Posted on 12/26/2014 8:12:00 PM PST by SeekAndFind
In mid-December, Jeb Bush announced his intention to explore a presidential bid. If he runs and wins the Republican nomination and then the election, he will be the third President Bush in 25 years. That unprecedented prospect has left many wondering: In a republic like ours, is it proper for one family to fill the executive seat so often?
The Bushes are not the first family to send multiple members to the White House. They join the Adamses (father John and son John Quincy), the Harrisons (grandfather William Henry and grandson Benjamin), and the Roosevelts (cousins Theodore and Franklin). But the Bushes are in a class by themselves for the speed with which one succeeded another—just eight years apart. And if the third Bush wins the top job after another interval of eight years, that will only make the exception more pronounced.
While we might fret about this for cultural reasons, we must acknowledge that it has not come about by accident. In fact, dynasties make a lot of sense for practical politicians. Acquiring the presidency is enormously challenging, and political dynasties ease at least some of the difficulties either in securing the nomination or in winning the general election. To put it bluntly, dynasties endure because they are politically useful.
Not surprisingly, then, political dynasties have actually been quite common in American history, though not always family-based. From the early 19th century into the 20th, there were three state-based political dynasties that were even more dominant than the Bushes.
The Virginia dynasty dominated the presidency for the first quarter of the nineteenth century. President Thomas Jefferson (1801-09) was succeeded by James Madison (1809-17), then James Monroe (1817-25). Strictly on merit, Jefferson’s and Madison’s elections were eminently sensible—but Monroe’s less so.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
It strains believability that, in a country of over 300 million people, that leading candidates from our two major parties just happen to be the wife of a former president, and brother and son of former presidents. Unbelievable.
I’m only disturbed by the fact that Jeb is less a conservative than either his father or his brother (and I love Bush 42, the President we needed after 9/11) ). We need a strong conservative to counter act Obama$$ and Jeb is not the man.
Equating a geographic “dynasty” (a true contortion of the essence of the term “dynasty”) with a FAMILY, especially a family with such a uniform political perspective is ridiculous.
The intent of the article is transparent.
NO MORE DAMN BUSHES. They have done damage ENOUGH!!!!!
answer : NO !
Listen to Mark Levin... no more.
Give someone else a shot
Let us all be thankful that Obama has no family.
And both former presidents greatly disliked by many
These people are not in this because of popularity or for virtue
And jeb has zero chance. He’ll be just like Romney McCain dole.
Both former bushes got in as squeakers. The second lost a second term after turning against conservatives
But he’ll get nominated after everyone turns on Cruz
Barbara Bush is (silently) nodding her head in agreement with you. I think Jeb sees this as ‘his turn’ or taking what is due to him by circumstance.
We can’t let the GOP throw this next election.
Opposition Now! That should be the cry.
If the people (i.e., voters) choose him in the primaries ... then so be it. I’m not going to be one of them that does so, but I’m sometimes outvoted by others.
Oh, but he does.
His husband Michael LaVaughn Robinson is as entitled to the throne as Hillary.
I too am all for him running... AND, importantly, all the other RINOs of his ilk.
When enough conservatives coalesce on a Cruz, the gaggle of RINOs just will flutter away together (and drop, one by one).
“Let us all be thankful that Obama has no family.”
The wookie can run.
I like that photo of the young Clinton sitting at the table drinking soda with HW Bush and George Wallace back in 1983.
Stay out the Bushes!
Don't be so sure.
If his political beliefs were conservative, his name wouldn’t matter and conservatives would vote for him in the primary.
But Jeb Bush is at least as bad as Obama and probably worse. So I will never vote for him.
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