On Monday, I read an article about the Kennedy clan visiting President Joe Biden at the White House. Of course, there was a political agenda. And it was a well orchestrated visit founded upon a common agreement and understanding between two of the most famous Irish Catholic families in America.
It’s 2024. An election year in the US. President Biden is, for now, running for re-election to be president for another four years. But that is where the simplicity ends. Why? Well, for several reasons.
First, President Biden is an elderly man. He looks great for an 81-year old man. But upon closer scrutiny, the president is clearly slowing down. His speech and walking ability are, to be kind, limited. The Democrats are nervous, and for good reason. Biden’s age and declining public appearances, are making even his most ardent supporters uncomfortable. Almost 40% of the party faithful are quietly, and not so quietly, demanding a new face to lead the Democratic Party. And they don’t mean Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ version of Dan Quayle.
Second, his most likely Republican opponent will be the former US president Donald Trump. Already, Trump has the Republican Party presidential nomination wrapped up. Yet, only his base of supporters are happy. A rather large contingent of Republicans are not amused. They dread Trump’s old antics of name-calling, insulting women, and his never ending MAGA-promotion of paranoia and finger-pointing. The potential of another four years of this shameless self-promoting megalomaniac, in the White House, may be the final straw for Middle America voters.
But, remember, there are still eight months to endure until election day. A million ‘black swan’ events could occur in the meantime.
Third, the real reason why the Kennedy minions were invited to eat a few corn beef and cabbage, and knock down a pint (or two) of Guinness beer was the emergence of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as an independent candidate for president.
To be specific, RFK, Jr. has done surprising well despite a near black out by the corporate media. I have personally viewed only (2) honest stories about Robert Kennedy’s oldest child. Almost all of them have been withering in their criticism.
The corporate media became obsessed with RFK, Jr.’s constant questioning about the validity of the Covid-19 vaccines. Despite Kennedy possessing a mountain of scientific evidence that focused upon the various vaccines’ real value, the media really came after him. Surprisingly, millions of Americans found RFK, Jr.’s statements to be honest, substantive, and valid.
RFK, Jr.’s has attacked the Biden Administration concerning their endless support for America’s endless wars. Kennedy also points out that these wars are rapidly bankrupting the country. And the billions that the US government is sending to Ukraine and Gaza could be better spent to build shelters and feed millions of homeless and desperate Americans
RFK, Jr.’s poignant statements on the grotesque and growing inequality that is presently splitting America into two distinct societies. He points out the inability of young Americans to purchase a “starter” home; And, finally, RFK, Jr. speaks about the historic and fundamental role that education has played in building America’s middle class.
Yet, in 2024, the American education system is more segregated now than ever. When the 1954 Brown decision was publicly announced by the (Earl) Warren Court, communities across America were segregated primarily by race.
Seventy years later, the construct and obstructions that are confronting America’s school districts are now primarily based upon wealth (where you live) — and not race.
Nevertheless, President Biden, who is an admirer of the life (and legacy) of Bobby Kennedy, and has his bust prominently displayed in the Oval Office, is deeply annoyed, if not angry, that his hero’s eldest son is gaining in popularity throughout America.
In turn, RFK, Jr.’s political rise has created tensions between these two prominent Catholic political families. Hence, the St. Patrick’s Day summit at the White House last Sunday.
The Kennedys: JFK, RFK, and Ted Almost Dead in Less Than a Five-Year Period.
Most people do not realize that the Kennedy Dynasty was short-circuited by assassinations and a plane crash (almost).
JFK dead at 46 in November 1963. Dallas.
Ted, 32, almost killed plane crash in June 1964. Springfield, MA.
Bobby dead at 42 in June 1968. Los Angeles.
A few years ago, I was genuinely surprised that I could not discover, find, or track down an article, or book, about this bizarre and strange sequence of events that nearly eliminated the Kennedy Three.
Nowhere else in US history has such a high profile political family been so riddled and shrouded with controversy, death and total dismay.
Someday someone will write the book on these absolutely inexplicable acts that shook the nation to its foundation.
The Fate of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
RFK, Jr. has requested secret service protection several times during his campaign. His home, in LA, was broken into, and some nutjob dressed up as a federal agent but was deterred at the last moment by RFK, Jr.’s hired bodyguards.
I find it incredulous that several members of his family have been openly critical of RFK, Jr.’s presidential campaign and his nationwide efforts to meet American voters.
If my memory serves me right, only Joe Kennedy II (served 12 years) and Patrick Kennedy (served 6 years) were elected to the US House of Representatives. And, RFK, Jr.’s sister, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, was the first woman to be elected as Lt.-Governor of Maryland.
The rest live off their grandfather’s (Joseph Kennedy) money (read: trust funds) or work in government by appointment. The old Kennedy fire in the belly to change the world just doesn’t exist amongst them.
Today, they are indifferent, complacent, and lacking the energy and moral resolve to make America a better country. Their rank criticism of RFK, Jr. is painful to hear and read, but millions of Americans believe it says more about them than Robert.
The True Political Heir to JFK, RFK, and Ted
Like JFK and RFK, in the 1960s, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is an outsider. Even Ted was viewed as a usurper within the world of Massachusetts politics.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., like his uncle Jack (1960), his father Bobby (1968), and his uncle Ted (1962), he, in 2024, is running outside the Democratic Party’s mainstream. When he announced, in 2023, that he would challenge President Biden in the Democratic Party’s primaries and caucuses, they nearly lynched him.
Several months ago, RFK, Jr. decided to run as an independent. This decision has proven to be one of his savviest decisions ever. His poll numbers are solid. Like his uncles and father before him, RFK, Jr. is also the leader among younger voters 45 & under, and among those who consider themselves independent.
In short, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. represents, in 2024, what the Kennedy Three have been known for among American voters since the 1950s. Each Kennedy brother (Jack, Bobby and Ted) sought their own path to the top. All three brothers were Outliers. Altogether, they were extraordinarily successful.
Can RFK, Jr. pull it off? The odds are against him. The Democratic Party’s establishment is dead-set against him. For now, President Biden has ignored him — but for how much longer? The corporate media has called him every name in the book, and have misrepresented his views and record as a public servant. For decades, RFK, Jr. has worked on the behalf of America’s Environment, and his work for the Children’s Health Defense has been stellar. He has been recognized and the recipient of numerous awards.
Yet, maybe. Just maybe. There is a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel. The light is getting a bit more sharper by the day.
His father, Bobby, in March 1968, took on a sitting president, Lyndon Johnson, and the Democratic Party establishment. Ugly things were said about his father’s efforts during that violent and deadly spring. His father fell short of his goal that evening in LA at the Ambassador Hotel — June 1968.
Fifty-six years later, RFK, Jr. confronts an America that is immersed in multiple wars, a country that is essentially bankrupt, rising violence in our cities, inequality at historic levels, and social dissonance is getting worse by the day.
Can RFK, Jr. make it to the White House? Possibly.
To paraphrase an ancient Chinese saying, that represented a warning to those living in turmoil, “May you live in interesting times.”
In the midst of a revolutionary China in the 1960s, Chairman Mao Tse-tung, is reputedly to have said, “There is great chaos under heaven. The situation is excellent.”
In 2024, there is great angst in America. The situation is excellent. But is it?
Like his father in 1968, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has decided to enter the political arena.
It appears that after it is all said and done, it is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who is the true political heir to the Kennedy mystique.
Now the hard part awaits him.