In 1787, when the Constitution was adopted, our new nation had not developed anything like the powerful British families that had so much influence on that country's parliament. And, because we were still evolving from a loose confederation of states, the founders probably didn't anticipate the development of family dynasties.
The founders assumed that becoming a member of Congress was a citizen's way of donating part of one's private life to public service. Consequently, the Constitution allowed six year terms for senators because it was generally felt that after serving the prescribed term in Congress, a senator would return to private life and someone else would be elected for a new six year term. They didn't foresee that so many would make a career out of public office.
Career politicians are often tied to family dynasties; the Bushes and the Kennedys come to mind. These powerful families became political dynasties primarily as a result of their enormous wealth. Based on your political persuasions, you might esteem either of these families as long as you don't delve too deeply into the sources of their wealth. Indeed, over time, how a family acquires its wealth eventually becomes inconsequential. Only their prestige and power is relevant and it can make them illustrious members of society. (We think of New England families who amassed fortunes as a result of their involvement in the slave trade, and later became sanctimonious critics of Southern planters who used slave labor.)
Family dynasties can also be created by media. This is an interesting phenomenon of the last half century. If someone in a visible local political office pursues policies the national media favors, especially so-called “progressive” agendas, the national media will lavish praise on them, embellishing their achievements and making it easier for other family members to get elected to public office. A classic example of such a media-created dynasty is the Landrieu family of New Orleans, the “Cajun Camelot.”
In the decades surrounding the 1960s , we often heard the term “New South.” This phrase was first heard at the end of radical reconstruction of the Southern states and originally meant replacing an agrarian economy with an industrial one. But “New South” took on a new meaning in the 1960s: it was applied to Southern cities and Southern politicians who adopted policies favored by the Leftist establishment and the national media. By following these policies, a Southern politician was assured of favorable coverage by the national media. One such politician who knew how to play the game was Moon Landrieu, who became Mayor of New Orleans in 1970.
Landrieu was a loyal, Leftist Democrat, vocally progressive on race issues. His election as Mayor of New Orleans was accomplished by a combination of the effects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the growing number of black voters in the city, and the city's declining white population. When Moon Landrieu became Mayor, blacks held less than 20% of offices in city government. He quickly increased their participation in city government to over 40%; outlawed what he considered vestiges of segregation, formed a biracial committee, and removed a replica of the Confederate flag from the council chambers. Moon Landrieu quickly became a darling of the national media, who began promoting him for the presidency. Unfortunately, like most liberals, Landrieu was overly dependent on federal funding, failing to implement local economic sources to sustain the city.
Although Landrieu was not the spectacular success portrayed in the liberal media, he was certainly superior to most of his successors. After Moon Landrieu, the New Orleans mayor's office was held for over twenty years by inept, uninspired and often corrupt city leaders. - One will soon begin serving a prison term for his criminal acts. After two decades of these lackluster mayors it shouldn't come as a surprise that voters would want to recapture the past by electing another Landrieu. Moon's son, Mitch was elected Mayor of New Orleans in 2010, continuing the family dynasty. After receiving an endorsement from President Barack Obama, Mitch Landrieu was reelected in 2014. Although an endorsement by Obama might not be beneficial in the rest of the State of Louisiana, it works in New Orleans because of the city's large minority population.
And that brings us to the problem facing Mary Landrieu, the third, and possibly last member of the family dynasty. Mary is too far to the Left for the State of Louisiana. But, as a career senator, Mary has been lucky because incumbent senators are usually reelected; the thoughtless folks back home often vote for them regardless of their record. So, with little fear of being voted out of office, Mary has supported policies that are not very popular around the State, but she was able to get elected to three senatorial terms, serving almost twenty years. If she manages to get reelected a fourth time, she will be a senior citizen when she leaves office (unless she tries for a fifth term). In past elections, Mary has been able to convince enough voters to judge her by her rhetoric rather than her record.
In order for Mary Landrieu to bamboozle the electorate again, it will take immense voter docility and a powerful propaganda machine. Outside the city of New Orleans she will be hard-pressed to explain away her support for the highly unpopular Obamacare as even many on the Left have conceded its failure. It will be even harder for her to downplay her recent vote to approve the appointment of Debo Adegbile to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. This race-obsessed lawyer not only defended the vicious white-hating cop killer, Mumia Abu-Jamal, but also took part in demonstrations against police officers. Adegbile believes that the Constitution is outdated and should be replaced with a more “progressive” document and, although it sounds unbelievable, in one case he argued that the government should have a voice on who can qualify to be a minister of a Christian church! While many of Adegbile's off-the-wall propositions have not gained traction, he was successful in having the University of Texas reject the admission of a highly qualified white student in favor of a lesser qualified black student.
Many Democrats were wise enough to vote against Adegbile, so Mary's favorable vote seems almost bizarre, especially in a year when she is up for reelection. Since she has been one of Barack Obama's most obedient lapdogs, some assume that her vote was simply to curry favor with Obama in order to get a cushy appointment in his administration if voters reject her for a fourth term. This strategy is the Landrieu way. Her father Moon went overboard with his loyalty to the Democratic party, which helped secure him a position with Jimmy Carter's administration when he left the mayor's office.
In addition to the drawing power of her family name – she never mentions her married name “Snellings”, Mary Landrieu will be assured of the backing of the national media, who will gloss over her left wing ideology by misrepresenting her as a “centrist Democrat”, and some State factions will claim that Mary can help Louisiana's oil and gas industry. She will also benefit from voter apathy as large numbers of the electorate will not even take part in a mid-term election. On the other hand, recent polling data indicates that 71% of Americans think the nation is headed in the wrong direction. And Barack Obama's declining poll numbers indicate that the public is no longer fooled by media's furtive attempts to whitewash his failed presidency. Indeed, there is a growing feeling that the 2014 contest is one of the most crucial mid-term elections in our nation's history, and many believe that a drastic change of direction is crucial and cannot be postponed.
For almost twenty years, Mary Landrieu has been a devoted member of the clique that is moving America in the wrong direction. So electing her to a fourth consecutive term will give her six more years to help implement more counterproductive agendas. Its hopeful that those close to Mary will convince her that she has been in office long enough and shouldn't attempt another reelection. But if not, her 2014 election is evolving into one of those bell-weather moments in our history. And we have to wonder, will national media and voter apathy return Mary Landrieu to Washington ?
