A letter from Eric, a reader, who elaborates on the theme of my column today on “Dynasties and Democracy“:

I wish to point out that there have been other American observers who noted the rise of dynastic politics in the United States . To be specific: Kevin Phillips, in his book American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush, published in 2004. The key point the book makes is that four generations of the Bush family have been involved with the rise of the national security state. There have been other prominent political families throughout America history, but stronger parties and strong public sentiment kept it under control. The Republican Party in the 14 elections between 1952 and 2004, has nominated either Richard Nixon or a Bush family member on the presidential/vice presidential ticket in 11 of those elections. This streak is unprecedented in American history. Here are the details:

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Richard Nixon â€“ 1952 VP, 1956 VP, 1960 Pres, 1968 Pres, 1972 Pres

George Herbert Walker Bush â€“ 1980 VP, 1984 VP, 1988 Pres, 1992 Pres

George Walker Bush â€“ 2000 Pres, 2004 Pres

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The three exceptions during the period: 1964, 1976, 1996

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The Democratic Party only has one streak that even approaches this in length:

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt â€“ 1920 VP, 1932 Pres, 1936 Pres, 1940, Pres, 1944 Pres

This fits in neatly with the premise of my piece: that the rise of politicalÂ dynasties is linked to our interventionist foreign policy. Since the War Party took up residence in the GOP, the dynastic factor has weighedÂ heavily in their internal politics. And of course the reign of “Dr. Win-the-War” fits the same pattern.