The relationship between kids and politics – and kids and politicians – is a tricky one. Kids make great props, flanking their candidate-parents in campaign flyers, standing on stage in their best clothes while the speechifying goes on, sitting on the classroom floor while a visiting pol reads a story. But they have a genius for behaving in unscripted ways, and for speaking truth to power. They don’t vote, they don’t pay taxes, and they’re big consumers of government services.