CURMUDGUCATION: Lamar Alexander: Privatization, Cronyism, and the Big Bucks

CURMUDGUCATION: Lamar Alexander: Privatization, Cronyism, and the Big Bucks:

Lamar Alexander: Privatization, Cronyism, and the Big Bucks

The rich are not like you and me. In fact, many of the rich get rich through avenues not remotely available to you or me. Would you like to see how it works?

Let's take a look at Lamar Alexander.

These days Alexander is the reasonably amiable, semi-avuncular senator currently known for helping to whip up our newest version of the ESEA. But once upon a time, Alexander was an up-and-comer with White House dreams. That kind of career sparked some big-league attention, most notably captured in an article by Doug Ireland that ran in the April 17, 1995 issue of The Nation. "The Rich Rise of Lamar Alexander" is available online only through The Nation's subscriber archives (thoughthe bulk of the content is repeated here).

Ireland's opening gives you an idea of where this was headed:

If repeated White House leaks suggesting that Bill Clinton views Lamar Alexander as his toughest potential Republican opponent next year are true, it may be because it takes on to know one. The two ex-governors are both masters of the Permanent Campaign.

Ireland suggests that as a lifelong political insider, Alexander "is even less encumbered by principles CURMUDGUCATION: Lamar Alexander: Privatization, Cronyism, and the Big Bucks: