Greenwald writes: "Americans love to mock the British for choosing - in the
21st century - to live under a monarchy and honor the hereditary succession
of a royal family. I enthusiastically participate in that derision. Few
concepts are as antithetical to reason and democratic liberty as anointing
families that are vested with an entitlement to wield power through dynasty
and lineage."
George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. (photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
Two Former US Presidents Simultaneously Advocate for a Close Family Member
as the Next US President
By Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
16 February 16
Americans love to mock the British for choosing - in the 21st century - to
live under a monarchy and honor the hereditary succession of a royal family.
I enthusiastically participate in that derision. Few concepts are as
antithetical to reason and democratic liberty as anointing families that are
vested with an entitlement to wield power through dynasty and lineage.
The U.S. officially has no formal royal families, but clearly loves dynastic
political power. As the U.S. becomes increasingly oligarchical - all of its
institutions, including its political ones, dominated by a tiny number of
extremely rich families - it is natural that all forms of hereditary power
will flourish. There are still examples of people from backgrounds devoid of
family wealth or influence attaining political power - Barack Obama
certainly qualifies - but it's virtually impossible for them to succeed
without the overwhelming support of those oligarchical circles.
Dynastic power is not a new phenomenon in the U.S., but this past week
featured a particularly vivid illustration of how potent it is. The two U.S.
presidents prior to President Obama - Bill Clinton and George W. Bush - made
appearances on the campaign trail to urge Americans to elect their favorite
candidate, which, in both cases, happens to be a close family member.
"There's no doubt in my mind Jeb Bush has the experience and the character
to be a great president," said George W. Bush, himself the son of a former
U.S. president, in South Carolina about his brother. At a rally in
Tennessee, Bill Clinton pronounced his wife "the best change-maker I've ever
known," and in a separate speech in Florida angrily denounced Democrats who
support his wife's opponent by depicting them as the equivalent of the GOP's
Tea Party.
Until Jeb Bush proved to be a remarkably inept candidate, it was long
expected that the 2016 election would match the son of one former president
and brother of another, against the wife of another former president.
Further underscoring the dynastic dynamic was that their funding would come
from the same sources, numerous powerful factions would have difficulty
choosing which candidate would serve their agenda most faithfully, and, as
is often true of aristocracies, the two extremely rich families have become
very close friends.
Headline from the Daily News. (photo: The Intercept)
As one would expect, the children of those two families have also enjoyed
substantial unearned benefits by virtue of their lineage. Despite no
background or experience in journalism, both Jenna Bush and Chelsea Clinton
were hired by major American networks as on-air correspondents, joining a
slew of others whose sole qualification was being born to powerful parents.
Dynastic political power is, of course, hardly unique to the U.S. Many of
the closest American allies and client states are themselves full-scale
monarchies. Numerous countries, from Cuba and Pakistan to Argentina and
Canada, have recently had siblings, spouses, and children of prior leaders
assume power. From the Adams to the Kennedys, the U.S. itself has often had
families for whom political power was a family business.
Still, the spectacle of having two former U.S. presidents simultaneously
stump for the election of their close family members as the next U.S.
president is a uniquely illuminating symbol of what the U.S. has become. It
is still highly likely that of the last five U.S. presidents, four of them
will come from the same two extremely rich families. It's becoming
increasingly difficult for any American to comfortably mock the British, who
at least have the dignity to consign dynastic power to the largely symbolic
realm.
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George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. (photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
https://theintercept.com/2016/02/16/two-former-u-s-presidents-simultaneously
-advocate-for-a-close-family-member-as-the-next-u-s-president/https://theint
ercept.com/2016/02/16/two-former-u-s-presidents-simultaneously-advocate-for-
a-close-family-member-as-the-next-u-s-president/
Two Former US Presidents Simultaneously Advocate for a Close Family Member
as the Next US President
By Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
16 February 16
mericans love to mock the British for choosing - in the 21st century - to
live under a monarchy and honor the hereditary succession of a royal family.
I enthusiastically participate in that derision. Few concepts are as
antithetical to reason and democratic liberty as anointing families that are
vested with an entitlement to wield power through dynasty and lineage.
The U.S. officially has no formal royal families, but clearly loves dynastic
political power. As the U.S. becomes increasingly oligarchical - all of its
institutions, including its political ones, dominated by a tiny number of
extremely rich families - it is natural that all forms of hereditary power
will flourish. There are still examples of people from backgrounds devoid of
family wealth or influence attaining political power - Barack Obama
certainly qualifies - but it's virtually impossible for them to succeed
without the overwhelming support of those oligarchical circles.
Dynastic power is not a new phenomenon in the U.S., but this past week
featured a particularly vivid illustration of how potent it is. The two U.S.
presidents prior to President Obama - Bill Clinton and George W. Bush - made
appearances on the campaign trail to urge Americans to elect their favorite
candidate, which, in both cases, happens to be a close family member.
"There's no doubt in my mind Jeb Bush has the experience and the character
to be a great president," said George W. Bush, himself the son of a former
U.S. president, in South Carolina about his brother. At a rally in
Tennessee, Bill Clinton pronounced his wife "the best change-maker I've ever
known," and in a separate speech in Florida angrily denounced Democrats who
support his wife's opponent by depicting them as the equivalent of the GOP's
Tea Party.
Until Jeb Bush proved to be a remarkably inept candidate, it was long
expected that the 2016 election would match the son of one former president
and brother of another, against the wife of another former president.
Further underscoring the dynastic dynamic was that their funding would come
from the same sources, numerous powerful factions would have difficulty
choosing which candidate would serve their agenda most faithfully, and, as
is often true of aristocracies, the two extremely rich families have become
very close friends.
Headline from the Daily News. (photo: The Intercept)
As one would expect, the children of those two families have also enjoyed
substantial unearned benefits by virtue of their lineage. Despite no
background or experience in journalism, both Jenna Bush and Chelsea Clinton
were hired by major American networks as on-air correspondents, joining a
slew of others whose sole qualification was being born to powerful parents.
Dynastic political power is, of course, hardly unique to the U.S. Many of
the closest American allies and client states are themselves full-scale
monarchies. Numerous countries, from Cuba and Pakistan to Argentina and
Canada, have recently had siblings, spouses, and children of prior leaders
assume power. From the Adams to the Kennedys, the U.S. itself has often had
families for whom political power was a family business.
Still, the spectacle of having two former U.S. presidents simultaneously
stump for the election of their close family members as the next U.S.
president is a uniquely illuminating symbol of what the U.S. has become. It
is still highly likely that of the last five U.S. presidents, four of them
will come from the same two extremely rich families. It's becoming
increasingly difficult for any American to comfortably mock the British, who
at least have the dignity to consign dynastic power to the largely symbolic
realm.
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