Naomi Klein on Robert F Kennedy jr.

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Lots of interesting points in this piece. Including speculation that RJKjr could be angling for a role in the next Trump admin, or even a spot on the ticket.

Imagine a TRUMP-KENNEDY ticket.

This part on the environment caught my attention, because I have been thinking of him as good in this arena.

Because RFK Jr is so eloquent about pollution, many assume he would support policies that would tame the raging climate crisis. While that may have been true in the past, the facts have radically changed. In recent interviews, he claims climate science is too complex and abstract to explain and that, “I can’t independently verify that.” He also says that the climate crisis is being used to push through “totalitarian controls on society” orchestrated “by the World Economic Forum, Bill Gates, and all of these megabillionaires” – a green-tinged reboot of the same, all-too familiar conspiracy theories he rode to pandemic stardom, when he opposed virtually every Covid public health measure, from masks to vaccines to closures. Now he is marshaling the same arguments against climate action.​

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He told Breaking Points: “In my campaign I’m not going to be talking a lot about climate. Why is that? Because climate has become a crisis like Covid that the Davos groups and other totalitarian elements in our society have used as a pretext for clamping down totalitarian controls.”​

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This about-face has earned him friends among the most prominent and dangerous climate-change deniers, including the Republican-aide-turned-disinformation-dealer Marc Morano, who says Kennedy is “undergoing a genuine transformation over his views on the climate agenda.” In podcast interviews, especially with rightwing hosts, RFK Jr now says he would leave energy policy to the market and describes himself as “a radical free marketeer.” It should go without saying that the markets are incapable of decarbonizing our economies in anything like the narrow slice of time left.​

more here (no paywall)

Beware: we ignore Robert F Kennedy Jr’s candidacy at our peril | Naomi Klein

Given the strengths that Kennedy possesses as a candidate, we should expect him to continue to build momentum. Ignoring him is not an option

www.theguardian.com

 

[BelemNole]

He's perfect for the modern GOP, grifter with no principles.

 

[BustingNarratives]

She makes some good points.

 

[TheCainer]

Lots of interesting points in this piece. Including speculation that RJKjr could be angling for a role in the next Trump admin, or even a spot on the ticket.

Imagine a TRUMP-KENNEDY ticket.

This part on the environment caught my attention, because I have been thinking of him as good in this arena.

Because RFK Jr is so eloquent about pollution, many assume he would support policies that would tame the raging climate crisis. While that may have been true in the past, the facts have radically changed. In recent interviews, he claims climate science is too complex and abstract to explain and that, “I can’t independently verify that.” He also says that the climate crisis is being used to push through “totalitarian controls on society” orchestrated “by the World Economic Forum, Bill Gates, and all of these megabillionaires” – a green-tinged reboot of the same, all-too familiar conspiracy theories he rode to pandemic stardom, when he opposed virtually every Covid public health measure, from masks to vaccines to closures. Now he is marshaling the same arguments against climate action.​

​

He told Breaking Points: “In my campaign I’m not going to be talking a lot about climate. Why is that? Because climate has become a crisis like Covid that the Davos groups and other totalitarian elements in our society have used as a pretext for clamping down totalitarian controls.”​

​

This about-face has earned him friends among the most prominent and dangerous climate-change deniers, including the Republican-aide-turned-disinformation-dealer Marc Morano, who says Kennedy is “undergoing a genuine transformation over his views on the climate agenda.” In podcast interviews, especially with rightwing hosts, RFK Jr now says he would leave energy policy to the market and describes himself as “a radical free marketeer.” It should go without saying that the markets are incapable of decarbonizing our economies in anything like the narrow slice of time left.​

more here (no paywall)

Beware: we ignore Robert F Kennedy Jr’s candidacy at our peril | Naomi Klein

Given the strengths that Kennedy possesses as a candidate, we should expect him to continue to build momentum. Ignoring him is not an option

www.theguardian.com

How did he fall so far from the tree?

 

[Chishawk1425]

She makes some good points.

Like I said. I've seen enough of your takes here, "independent"

 

[BustingNarratives]

Like I said. I've seen enough of your takes here, "independent"

You may be too entrenched in echo chambers to see it but what she writes here is spot on …

“He also is tapping into rage at the Democratic party itself, which feels to many like a hostage situation. Inside its logic, there seems to be no acceptable way of challenging entrenched power. Not open primaries, not incumbent primaries, not third parties, not getting in and trying to change the system from the inside. All, we have been told since as long as I can remember, will help to elect Republicans. Of course this political straitjacket provokes rebellion, as well as some irrational behavior.”

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

How did he fall so far from the tree?

I'm not sure he did. They all seemed to be philandering grifters.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

You may be too entrenched in echo chambers to see it but what she writes here is spot on …

“He also is tapping into rage at the Democratic party itself, which feels to many like a hostage situation. Inside its logic, there seems to be no acceptable way of challenging entrenched power. Not open primaries, not incumbent primaries, not third parties, not getting in and trying to change the system from the inside. All, we have been told since as long as I can remember, will help to elect Republicans. Of course this political straitjacket provokes rebellion, as well as some irrational behavior.”

I’m not even sure what the hell that means. The Dems feel like “a hostage situation” while the GOP has ceded its legislative power to and is being frog-marched off a cliff by a tiny number of wingnut goofballs.

 

[BustingNarratives]

Great interview with Reason yesterday. I don’t think this guy is going away. Probably 3rd party if Dems push him away like they did Bernie.

 

[ConvenientParking]

Great interview with Reason yesterday. I don’t think this guy is going away. Probably 3rd party if Dems push him away like they did Bernie.

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Dems gave Bernie chairmanship of budget committee in the Senate. They wouldn't give RFKJr herpes at this point. He won't have a constituency on the left with his existing public facing platform. He has very little to offer.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Great interview with Reason yesterday. I don’t think this guy is going away. Probably 3rd party if Dems push him away like they did Bernie.

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I hope like hell he runs third party. Every vote for this idiot is a vote taken from Trump.

 

[ConvenientParking]

This is a good example of the RFKJr constituency:

Liberal, Social Democrat, principled libertarian in Republican party, unprincipled libertarian in Libertarian Party. You have to be able to reconcile supporting all of these without having undergone any type of ideological conversion in order to make sense of RFKJr.

 

[h-hawk]

He is a nut job that spouts Russian propaganda and believes vaccines are evil.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/05/08/robert-kennedy-jr-measles-vaccines-226798/

 

[TJ8869]

How did he fall so far from the tree?

His brother Michael didn’t fall far from the tree.

 

[mnole03]

Can you imagine if anyone else did this with their core issue?

I want to discuss the debt and deficit, but the subject has been taken over by the Davos crowd, so I’ll ignore it.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

This is a good example of the RFKJr constituency:

Liberal, Social Democrat, principled libertarian in Republican party, unprincipled libertarian in Libertarian Party. You have to be able to reconcile supporting all of these without having undergone any type of ideological conversion in order to make sense of RFKJr.

This is an example of either someone who lies or someone who votes for lost causes without having any f’ing idea who he’s voting for. No sane person would support Bernie and then support Kennedy.

 

[ConvenientParking]

This is an example of either someone who lies or someone who votes for lost causes without having any f’ing idea who he’s voting for. No sane person would support Bernie and then support Kennedy.

Just schizophrenic if he's telling the truth. It goes Dean, Paul, Johnson, Sanders, Kennedy. Like wut. Antiwar makes sense maybe but the he would say that instead of vibes and uniting the country.