She hasn’t even run for office, and the political buzz about the Clinton “dynasty” is already eclipsing former first daughter Chelsea and focusing on her baby, Charlotte, and a potential 2040 run for the House.
And forget Jeb Bush. As he flounders in the 2016 presidential primary race he once dominated, there’s a new focus on his son, George P. Bush, recently elected as the influential Texas land commissioner.
“What is fascinating about the Bushes and the Clintons in terms of background, style and personality is that they have nothing in common except a burning desire to get elected president of the United States,” writes presidential scholar Stephen Hess in his new book America’s Political Dynasties: From Adams to Clinton, from Brookings Institution Press.
“A nice irony is that while the Clintons are not a dynasty but would like to be one, the Bushes are a dynasty but deny that they are one,” wrote the longtime Brookings fellow in his encyclopedic update of his powerful 1966 book.
It couldn’t be more timely, or revealing.
On the Clintons, Hess simply states that they just don’t qualify for “dynasty” status, not even if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency. The reason: Another generation of the Clinton clan, such as Chelsea or baby Charlotte, needs to be elected.
Chelsea Clinton Mezvinsky has talked about running, but if her daughter were to run, it would create two dynasties, said Hess, who previewed his book to the Washington Examiner.
“Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky is now too young to register to vote, but if she gets elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 6, 2040, the first day on which she will be constitutionally eligible to run, the new congresswoman-elect may wish to note that both her maternal and paternal grandparents once held high office in Washington,” the Brookings expert wrote in reference to Charlotte’s other grandparents, former Reps. Marjorie Margolies and Ed Mezvinsky.
As for the Bushes, he cites several examples where the family of elites deny dynasty status, even though Jeb’s brother, father and grandfather held federal office. Hess also revealed a little family secret: “Business success is for the sake of being in politics.”
He also detailed how the family’s political stars, including Jeb, have come back from terrible losses, a good omen for the former Florida governor.
And if that doesn’t work out, added Hess, there is always Jeb’s son. “Jeb and Columba’s son George Prescott (known as ‘P’ in the family) works a political career in Texas,” Hess writes. “By heritage, a Bush is eligible to become the first Hispanic president.”
Zip it: GOP students feel ‘intimidated’ on campus
The rise of the Tea Party and a rowdy 2016 Republican presidential primary has done little to boost conservative speech on the nation’s college campuses, where right-leaning students say they feel intimidated and that their peers sneer at their views.
In a poll sponsored by Yale University’s William F. Buckley Jr. program, 800 national undergrads said that by a nearly two-to-one margin, colleges were more tolerant to liberals. Pollster Jim McLaughlin, of McLaughlin and Associates, found that 37 percent felt schools were more tolerant of liberals’ views, 20 percent of conservatives’ views and 36 percent equally tolerant.
And while students said their schools do a good job to bolster intellectual diversity, half, or 49 percent, said they have “often felt intimidated to share beliefs other than their professors’.” And 50 percent felt intimidated to share their thoughts with students whose views differ.
And just in case there is any question that the liberal view is important and dominant on campus, consider this other poll result from McLaughlin’s survey: Thirty percent of liberal students believe the First Amendment is “outdated.” Only 10 percent of conservative kids think that.
He said in an interview that some students are protesting with their feet, transferring to schools where they do feel free to express their views.
Christmas ‘buycott’ to back Christian-friendly businesses
With 70 percent of “faith consumers” eager to shop at Christian-friendly stores, a new pre-Christmas campaign has opened to steer them to the right businesses and encourage other companies through a “buycott” to be more welcoming.
Called #AddUsIn, the effort from the influential group Faith Driven Consumer is taking a page from the nation’s LGBT lobby, the Human Rights Campaign, to reward, not boycott, businesses that welcome Christians through their policies.
Organizers told the Examiner that it wants companies that herald their “rainbow of diversity,” typically focused on minorities, to include Christians and their values. For example, if a company hosts a gay pride day, it also should allow Bible studies.
Most companies are behind on the issue, but Hollywood has already embraced the 41-million Christian market with a wave of family and religious friendly movies such as the upcoming “Risen” and “Ben Hur.”
To help consumers, Faith Driven Consumer is expected to introduce a “Faith Equality Index” this week ranking some 300 companies.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
