A day after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agreed to a public discussion with Max Blumenthal on Israel-Palestine, his campaign walked back his words. RFK Jr. has pledged “unconditional support” to Israel while spouting vitriolic anti-Palestinian rhetoric. One day after Democratic presidential candidate Rober...
"One day after Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agreed to comedian and podcaster Jimmy Dore’s proposal that he engage with The Grayzone’s editor-in-chief, Max Blumenthal, in a public dialogue on Israel-Palestine, Kennedy’s campaign nixed the discussion."
RFK doesn't have a reputation (or at least, not a good one to anyone not a conspiracist nutter) to destroy.
Cornell West, in 2004 criticized Ralph Nader for running but with held praise from Kerry saying, "I disagree with brother Ralph, he is our brother and friend, but vote for Kerry even tho he is the enemy". And now he's doing the same thing. West remembers too well the frustrations of trying to pressure the Obama presidency into a progressive direction.
We do need to escape the lesser evil trap. Every election the Democrats threatened us with Hitler and held us hostage. And every year that moved the Overton window further right until their threats became real.
So I recognize West as an ally even tho I recommend voting for Biden in any state with a contested election.
But simply voting for West won't create an alternative. More must be done, and far more than just more down ballot left candidates. Organizing, strikes, protests, campaigns, alternative institutions, the gamut of a new culture and system.
Biden is a centrist liberal, which is the representative worldview for the majority of the party and its voting base. Cornel West is representative of a very small faction of progressive voters which has been equally small for decades. Do whatever you want, but some (most) of us actually like Biden. So really all you're doing is torpedoing your next closest ideological group in protest since yours is too small.
It's true they aren't running him. But there is a possibility he could be a spoiler. Though I think for West it's about ideas, and trying to pull a solidly Right wing democrat towards the center right at least. If not to even acknowledge the center and left as well. And I support that.
However things have gotten so dysfunctional and margins razor thin. Running as a 3rd party that would traditionally pull from the encumbant's support right now is inviting fascism. If West was running as a Democrat during a primary. He'd likely have my interest and vote like Sanders did. But this? I generally have a pretty good opinion of West. But only a fool would run as the candidate for a party that not only can't get anyone elected. But doesn't even try. If the Greens had some sort of general presence in state and local politics it still wouldn't make a lot of sense. But they don't even have that.
A tweet from the account of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday used language that many observers say evokes the known Nazi hate symbol “1488.”
A post on the candidate’s official Twitter account used the numbers 14 and 88 in close proximity.
It is RFK Jr.'s Campaign Communications Director. She works for him though so he has the last say, guess he will use it as an excuse.
During an August 1 phone call with Grayzone correspondent Liam Cosgrove, RFK Jr. campaign communications director, Stephanie Spear, declared: "[Kennedy’s] not debating Max Blumenthal… He’s not gonna debate anyone. He’s running for president."