Jack Ryan (nonimations for how to refer to him given the plethora of Ryans are being taken) pledged to spend $6 Million of his own money in a race for the US Senate, but not to entirely self-fund.
Dandy, more millionaires self-funding for their first race at an office and starting at the Senate. Hey–why not the Presidency?
On a serious note, let me address a concern I received yesterday for my comments concerning millionaires. First, those who gain their political clout by accident of birth are not any better and the two most obvious Illinois examples are Lisa Madigan and Dan Hynes. Madigan had at least been in the Legislature, Hynes simply ran for statewide office with no experience on his father’s name. In both cases I was skeptical–but you didn’t get the treat of my complaining about it because they started their runs before this blog. I would argue that Madigan beat one of the strongest candidates for Attorney General ever–in the primary. John Schmidt was uber qualified and a great candidate and the Party should have chosen him. They didn’t.
In both cases, a moderate Republican might have even caught my interest, but Birkett and Lauzen made Madigan and Hynes look like excellent candidates.
My ultimate problem with candidates jumping over many people who have dedicated their lives to public service. Public service in the form of elected office consists of skills that being a businessman or a kid dont’ necessarily teach. Understanding unintended consequences and how to incorporate those ideas from those you disagree with are important skills and I would prefer people learn them at lower levels–whether it be in city government or the state legislature.
Are there some who make the transition well? Yeah. Of course–Hynes and Madigan are good examples and I’m sure some millionaires have done quite well jumping over others. I do have concerns about some including Corzine and Kohl (especially early in his career) who show some deficiencies in how they go about their jobs. And to admit the obvious, long periods of service certainly don’t guarantee a strong performance. Peter Fitzgerald didn’t simply leap to national office, and I aside from ideological differences, he ran his office poorly and was ineffective as a legislator.
In the Senate race and other races around the country, millionaires are starting to treat the Senate as a personal playground. Simmons entered the race today. Oberwies, Hull, Jack Ryan, John Cox,and Andrew McKenna. How many years of elective office do they combined have (and I’m not including precinct captains)—0. Some might be good Senators–Hull probably would be, at worst, okay. McKenna, other than ideology, seems to have the temperment and experience working with government. The others? Who knows. I’d rather seem them play in the farm league first.
This doesn’t even include Corrine Wood who, like Fitzgerald, at least didn’t start at the top. On the other end, Hynes is a legacy, but the other candidates have worked their way up. And even Hynes has had a position for the last 5 years in which he has performed well.
The notion that the US Senate could become a millionaires club full of those who decided to run for it because they could disturbs me. It doesn’t mean every self-funded candidate is bad, but it does mean we should be skeptical of them.
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