By Steve Kraske (excerpt)
…But political dynasties are hardly a new idea for America. They’ve been around for generations, said Stephen Hess, a scholar with the Brookings Institution who wrote the book “America’s Political Dynasties.”
Hess determined that as of the mid-1990s, about 700 American families had sent two or more members to Congress. And that, he determined, accounted for about 1,700 of the approximately 10,000 people who have been elected to our federal legislative bodies.
Political dynasties “are all over the place, it clearly hasn’t slowed down,” Hess said.
Not in Missouri, at least, where the Blunts and the Carnahans reign.
“Somebody like Robin Carnahan has an advantage because her father was well-known statewide,” said Missouri State University political scientist George Connor. It didn’t hurt her brother, either. He’s a congressman from St. Louis.
Gov. Matt Blunt’s fast rise, too, is pegged in part on the reputation of his father, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt. Read more…
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