It has been nearly 25 years ago that Billy Carter died.
The wealthy peanut farmer served as mayor of Plains, Georgia from 1972 to 1974. In 1974, Carter was elected to the US House of Representatives. An underdog, he upset Dr. Larry McDonald who was the leader of the John Birch Society by playing up his beer-drinking good ol' boy persona in contrast to McDonald's angry rants.
As a member of Congress, Carter was nicknamed the father of "Rural Enterprise Zones" due to his support of the tax break known as the Carter-Kemp Act. A popular Congressman, Carter was re-elected with over 80 percent of the vote (and unopposed in 1980).
After four terms in Congress, Carter was elected Governor of Georgia in 1982. His best known publicity stunt was vetoing bills using a cattle-branding stick shaped into the word "VETO".
Despite his high job approval ratings, Carter announced he had pancreatic cancer and retired in 1986. He died two years later in 1988.
His brother James Earl "Jimmy" Carter served in the Navy, commanded a submarine and retired in 1989 with the rank of Admiral. Jimmy turned down all requests to run for political office and was content with his post-military career in real estate, agribusiness and history author.
Suppose that Jimmy pursued a career in politics instead of Billy. Would he have been as successful as Billy?
The wealthy peanut farmer served as mayor of Plains, Georgia from 1972 to 1974. In 1974, Carter was elected to the US House of Representatives. An underdog, he upset Dr. Larry McDonald who was the leader of the John Birch Society by playing up his beer-drinking good ol' boy persona in contrast to McDonald's angry rants.
As a member of Congress, Carter was nicknamed the father of "Rural Enterprise Zones" due to his support of the tax break known as the Carter-Kemp Act. A popular Congressman, Carter was re-elected with over 80 percent of the vote (and unopposed in 1980).
After four terms in Congress, Carter was elected Governor of Georgia in 1982. His best known publicity stunt was vetoing bills using a cattle-branding stick shaped into the word "VETO".
Despite his high job approval ratings, Carter announced he had pancreatic cancer and retired in 1986. He died two years later in 1988.
His brother James Earl "Jimmy" Carter served in the Navy, commanded a submarine and retired in 1989 with the rank of Admiral. Jimmy turned down all requests to run for political office and was content with his post-military career in real estate, agribusiness and history author.
Suppose that Jimmy pursued a career in politics instead of Billy. Would he have been as successful as Billy?