(Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.)
Tonight Joe Biden will face off with Donald Trump in what they are still calling a “presidential debate” - though both candidates are sadly lacking in the gravitas or credibility that we once called “presidential.” But there will be a glaring absence on the debate stage, and it is not going unnoticed by the American people.
It is astonishing to witness the bald denial exhibited by mainstream media (especially the comedians - those oh-so-reliable barometers of acceptable opinion) in their constant refrain about the “Two-Man Race” between two doddering old men, while ignoring as much as possible the formidable candidate with the legendary name who is now shown by polling to be not merely a potential spoiler, but the most powerful third-party candidate since Ross Perot in 1992 - and possibly as unignorable as Teddy Roosevelt was in 1912 when he formed the Bull Moose Party to attempt to defeat his own hand-picked successor, William Howard Taft, thus handing the White House to Woodrow Wilson, the first Democratic chief executive since the Civil War.
Despite Democratic hysteria on Kennedy’s independent candidacy, polls show that he will certainly hurt Trump more than Biden. But the true danger to the status quo (and to the Democratic establishment) lies not in the question of how many disgusted former Trump voters or lukewarm Biden-supporters may vote for Kennedy, but how many “dual haters” (that sizable demographic that can’t stomach either Trump or Biden) may break for RFK, to be joined by the even larger group that has sat on the sidelines in recent elections, but shows signs of being energized by his candidacy.
The now very tired labels hurled at Kennedy of “conspiracy theorist” and “Vax-denier” are beginning to fray rather badly, as the decisive middle of the electorate begins to look at who he’s really been these many decades (a dedicated and effective enrivonmental activist lawyer and defender of children’s health), and as millions of Americans are waking up to the documented reality of the millions of vaccine-related injuries and deaths (recent polls show that at least 100 million Americans believe the vaccines are harmful).
Although he bears the most legendary family name in American political history, one of the refreshing things about him is that he is not and never has been a politician. He could easily have chosen that path, as his various siblings and cousins did, but he discovered a sincere calling to environmental activism, and forged an impressive record over decades of successful action against big polluters and corporations. His extended family, meanwhile, chose political careers and embedded themselves with the Democratic establishment, which in turn is embedded with and owned by the corporate elite (as, be it noted, the GOP is as well).
Not being a politician, he’s not used to acting like one. In consequence, he is shockingly unpolitical and transparent in his conversation - as witness his ill-advised candor about having a parasite removed from his brain. Can you imagine Biden or Trump, or for that matter any seasoned, carefully-messaged politician, coming out with such an easily ridiculed revelation? But for Kennedy, it just came out in a typically unguarded moment discussing a minor medical procedure.
While that gaffe was lamentable, it is also evidence of his unassuming personality and sincerity. As his grandfather, Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy, famously observed, “The key to success in life is sincerity. And if you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”
He’s not faking it. And at this point in his life, he doesn’t need the grief of the campaign, or the danger of becoming the third historic Kennedy martyr (the evidence that both his father and his uncle were targeted by elite factions is considerable - the same elite factions who have most to fear from his candidacy).
And he’s picked a smart, appealing, and substantial running mate in attorney and philanthropist, Nicole Shanahan, who is energizing crowds everywhere she speaks.
(Attorney and philanthropist, Nicole Shanahan, RFK Jr.’s pick as VP running mate)
Looking down the road toward November I would not rule Kennedy out. These are strange and dangerous times, and the potential for a Constitutional crisis in which no candidate gets a majority of the Electoral College is high. If the decision gets thrown into the House of Representatives with its slim GOP majority, the likely result is a Trump restoration - even though he may very well fall third in the voting. In that case, we will perhaps see a long-overdue collapse of the two-party system which (as Jefferson feared) has enabled the demise of democracy through plutocratic dominance - the same pattern that has played out between oligarchy and the people since ancient Greece.
Permit this optimistic patriot to hope that a reborn America, true to the core values enshrined in the Declaration and the Constitution, will emerge from the tumult. Meantime, give Robert Kennedy a chance. He looks to these eyes to be our best hope.
blessings,
Michael