly more talented than his father. The children of many politicians don't have to leap very high to do better than their parents.
The cost of political scions is an opportunity cost – they stifle competition and so induce mediocrity. People with a family brand name have a head start (and limited ability to imagine alternative careers) that lets them crush competitors — especially in big states. And when the people's business becomes a family business, the business suffers.
Reducing the power of famous heirs is one of many advantages of requiring a State's Supreme Court to break in two any state that reaches eight million residents. The Republic would regularly acquire new states — something we did routinely until recently. We would break California in four, Texas and New York in three each, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, and New Jersey in two, so we would today have 65 states and be much better off for it.
Each of the resulting states would be larger than the entire country at the time the founders wrote the Constitution and the potential for civic participation would rise accordingly.
This is hardly a cure-all: obviously the Kennedys are from Massachusetts, the Bayhs from Indiana, and the Gores from Tennessee. Dynasties form in smaller states, but they may not pose as formidable an economic barrier as they do in big states. There are a lot of good reasons to have smaller states anyway — all related to the increased possibility of innovation and citizen influence.
There is a second part to the solution. Vow to never, under any circumstances, support a political heir or heiress. Tell Jeb Bush, Jerry Brown, Mitt Romney, Andrew Cuomo, Jesse Jr., Chelsea Clinton, and Malia Obama that you will not vote for them out of respect for the achievements of their parents. If we want candidates as entrepreneurial as the original Clintons, Browns, Cuomos, and Obamas, their heirs must inherit profound political liabilities.
Sorry Malia.
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