32 Years Of Bush/Clinton

if Hillary wins. and if you count papa dumbdumb as VP for 8 years. Stalin-esque!

Don't forget Chelsea and George P. in the wings. We could have Bushes and Clintons as far as the eye can see.

If Jeb wins the GOP nomination and Hillary the Democratic nomination, then it's a lock!

Logical result of unfettered corporate funding. You spend a lot of money to build up a brand, you don't want to have to start all over with something nobody's ever heard of.

but i think that did happen tho

(tho i agree with thrust of thread, was just nihilistic snark for sake of it)

um, does obama not count or something?

p much a halfClinton halfBush

and we are all actors playing our part

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PmX1xcCjfM

"um, does obama not count or something?"

yeah, he counts. but he's kinda like the intermission in the middle of the movie.

i was just freaking myself out last night thinking of how crazy 32 years of two families would be...

it is kind of amazing that a democracy can spawn a family dynasty of its own.

i mean i guess this is common with your local politics or whatever, but with a world head of state in a democratic country, it's quite rare.

like when this happens in local politics the son is some incapable imbecile who shouldn't get within an ass's roar of major pow...

oh shit

We should just formally establish a monarchy already and spare these folks the expense of running a campaign.

Chelsea Clinton is 35 now and can run for president. Maybe she could be VP under her mom and then run in 2024.

It's pretty common in the world's largest democracy as well. The Nehru-Gandhis had India for 40 of the first 60 years of independence.

You could argue that the role of head of state in a democracy has become less significant with the resurgence of corporatism so as long as you don't massively fuck everything up it doesn't really make much of a difference who is in power. Reliable brands can be trusted, to some extent, not to do that.

good point

You could argue that the role of head of state in a democracy has become less significant with the resurgence of corporatism so as long as you don't massively fuck everything up it doesn't really make much of a difference who is in power. Reliable brands can be trusted, to some extent, not to do that.

still doesn't happen too frequently to have actual family members succeeding each other in such a senior role. isn't the party the reliable brand to an extent?

well, the Adams family sent reliably terrible politicians to the White House.

Family members succeed each other in Cabinet-level roles all the time but it is less common as head of state, it's true. There have been a fair number of cases around the world, though.

The party can be the brand, as it is in Japan, but the image of stability and success can definitely be transferable at a personal level. The Bushes are seen as winners irrespective of all of GWB's failings.

the comfort of familiar, competing brands made of the same basic shit

http://static.ijreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/620-former-presidents-bill-clinton-george-bush-boat-ride-kennebunk-river.imgcache.rev1347390769760.jpg

made of white hair

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-CC668_STANDA_G_20140908184506.jpg

^^ prime candidate for a facehugger/Lady Liberty remix

this does bother me, but not as much as the fact that the bushes and clintons are terrible. i wouldn't be complaining if we were getting 20 years of the roosevelts.

all dynasties disgust me tbh
no one should inherit political power simply on account of the family they were born into

well, none of them really "inherited" political power in a literal sense.

the clintons are weird in this context because they're basically just a random family; the bushes come from old-school banking/oil wealth.

most (all?) aristocratic dynasties started out with a meritocrat though.

you might have to go a hella long way back in the bush clan to find one however

this does bother me, but not as much as the fact that the bushes and clintons are terrible. i wouldn't be complaining if we were getting 20 years of the roosevelts.

― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.),

tbh TR and FDR's children were horrors, although Alice Longworth would have been a fun perz.

In Canada we might see the birth of a similar type of dynasty with the Trudeau, even though the years are further apart (father Trudeau's last year was 1984), and we do have some regulation when it comes to campaign spending here. So perhaps it is only a question of branding?

we do have some regulation when it comes to campaign spending here

we have lolregulation

Doesn't seem to happen so much in UK, possibly because of adjacence of actual aristocracy for whom political careers are what you set your dim child up in.

Two of Churchill's grandchildren were tory mps, but never of any sort of stature.

Tony Benn's father was a liberal MP, his son is labour but does not exactly milk the family connection, quite the opposite.

Stretching the point, a bit, the Milibands?

most (all?) aristocratic dynasties started out with a meritocrat though.

― A MOOC, what's a MOOC? (Bananaman Begins), Tuesday, March 17, 2015 12:46 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

you might have to go a hella long way back in the bush clan to find one however

― A MOOC, what's a MOOC? (Bananaman Begins), Tuesday, March 17, 2015 12:47 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

not "that" far - s. prescott bush (w's great-grand-poppy) rose from being a machinist to being a turn-of-the-century steel magnate and junior rockefeller peer. his father was a lawyer and preacher and did okay for himself i imagine, so not exactly rags-to-riches. nothing on the Man From Hope obviously.

churchill is a funny pick because he's actually the last really prominent member of a high-profile aristocratic family, going back to the duke of marlborough in Merry Monarch times.

well, none of them really "inherited" political power in a literal sense.
maybe not technically but in a practical sense yes, they did
they inherited the economic and social power to obtain political power
they also inherited the family name
if chelsea clinton is seriously thinking about being president (is she?) it's a dynasty in my book

I watched Jeb on CSPAN yesterday, and he comes off far more intelligent than W; it's hard to believe they're from the same family. He also appears more presidential than any of the other clown car candidates the Rs have coughed up so far, some of his answers actually seemed measured. (Then he started spouting boilerplate neocon bullshit though and I flipped the channel.)

"I do solemnly swear..."

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/0c9109c71ea0524d9fe840f91fabd67bb94a26a9/r=537&c=0-0-534-712/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2012/11/26/jenna-bush-hager-3_4.jpg

chelsea hasn't run for any office yet so we prob don't have to worry for a while.

i'm not much of a fan of hillary or anything but i think it's a stretch to compare her situation to w or jeb.

I watched Jeb on CSPAN yesterday, and he comes off far more intelligent than W; it's hard to believe they're from the same family. He also appears more presidential than any of the other clown car candidates the Rs have coughed up so far, some of his answers actually seemed measured. (Then he started spouting boilerplate neocon bullshit though and I flipped the channel.)

he's also got the charisma of a foot rest.

After the likes of Ted Cruz I could use a little LESS charisma tbf.

Cruz has charm?

if chelsea clinton is seriously thinking about being president (is she?) it's a dynasty in my book

Chelsea Clinton: Classic Or Dud?

who knows what the Idiocracy/Mad Max/Waterworld lay of the 'land' will be after she's done being senator from New Hudsonia though.

it chills my blood!

seem to happen so much in UK, possibly because of adjacence of actual aristocracy for whom political careers are what you set your dim child up in.

People also never leave office on a high note. It's not like the US when Clinton could probably have won a third term. In the UK if you are out it is usually because people hate you.

Rare footage of Clinton's final cabinet meeting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIzei3vAqRY