Father-Son Day on the Ballot

Yesterday’s Times had a quasi-interesting article noting a more interesting phenomenon in upcoming elections: three sons of Democrats defeated in the Republican tide of 1980 are attempting to win a rematch.

Chet, Jack Carter, and Evan Bayh’s (’08) fathers were all casualties of the year in which the party lost “the White House, the Senate, a generation of Midwestern liberals and, in some ways, its confidence that it was the natural, even inevitable, majority party.” Naturally, their political personas are heavily influenced by their fathers’ electoral experiences.

Bayh learned to view defeat as “an occupational hazard,” while Chet remarked that “The great thing about it was my father gave it everything he had, stayed true to his values, was very principled and focused, and went down with a great fight. It was very inspiring.” (Awww.)

The article half-assedly examines the difference in messaging between fathers and sons, saying that “the elder Mr. Bayh and Mr. Culver were invariably described as liberals; the sons, in recent interviews, avoided the term.” Three paragraphs down Chet is quoted describing himself as a “proud, progressive Democrat.” While it is interesting that many have begun substituting “progressive” for “liberal,” shame on the Times for not delivering a more subtle analysis of differing political approaches.

Add comment August 15th, 2006