How seriously do we need to take RFK Jr?

[Initech]

I know most people here know that he's running as a democrat because it's a political hit job by Steve Bannon to gaslight swing voters into voting against Biden in the primaries.His policies and his notorious anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory bullshit are anything but democratic. But the fact that he's got Joe Rogan's endorsement definitely worries me. He could definitely siphon some swing voters in the primaries if that were the case. And that's what this whole exercise is meant to do. It's meant to hand the election to Trump in 2024 and we can't let him get back in the White House under any circumstances.

There's way too much at stake in the 2024 election, and we can't let another hit job like Hillary Clinton's emails blindside us. If we got someone like Trump or Desantis, they could enact their wildest revenge fantasies and there would be no one to stop them. But the question I have is - is RFK Jr a threat that needs to be taken seriously? Or is he just a joke fringe candidate who will go nowhere in the primaries?

40 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Time expired
	Very Seriously
	6 (15%)
	Somewhat Seriously
	5 (13%)
	Moderately Seriously
	3 (8%)
	Not At All Serious
	26 (65%)
	Other
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Demsrule86]

1. He is running in the wrong party...should run as a GOP like the loser he is...his friend

Bannon can campaign for him.

[womanofthehills]

22. He recently said Cheryl told he can't be on Bannon's podcast

Anymore - or she will divorce him.

[Cha]

31. Apparently he had to have the Threat of his wife

Divorcing him to stay Off Bannon's Podcast.

So What does that tell us?

[Cha]

37. No, that's not what's happening here..

Link to tweet

[womanofthehills]

40. Traditional media is barely covering him but he's being coved on social media big time

He is on podcasts almost every day of the week. He spoke for 3 hours on Rogan’s podcast Thursday.

[Initech]

3. Yes, definitely agree there!

[Joinfortmill]

7. Old, but damn effective.

[PortTack]

11. Yes...and those that really don't want don the con in office need to stop with the ageism and look

At all he has accomplished for the American ppl

[ShazzieB]

44. Absolutely!

Joe's the man! He beat Trump once and he can do it again!

[Ocelot II]

18. "People"? Which people would those be? I'm people and I want him to run.

[womanofthehills]

25. I would say the young - he doesn't look old to us

But to the young - he looks old. I remember when I was 20 - thinking people who were 40 were pretty old.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. I think we need to take him "moderately seriously." He needs to be watched.

I agree that his participation could help hand the election to tfg, and we cannot allow that.

[rso]

5. Kennedy

I really can't see democrats voting for him if he runs third party, but some right-wing conspiracy types might.

[W_HAMILTON]

23. Why do people continue with this fantasy of that Republicans won't vote for Republicans in the end?

It never comes true.

Republicans will vote for Republicans.

You think a Republican -- especially a conspiracy-minded one! -- is going to vote for someone like a former Democrat like Kennedy Jr. when there is a Republican on the ballot?

Spoiler alert: Republicans play footsie with these types of Democratic candidates only because they view them as useful idiots to hurt the actual Democratic nominee. They will never fucking vote for them in the general. NEVER.

[womanofthehills]

26. RFK Jr recently said he will not run third party

- but, unfortunately,now we have Dr Cornell West seeking to be the Green Party Nominee. Dr West said he wants to combine the Green Party & the People’s Party.

RFK Jr has been included in 10 polls I know of getting from 12 to 21%

He is campaigning big time on social media- I would almost say a podcast a day. This past week he was on Breaking Points, Rogan, Rising, Glen Greenwald, Russell Brand - that I know about.

[rso]

42. RSO

Apparently, he said he won’t run third Party, so if that’s the case, I’m not concerned.

[Joinfortmill]

6. If he continues to run, his name may pull some voters from Biden, but likely not many.

He's an embarrassment to the legacies of his father and uncle and to our nation. I wish his family could find a way to shut him down.

[struggle4progress]

8. Who Are These Supposed Lefties Who Love RFK Jr.?

David Masciotra
May 4, 2023

... less than a month since Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmental lawyer turned anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, announced that he would challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2024 ... he has assembled a bizarre, crackpot coalition of fascists and anti-progressive leftists who are united in a desire to see the American system burn ...

... Alex Jones praised him as a “good man,” Infowars listener Steve Bannon posited that he would make an “excellent choice” as Trump’s running mate, and Tucker Carlson gave him a fawning interview on the final night of his now-canceled Fox News program, calling him “one of the most remarkable people” he’s ever met. Kennedy returned the favor, calling Carlson “breathtakingly courageous” ...

... When speaking at an anti-vaccine rally in 2022, Kennedy implied that, at the height of the Covid pandemic, the U.S. was more oppressive than Nazi Germany, saying, “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did.” It wasn’t the first time that Kennedy invoked the Holocaust in a vaccine denouncement (contrary to the lie he recently told Michael Smerconish that he “was not comparing Covid mandates to the Holocaust”) ...

https://newrepublic.com/article/172253/lefties-who-love-robert-f-kennedy-jr

[Initech]

12. Yeah anyone who compares vaccine mandates to the Holocaust...

I don't need to hear anything else you have to say. That is a you're dead to me dealbreaker.

[ShazzieB]

45. Amen 1000!

I said pretty much the same thing in response to the first post I saw on DU about him running. As far as I'm concerned, antivax = antiscience, and that's just flat out WRONG.

[H2O Man]

9. Somewhat.

I'm surprised at the amount of support he is getting in the party. I had thought he'd plateau at around 10%. And that outside of our party, he would get the majority of his support from independents.

I've been friends with Robert for 35+ years, and worked with him on a number of environmental, Native American burial protection, and related issues. He was a huge support to my family when my high school nephew was attacked by 17 men belonging to a racist hate group. While obviously we do not agree on every issue -- I, for example, got the covid shots -- I do not speak against him.

When talking to some people I know who support him, I ask if he was somehow elected, do they honestly think he could pass anything through the House and Senate? As of yet, I have not encountered any of them that has thought that far ahead.

I also tell my friends who, like myself, support President Biden to stop insulting Robert's supporters. I am fully confident that he will support President Biden when Joe gets the nomination. And we need his supporters' votes next November. One need only consider every presidenial election from 2000 on to grasp how we winn versus how we lose. There is a need to be righteous, not self-righteous.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. RFK Jr. is a tool of Steve Bannon

Link to tweet

[Initech]

14. That's precisely what worries me.

I'm more and more convinced that Steve Bannon was partly behind Trump's win in 2016 and he's attempting to do it again. We can't let him get away with this one.

If the GOP retakes the White House, you can bet they will do something extremely terrible. Fuck, Trump has already floated the idea of public executions.

[womanofthehills]

29. As I said above, RFK Jr's wife put a stop to him going on Bannon's & Alex's shows

He said he can’t go on them again or Cheryl will divorce him.

[Cha]

34. Yeah, and as I said above. RFKjr needs the threat of

his wife Divorcing him to stay Off Bannon's podcast.

What does that tell us about him?

[Cha]

39. lol@ Peter Daou.. 1st he's on the

MW bandwagon and then gets OFF Now he's "praising rfk jr"..

[bottomofthehill]

13. He is a shitbag running in non sanctioned primaries.

[Croney]

15. He's ruined Cheryl Hines for me but otherwise I don't worry about him.

[brush]

16. Just keep reminding Dems that the idiot is anti-vaxx...

and that will be that.

[brooklynite]

17. If RFK Jr runs as a Democrat in the Primary, he can't run Third Party

See “sore loser” laws.

[Model35mech]

19. I'm not at all interested in radicalized politicians

Last edited Sat Jun 17, 2023, 03:12 PM - Edit history (1)

Stuff needs to get done.

All radicals want to do is confront those who don't believe in their radicalism.

It's a terrible part of the politics of identity. The minute you cross the ideology of a radical they go nutz

RFK jr's problem seems to have begun along the lines of 'AUTISM IS NOT MY FAULT AS A PARENT, AND I'LL ATTACK YOU IF YOU THINK IT'S PART OF MY GENES!'

[GemDigger]

20. My very Republican landlord thinks that a Ron D'uh and RFK would make

an incredible team. That they would get people across the country on both sides of the aisle to get on board.

He (landlord) is also an idiot. It is because of this idiot and other idiots like him may jump on board a RD and RFK team that I don't think we should take him lightly.

[Doc Sportello]

21. Naomi Klein takes him seriously

And points out the myths - and why they make him dangerous - in this epic takedown:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/14/ignoring-robert-f-kennedy-jr-not-an-option

[yardwork]

24. "Somewhat serious" because, as you say, we must stay vigilant.

Instead of ignoring, we need to debunk conspiracy theories and push back.

[WarGamer]

27. Seriously, as in a credible threat in the primary? Not at all.

Some level of concern that he is getting ~20% of the DEM primary support in polls... somewhat concerning.

Sometimes think that Trump may bring him onboard for a Trump/Kennedy 2024 ticket...

When the Q-loons said JFK is coming back to run with Trump, maybe they got the wrong Kennedy?

[womanofthehills]

33. RFK addressed that rumor and stopped it fast

That pretty much quelled it on social media.

[WarGamer]

28. Other than the nutty vaccine issue... isn't RFK Jr mainstream progressive?

[tinrobot]

30. How seriously should we have taken Jill Stein in 2016? Ralph Nader?

I would argue that both had an effect.

RFK Jr. is also a threat. Don't underestimate the damage third party candidates can have on close elections.

[ShazzieB]

46. He has evidently said he won't run 3rd party.

If he really means that, we don't need to worry about him. (I know that's a big "if," but considering he comes from such a major Democratic dynasty, I'm more inclined to believe him than I would be otherwise.)

[meadowlander]

32. Some percentage of low information voters would vote for him because of his name.

Fortunately, the same group doesn't vote in primaries.

So as a Democratic candidate, I don't think he is a serious contender. If he ran as a third party candidate, I don't have a ton of faith that the 3-4% of know-nothings who would vote for him because the only thing they remember from school is Kennedy = good wouldn't slim the margin between Biden and Trump in a way that we can't afford in the current climate.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

35. Never underestimate the impact of simple name recognition, especially on low info voters.

[mvd]

43. Very little if any

Don’t make him a focus. His support is not high and should dwindle this way.

I’d like to point out that besides his bad vaccine views, he’s no progressive champion either. Talks against Medicare For All and is no better on foreign policy. President Biden is probably more progressive.

[mahina]

47. We should take his potential for causing harm. Very seriously.

It’s impossible to take him seriously personally because he’s not a serious person but he could really make a big mess out of things with uninformed potential voters. Between him and the no labels hoax he could throw it to the wingers.

Did you see that poll that came out just yesterday on DU showing Biden was losing to trump by six points? That guy Mark Penn? His wife is the CEO of no labels.

[ZonkerHarris]

48. His political career needs to be destroyed. For the good of the nation

[Voltaire2]

49. he's a gerbil. nt.

[Johonny]

50. The last time a sitting president didn't get his party's nomination was in the 19th century

There's no reason to believe RFK Jr. has much of a chance. The Joe Rogan vote is not likely a motivating factor and the Joe Rogan voter is also likely a Trump voter. I mean, I don't see the appeal to Democratic supporters.

[ecstatic]

51. It depends. What is he doing on social media?

What is being posted by him or about him on Facebook, Instagram and other sites that low info voters rely on for information?