Revolutionary nepotism

National Interest, The, Winter, 2003 by Steve Sailer

Dynasticism is far from confined to Asia. Here at home, powerful men's sons and, increasingly, their wives and daughters, are succeeding to political leadership with a regularity reminiscent of the feudal days of old Europe. In 2002, for instance, Senator Frank Murkowski was elected governor of Alaska and promptly named his daughter Lisa to take over his seat in the U.S. Senate, saying he wanted the person who succeeded him to share his vision and values for the future of the state, which apparently includes Alaska being a satrapy of the Murkowski clan.

In Chicago, two of the biggest names--Mayor Richard M. Daley and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.--are also among the oldest. Winners in the 2002 elections included House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, daughter of the former mayor of Baltimore; North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole, wife of former Senator Bob Dole; Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, son of George Romney, former governor of Michigan; and New Hampshire Senator John E. Sununu, son of former Governor. John H. Sununu. Even California's new Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, an immigrant bodybuilder who would seem to be at first glance the most self-made of men, is the politically wayward son-in-law of the dynasties of the Kennedys and their non-evil twins, the Shrivers. It seems that as Americans have found other, more amusing entertainments than following politics, the public appears to have become increasingly reliant upon famous brand names.

Scions are also found in appointed positions. "No sooner had Bush taken office (after an invocation by the son of Billy Graham)", Bellow writes, "than he began handing out appointments to members of other Republican families", such as FCC Chairman Michael Powell, son of the Secretary of State, and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, wife of Senator Mitch McConnell. The children of Antonin Scalia, Dick Cheney and Strom Thurmond also benefited.

None of this has excited much disapproval among Americans. As Bellow told me recently,

   There is a deep emotional satisfaction that we
   all understand in the pride of a father whose
   child wants to emulate him. Americans value
   the reassurance and security of a certain
   amount of continuity at the top in a highly
   mobile and volatile society. People are comforted
   by a familiar name and face.

Indeed, the growing importance of women may be contributing to the return of family ties among leaders. First, many rules against nepotism in, say, academia were relaxed in the 1970s and 1980s when it was realized that much of the best female talent was married to the best male talent, and, consequently, rules intended to prevent favoritism and corruption were harming the ascent of women, or at least the ascent of talented women.

Further, as political consumers, women tend to be more interested than men in the kind of family stories that dynasties generate. You may recall the death of Princess Diana in 1997. Many commentators curiously opined then that the tidal wave of grief signified that royalty had outlived its time. In reality, dynastic life remains highly popular because it offers soap opera in the guise of affairs of state.