October 23, 2023
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
A Radical on Race, the Environment, and Taxes, RFK Jr. Is a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
By Richard Manning
Why is militant environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being elevated in conservative circles, when his radical record on environmentalism and pursuit of extremist “racial justice” are threats to civil society?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made waves this spring because he appeared to address growing mistrust on the right about the way COVID was handled, but Kennedy is far from an America First revolutionary. R.F.K. Jr.’s latest approach to run for president as an Independent will likely take more votes from conservatives than from Biden – unless conservatives unmask Kennedy first.
Kennedy is a far-left ideologue and radical environmentalist and has endorsed some of the worst lawmakers in Washington D.C., whose destructive policies on immigration, trade, energy independence, and warmongering, Americans are still suffering with. Kennedy has donated to globalist Democrats for decades, donating to Obama’s campaign for president in 2007 and endorsing Hillary Clinton for president twice. Less than three years ago, Kennedy voted for Joe Biden for president, helping to install one of the most incompetent and damaging presidents in modern history at the helm of the United States.
After a lifetime of helping ensconce some of the most anti-liberty globalists and warmongers in Washington, are we supposed to believe Kennedy has suddenly seen the light on the anti-American radicals corrupting the country? Or is it possible that he is a slippery and astute politician who is adopting “anti-institution” rhetoric in an attempt to capitalize on the public’s distrust of big government after the egregious mishandling of the pandemic?
Kennedy’s criticism of the way COVID was handled and “every-man” façade has so far worked to attract significantly more Republican support than Democrat, which may be the entire purpose of his campaign, to weaken Trump’s position. Recent polling from Quinnipiac University shows Republicans give Kennedy positive marks by a 30-point margin, 48% to 18%, while Democrats dislike him by 43 points, indicating his rhetoric is working.
Unfortunately for conservatives, this is not an example of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The far-left has dismissed Kennedy for vaccine hesitancy alone, but Kennedy is still a radical big-government politician. His ideology weaponizes the federal government against the public, threatens energy independence, inserts a dangerous racial agenda into nearly every aspect of government, and calls for absurd and unsustainable tax policies and student loan programs.
Kennedy is a radical on racial issues and an entire section of his 2024 campaign website dedicated to “racial healing” insists he will set federal dollars aside to specifically build “Black infrastructure” and enact policies that disproportionately focus on Black Americans. A president should look to elevate all Americans, not pander to the far left’s disgraceful attempt to insert race into every conversation, but Kennedy is doing just that.
Kennedy came out on the wrong side of history this June after the Supreme Court finally ruled that race-based affirmative action for university admissions are unconstitutional, and instead disagreed with the Court’s ruling in a statement on X. If Kennedy can’t be trusted to treat Americans equally no matter their racial background, he has no business leading the country.
Kennedy’s views on police reform are equally alarming, as he has said he would remove legal protections for police officers by removing qualified immunity, leaving hardworking police officers open to personal liability lawsuits for issues that arise on the job.
Aside from holding radical social justice views on race and police reform, Kennedy’s sweeping environmental ideology is absurd and hypocritical.
Remember, in 2014, Kennedy penned an article in Huffington Post calling state attorneys general to use their power to ‘give the death penalty” to companies which disagree with his radical climate position. He argued for shuttering groups like Americans for Limited Government for our stance against radical environmentalism. When Kennedy rightly decries COVID censorship, Americans need to realize that he is merely getting a taste of what he has urged government impose on foes of his environmental extremism.
Kennedy refuses to support most methods of energy independence, and has a long record of supporting radical bans on fracking and fossil fuels, including Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan to “curb fossil fuel extraction”, Obama’s cancellation of a fossil-fuel auction in 2015, and San Francisco’s 2016 ban on fossil fuel extraction.
Kennedy seems to borrow much of his radical environmentalism from such figures as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, calling her disastrous Green New Deal "huge" and "important."
Kennedy also strongly supports the Paris Climate Agreement, which is essentially a wealth transfer scheme from the United States to “developing” counties, allowing countries like China and India to continue polluting while the U.S. is forced to bear the burden of curbing emissions.
On taxes, Kennedy has shown support for, once again, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s nonsensical approach, tweeting out an article in 2019 supporting her proposed 70% tax rate. His campaign literature says he intends to make student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy and “prosecute union busting corporations”, weaponizing the government once again.
Kennedy’s capitalization on public wariness with big government and the mishandling of the covid pandemic might appear to make him an ally but he is a shrewd politician who understands the direction the wind is blowing. Unlike the Biden Administration which is so out of touch they couldn’t connect to the public if their lives depended on it, Kennedy and his campaign are tapping into the public’s deep mistrust of big government at the moment. The issue is, beyond criticizing the way the pandemic was handled, Kennedy is an agent of that same weaponized federal government.
He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and is either attempting to draw middle-class votes away from Trump or attempting to actually win and govern with a draconian iron fist, neither of which will set the country back onto an America First path. Conservatives need to see through the guise and recognize that Kennedy is a calculating politician, but not an advocate for the middle class.
Rick Manning is the author is president of Americans for Limited Government.
To view online: https://townhall.com/columnists/rickmanning/2023/10/20/a-radical-on-race-the-environment-and-taxes-rfk-jr-is-a-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing-n2630107
Video: Hamas Lied About Hospital Bombing, So Did Biden
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0g_xI12z5w
Kennedy throws race to Trump over Biden in Harvard-Harris poll as inflation, economy continue to dominate as top issues
By Robert Romano
Former President Donald Trump would prevail in a three-way race against President Joe Biden and Robert Kennedy, Jr. running as an independent, according to the latest Harvard-Harris poll taken Oct. 18 to Oct. 19.
Trump leads with 39 percent to Biden’s 33 percent and Kennedy’s 19 percent, and 9 percent unsure. When those who are uncertain are removed from the poll, it becomes Trump with 42 percent, Biden with 36 percent and Kennedy with 22 percent.
With leaners, Trump garners 9 percent of Democrats, 80 percent of Republicans and 37 percent of independents.
Biden gets 69 percent of Democrats, 5 percent of Republicans and just 28 percent of independents.
And Kennedy garners 22 percent of Democrats, 15 percent of Republicans and 35 percent of independents.
All told, Biden is losing independents in the three-way race 72 percent to 28 percent. That’s pathetic.
Kennedy, who had been running as a Democrat until recently, has opted to run as an independent, claiming that as an independent, he would pull more from Biden than he does Trump.
But not so in the Harvard-Harris poll.
In a hypothetical two-way race, Biden only improves marginally, still losing to Trump 52 percent to 48 percent with leaners. In that scenario, Trump gets 15 percent of Democrats, 92 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of independents. And Biden gets 85 percent of Democrats, 8 percent of Republicans and 46 percent of independents.
That means, without Kennedy in the race, Trump picks up 10 points and Biden picks up 12 points. And even then, Trump is still leading.
As a result, Kennedy still appears to be playing the spoiler role against Biden. Usually, a primary challenge can portend poorly for an incumbent president, including Herbert Hoover in 1932, Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968, Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992.
But so can a strong independent bid for president, with Ross Perot playing a potential spoiler role in 1992 against incumbent George H.W. Bush, with Bill Clinton winning the election fairly easily and again in 1996, weakening Republican Bob Dole’s opposition bid.
Adding Cornell West to the mix makes things even worse for Biden and better for Trump, with Trump still garnering 41 percent of the vote, Biden dropping to 34 percent, Kennedy to 21 percent and West garnering 3 percent.
If the Democratic incumbent is losing 14 points of support nationally to independent candidates, that could put a number of blue states into play in 2024, to say nothing of battleground swing states, which suddenly appear to be much easier for Trump than in the traditional two-way race.
Biden’s weakness with 2024 rapidly approaching comes as the economy and consumer inflation continues to weigh on voters, who could be rapidly setting into an “anyone but Biden” mentality. When given more options, Biden’s support drops dramatically.
Overall, inflation remains the top issue with 32 percent, immigration with 27 percent and the economy with 24 percent. And those could be ongoing concerns, with a fresh war in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine sure to drive up the price of petroleum globally. Light sweet crude is coming in at $87, up from $67 in late June.
For Biden, it’s a matter of confidence and of time, with his only advantage being that time is running out for the American people’s confidence in the President to drop any further than it already has before voters deliver their verdict in Nov. 2024. As usual, stay tuned.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.