Against Nepotism

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


This is a bipartisan plea. Can we stop with the scions of powerful families grabbing vacant positions for themselves? That means no Jeb Bush, who is considering a run for a Florida Senate seat; it means no Caroline Kennedy, who is apparently a contender to fill Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate seat; and frankly, it also means no Terry McAuliffe, the Clintons’ close confidant and former money man who is weighing a run for governor of Virginia despite being from New York state. If there was ever a time that the American people said decisively that they want new blood in Washington, it’s now. Let’s not perpetuate the old boys club in the face of that.

Update: Since none of the individuals mentioned in this post is getting a job directly from a relative, the title would probably be more accurate if it was “Against Legacies.” But I’m going to embrace a broader, more colloquial definition of “nepotism” and leave it as is. Just, uh, in case you were wondering.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate