Bobby Kennedy might win
…. Or not, but my near-certainty he’ll lose is already gone.
When Robert Kennedy, Jr. announced he was running for president, I had two initial thoughts:
This is fantastic. His campaign will draw much-needed attention to extremely important and neglected issues and perhaps change the way a lot of people think …. especially about our corrupt and captured Science-Medical Complex.
There’s (probably) no way he can actually win.
A few weeks later and I’m already re-thinking point No. 2. My new thought: Don’t count the man out. Or, more specifically, I can now more-easily envision scenarios that might result in Kennedy being elected president.
My quick metamorphosis was reinforced when I read a post from fellow Substacker Dr. Meryl Nass, who recently provided links to three articles published in the “mainstream” press. All three articles had glowing things to say about Kennedy and outline many compelling reasons Kennedy could win.
Like Dr. Nass, I believe the fact these articles were published at websites like msn.com is significant.
My first thought was Kennedy would never receive fair or balanced press coverage from any “mainstream” news outlet. And I certainly didn’t expect to read any articles at widely-read Internet sites by journalists who enthusiastically support Kennedy’s contrarian and taboo messages.
Hours after Kennedy announced his campaign it was clear America’s prominent news organizations were going to ignore Kennedy’s campaign issues and/or continue to smear him.
Blowback against the anti-Kennedy forces
However, almost immediately, the sanctimonious edicts of the arbiters of truth at newspapers like The New York Times and Washington Post elicited significant blowback.
Refreshingly, millions of Americans voiced their replies: “Don’t tell us what to think” or “We’ve had enough of your edicts and censorship” or “Give the guy a chance.”
It didn’t matter if these people agreed with anything Kennedy’s said or written on Covid; these people were more upset by the brazenly unfair treatment Kennedy was receiving from these “news” organization.
In typical pack formation, the corporate news media told us “this guy is basically a head case.”
The above characterization comes from an article written by Matthew Scully for The National Review, which (surprisingly) was later picked up by msn.com.
Scully’s highly-recommended article skewers The Post’s and Times’ shoddy treatment of Kennedy while also presenting numerous reasons Kennedy might shock the world and win.
The author points out that Donald Trump proved a “black swan” candidate - someone whose decision to run for president was once roundly dismissed as a pipe dream - could win. Voters, it seems possible, don’t like being told by the Establishment press certain candidates could never win an election.
ABC News gives Kennedy an early boost
I also noted the strong blowback ABC News received when it censored an “interview” with Kennedy.
Not only did the “news” division not air some of Kennedy’s answers, it inserted a disclaimer saying Kennedy’s views had been disproven by - you guessed it - “The Settled Science.”
Almost immediately, it became clear the corporate press might end up serving as Kennedy’s secret weapon.
By brazenly (and admittedly) censoring Kennedy’s thoughts, ABC guaranteed this clip went viral.
ABC/Disney also unwittingly reinforced one of Kennedy’s key campaign planks: The Big Brother censorship employed by Big Tech and Big Media has gone way too far and must cease forthwith.
Yesterday I watched segments of another interview where the interviewer didn’t give Kennedy a chance to respond to her questions. This video went viral because it was so obvious journalist Krystal Ball didn’t want to give her guest a chance to expound on his views.
(It seems clear to me this particular journalist was afraid of a real debate, which is no doubt the real reason most mainstream journalists won’t interview Kennedy).
According to the “peanut gallery” consensus, Krystal Ball is the villain being unfair here, someone who’s not nearly as well-versed on interview topics as her guest, a man who did not come across as any kind of crazed kook. In fact, for many, Kennedy displayed grace and class even as his interviewer tried so hard to impugn him.
MSM = Dead Man Walking?
One reason I thought Kennedy’s campaign would be fighting an uphill battle was I knew the mainstream press would attack him relentlessly (which they still will and already have). However, I might have grossly over-estimated the influence of the mainstream media.
In just a few short weeks, it’s becoming much clearer that the power of mainstream press might be crumbling as fast as East Germany’s border wall in 1989.
When you stop and think about it, how many voters these days really get their “news” from ABC?
While the pundit class still devours The New York Times and Washington Post, I think more citizens are reverting to their pre-Covid thoughts regarding the titans of establishment media - namely, “let’s ignore these people.”
In deciding to run for president, Kennedy no doubt calculated he could simply go around the “gatekeepers of the news.”
Even in a world of mass censorship, Big Brother is not yet big enough to censor all the media outlets.
Plenty of outlets will cover Kennedy campaign
I also watched parts of another Kennedy interview yesterday; this one with podcast star Russell Brand.
In contrast to Ms. Ball, Brand respectfully allowed Kennedy to articulate his views (although Brand highlighted the fact most of his interview would have to air on Rumble instead of YouTube to ensure it got past said censors).
This interview has already been seen by more than 1.5 million potential voters (far more viewers than CNN’s top shows have reached in recent years).
… So the candidate the Establishment Club wants to censor …. is reaching massive numbers of voters.
Matthew Scully’s article on Kennedy was also picked up by my favorite news aggregator, Citizen Free Press (an Internet site that had a record 90 million page views over a recent 7-day period).
So an internet site being clicked on 13 million times every day is NOT censoring Bobby Kennedy stories.
Also, because Elon Musk bought Twitter, Robert Kennedy Jr. can once again use this massive media platform to get out his message.
One of many reasons Tucker Carlson became a mainstream media pariah and a “threat” to censorship lovers everywhere is that he gave RFK, Jr. TV time when no other network would.
Since Fox News fired its No. 1 ratings star, its own TV ratings have plummeted by 50 percent - exhibit No. 100, confirming the rapid demise of mainstream journalism.
And I haven’t mentioned Substack, which has 35 million subscribers, a number that might swell to 50 million by election day in November 2024.
Of my 25 or so favorite Substack writers, not one has penned an attack piece on RFK, Jr. yet. In fact, Kennedy is a rock star to most of these Substackers.
In summary, it’s already apparent Kennedy is going to easily be able to scale the barricades erected by his would-be censors. Furthermore, those who continue to sling insults at Kennedy might see these attacks boomerang and actually help the campaign of a man they obviously fear and despise.
In the Good News department, the mainstream press is taking on water like the Titanic even while its crew members try to sink the campaign of Robert Kennedy, Jr.
Kennedy is still fighting an uphill battle …
Still, are these unexpected realities enough to give Kennedy a real chance to become president?
I of course don’t know. I do know the Democratic Party’s core voting constituencies are probably still wedded to the Fauci narrative.
However, polls show Kennedy is doing far better than expected.
I also know Kennedy’s presumed opponent, “President Biden,” is suffering from ever-worsening dementia, someone clearly being controlled by a cadre of unknown handlers feeding scripts to the country’s most important public servants, the White House teleprompter operators.
Kennedy has already proven his campaign messages extend much further than railing against the corrupt Science/Medical Establishment.
Excluding his Covid views, almost all of his campaign planks could or should have mass appeal - with Democrats, independents and plenty of Republicans.
For example, I just read a Kennedy quote where he refers to inflation as the “greatest tax on the poor” and proclaims that the infinite money printing has to stop. These are core messages Ron Paul has been trumpeting for 50 years.
Paul’s presidential campaigns might be a good case study of the challenges Kennedy must overcome. Paul also attacked every powerful institution in the world.
In 2012, when it looked like his grassroots “Tea Party” movement might become a real threat to the Status-Quo protectors, a variety of coordinated strategies knocked Paul’s campaign out of the saddle with a few easy arrow shots.
However, one suspects Kennedy is far more savvy about presidential politics than Dr. Paul. After all, his last name is Kennedy. (Also, “Joe Biden” is no Jack Kennedy).
So, yes, I think Bobby Kennedy could actually win … that is, if fair and honest elections are still possible.
This presidential election might be one for the ages
While he’ll probably still lose, Kennedy’s candidacy has already made this campaign far more interesting.
Throw in Donald Trump, who wants a re-match with The Swamp, and Ron DeSantis, who stood out from the pitiful political crowd in our New-Normal Covid times, and we have the makings of a campaign season even a political cynic like myself will follow with extreme interest.
It’s probably said about every presidential election, but it might be true with this one. The 2023-2024 Presidential Election might be the most important in U.S. history.
The Powers that Be clearly don’t want Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to win this race, or even bring any extra attention to the issues Kennedy’s already highlighting.
But, so far, their efforts to harpoon Kennedy’s campaign are only drawing blood from their own scaly skin.
We know the targets of Kennedy’s campaign don’t fight fair and that they pretty much own the world, so Kennedy could be KO’d by Round 2.
Still, judging from Round 1, RFK, Jr. has the look of a would-be Rocky Balboa.
RFK will get the Ron Paul treatment but 10x worse. And when the DNC rigs the primary for Biden, the courts will rule (again) that since the primary is a private event held by a private party, that party can use whatever rules it wants -- or even change them in the middle of the primary.
IF WE HAVE AN HONEST GENERAL ELECTION, what they do to RFK might sink Biden's chances of beating Trump/DeSantis (sort of the way what they did to Bernie hurt Clinton).
I am extremely skeptical we will have an honest general election, and I know for a fact we won't have an honest Democratic primary.
Good points you make here.
My take on it: People in general like to be on the winning team. They might seem very stuck-in-the-mud, but in fact it's always possible that they can change their allegiances and opinions lightning fast. Importantly, RFK is not running as an independent, he's running for the Democratic Party nomination, that is to say, he's gunning to capture the biggest US political machine. And he's been in and around its highest levels his entire life. The people in that machine (any political machine, for that matter) put a finger up to see which way the wind is blowing. And, with counted exceptions, thusly they go. (Not that I'm cynical; I just read a lot of history and I've been around for a while.)
Time will tell, but right now, May 2023, I would not be surprised if RFK doesn't take both the nomination and the presidency.
[edited to fix typo]