Eight Millionaires and a Plumber? Matt Gaetz??

Dwight Eisenhower is now well regarded by history.? He presided over extraordinary prosperity and peace. He may not have been exciting, and he spent a lot of time on the golf course, but in retrospect the 1950s were mighty good years for America.

He was criticized by many for having assembled a cabinet which consisted of “eight millionaires and a plumber.” The plumber was the Secretary of Labor, who had been an official of the Plumbers Union.

Given the active involvement of the plutocracy in the Trump victory, will he do likewise? Will be turn to the richest, most privileged, most powerful people and hand over the government to them, even more than may have been the case during his first term.

Trump may not nominate Elon Musk to be Secretary of State (which would have required significant divestment of his financial interests), but will Musk be an ambassador without portfolio, an omnipresent figure, the man behind the curtain? What about the tag team of RFK, Jr. and Nichole Shanahan, a billionaire herself? Will they be handed Health and Human Services?

It’s a bit early to know exactly how the legal profession will respond to the nomination of a candidate for Attorney General who appears to have never really practiced law.? I understand a little something about political loyalty, but this may have been a step too far.

We have had many conservative swings in the history of our country.? Not unlike Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan is well regarded when one looks back at the 1980s, notwithstanding a couple of stumbles towards the end.? It was a time of stability and prosperity.

Will the goal of the new administration be to govern as did Eisenhower and Reagan or will it be to burn it all down? In that case, the new right is very much like the new left which I encountered on campus and while in public office.? I tend to think that the great majority of Americans want their government to function and to function efficiently.

Those of us who are armchair political scientists will be watching carefully in the coming weeks.