Joseph Kennedy lll in 2020

[Warren DeMontague]

62. I didn't change my mind. I said "Dynasties are a terrible principle by which to run democracies"

And I think that is a fairly self-evident truth, actually.

(I guess you got tired and gave up trying to put words in my mouth that I didn't say to argue against, so now you're doing the "declare victory and go home" shtick. Ok, well, have fun.)

I hate to have to repeat myself, but I'll do it- I think it's pretty damn obvious that some peoples' reflexive desires to 'go there' in terms of dynastic rule dates back to monarchal eras or even earlier sort of primate pack behaviors, shit, I'm sure it's hard wired in the social mammalian brain. You probably see dogs doing similar stuff, in the wild, I'd imagine.

Does that mean that there NEVER can be a good or wise or effective leader who comes from a family of other good or wise or effective leaders? Fuck, no. And just like sometimes an actor's kid can make it in Hollywood more effectively because they're connected and know how the business works, I'm sure it even sometimes makes good sense.

But personally, I don't give anyone any extra points if their last name is "Kennedy", and frankly when I see people in our party operating under what appears to be the magical thinking, delusional belief that what is keeping us from winning isn't inspirational leaders who aren't afraid to lead, to articulate our values, to take potentially unpopular but ethical and forward-thinking stands (my view) but rather that we just haven't found the right face with the right name... well, know what? it's fucking tiresome. Just like it's tiresome that here we are 3 and a half years out from the next presidential election, and we're ALREADY being presented by those 'in the know' with an unappetizing buffet of well-connected boring East Coast party insiders, all universally clueless about issues that the Western half of the country cares about, that we're presumably going to be "allowed" to pick from in 2020. Andrew Cuomo? Boy, I can hardly wait for the primaries.

But, a lot of things are tiresome. Maybe this red-haired kennedy kid is the future of our party. Like I said, I'll certainly give him a chance (he's gotta be better than his cousin the anti-vaxxer or the other cousin who is on the anti-weed crusade) ... but again, I think it's worth noting that the most impressive piece of oratorical leadership I've seen, personally, in the past month came from a dude I'd never heard of whose last name is "Buttigeig".