See It and Hear It Yourself
shove aside all interpretation and narrative-shaping and draw your own conclusions
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. suspended his presidential campaign today and endorsed Donald Trump, giving the most direct and consequential speech I’ve ever seen from a political figure. I wouldn’t have voted for him, and he’s well to my left on a bunch of policy, but the man brought straight fire: He spoke forcefully about the authoritarian descent and anti-democratic behavior of the Democratic Party, the behavior of the mainstream news media as propagandists and stenographers to power, the decline of the country, and the growing threat of regulatory capture and corporate-state collusion. Media response:
Watch it for yourself, and draw your own conclusions. It’s well worth the time. Fast forward to the start of his speech, at 41:25:
If I can find a full transcript, I’ll post it. It’s a remarkable speech.
Note, at 54:30, his reference to "the devolution of American democracy." Tremendous clarity and directness throughout.
Mr. Kennedy stated that he attended his 1st DNC in 1960---when he was only 6 y.o.---and that his allegiance to the Democratic Party was set-in-stone from that experience. When I heard that he might endorse Donald Trump upon his withdrawal from the race, my hope was that he'd do exactly what he did today: trace the precipitous drop of the Democratic Party from where it was and what it stood for in 1960 to where it is today---a degenerate mess. What, if any, effect his actions and his speech will have on this election remains to be seen, but he did something today that many in this country have been thirsting for over decades: TRULY put country over party. The significance of a Kennedy---Democratic royalty---doing what he did took great courage, knowing that he is now anathema in a party he supported for over six decades. No matter my philosophical/political differences with him, I cannot commend his integrity, ethics, and courage sufficiently. Hats off to you, Sir!