RFK Jr., Got the picture?

[bigtree]

Jack Hopkins @thejackhopkins 8h
RFK Jr. with Mike Flynn & Roger Stone. Hope this picture helps you….get the picture.

ReAwaken America was launched by Flynn, a former White House national security adviser, and Oklahoma entrepreneur Clay Clark a few months after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol failed to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Attendees and speakers still insist — against all evidence and dozens of court rulings — that Donald Trump rightfully won.

While smaller in scale, the ReAwaken shows are similar in tone to the rallies Trump holds. Grievance and contempt for government institutions are regular themes. ReAwaken speakers have included Trump’s sons, Eric and Don Jr., Trump confidant Roger Stone, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has spread anti-vaccine misinformation.
https://apnews.com/article/reawaken-america-tour-michael-flynn-910e83b515185751be82868b227ca22e

As vaccines have become a wedge political issue, Kennedy’s opposition to the shot has at times brought him close to anti-democracy forces on the right who have made common cause with the anti-vaccine movement. The scion of the country’s most prominent Democratic family has appeared at events that pushed the lie that the 2020 election was stolen and associated with people who have celebrated or downplayed the violent Jan. 6. attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Kennedy Jr. by contrast has spent months hyping his book, including at the far right Reawaken America conference in Southern California in July. Last month, CHD urged supporters to buy the book right away so it would make the New York Times bestseller list. Some commenters on CHD’s site said they bought multiple copies to drive sales. One said they had bought nine and were planning to buy more to put in neighborhood book exchange boxes “to help boost the book to number one on the New York Times bestseller list.”

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine message has brought him close to many leading figures who have attacked the nation’s democratic norms and institutions. A photo posted on Instagram July 18 and apparently taken backstage at the Reawaken America event, shows Kennedy alongside former President Donald Trump’s ally Roger Stone, anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, all of whom have pushed the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
https://apnews.com/article/how-rfk-jr-built-anti-vaccine-juggernaut-amid-covid-4997be1bcf591fe8b7f1f90d16c9321e

[Omnipresent]

1. Is this the company RFK jr. wants to keep?

[TheRickles]

8. In his defense, he doesn't look very happy to be there.

[Omnipresent]

10. Whatever happened to a guy looking at his watch and saying...

“I’d like to stay for a group photo, but i’m really running late for an appointment”?

[Demsrule86]

16. Oh no , he is happy. How many deaths is he responsible for with anti-vax?

And now he tries to primary a sitting president? It won't work, but he sure isn’t trying to help us.

[WhiteTara]

26. Never the less, he's there.

How far the Kennedy name has fallen. Of course, Joe was a robber baron and so the grift goes on.

[solara]

44. Apparently

Seems RFK Jr is taking advice from the fascist Bannon who has been encouraging him to run for president.. implying that he would be an excellent choice as an agent for chaos.

No doubt.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anti-vaccine-activist-robert-f-kennedy-jr-challenging-biden-in-2024/

What has happened to the Kennedys?

[Omnipresent]

50. How many issues does he differ from to challenge Biden?

I see that he’s 69, so i guess Biden and tfg’s age make him feel young enough to run.

[mucifer]

2. Long time ago I liked his radio show

Ring of Fire

Seems he turned greedy and evil. I bet someone is
Paying him to run to get some votes from liberal anti vax conspiracy people

[Meadowoak]

5. Steve Bannon convinced him to run, is all you need to know.

[gab13by13]

27. Exactly, I just heard that listening to Stephanie Miller,

Stephanie was shocked, she used to have him on her show, she wondered if RFK is going to pull another Jill Stein.

[Meadowoak]

33. Yep, sure looks like it.

[area51]

34. +1 n/t

[Traildogbob]

37. Thank you

For stating this. All you need to know is correct. Maybe Dems could convince Ron Reagan Jr to run in Republican primary. His religion position to GQP is equal to Kennedy’s health care position to Dems.

[Meadowoak]

43. I don't think RRjr. Would have any part with Republican anything.

[Traildogbob]

46. That is a certainty

He has a brain. I love RRJ. But not so sure Kennedy does at this point in his life. Not one that has not been thoroughly washed.

[Demsrule86]

60. Well he does.

[peggysue2]

47. Of course, he did!

Republicans know they're in trouble for 2024. They will do everything to split the Democratic vote and redirect queasy non-Trump voters away from voting Democratic as a surprising number did in 2020. For dissatisfied Dems, the Kennedy name would be a draw despite Robert K.'s penchant for conspiratorial positions.

In addition, there are efforts to reduce the youth vote--the Gen Z voters in particular--and continuing efforts to make voting even more difficult for AA voters and all people of color.

And let's not forget The Third Way working feverishly to get on the ballot in as many states as possible. Well-intentioned or not, any Third Way candidate will siphon votes from both parties and the GOP will make damn sure to use that to their full advantage.

Think Jill Stein.

Our elections have been super tight with razor-thin margins in many cases, so it doesn't take much to shift the outcomes at the state level and the electoral college count. Shaving the margins is what Republicans are attempting bc they know their agenda is not popular. It's why the Wisconsin SC election this week was so important and why Republicans are so outraged; that margin was decisive. It puts Wisconsin back in play for the nationals--WI, PA, MI--the Blue Wall reassembled with a SC to protect against a repeat of electoral shenanigans and gerrymandering maps that ensure House victories.

Democrats have the advantage as being the only party protecting our democratic institutions, in addition to supporting issues Americans actually care about: abortion, gun control, the environment, etc.

But we need to be aware of what's happening in the political wings to avoid being blindsided as we were in 2016.

The GOP will do anything/everything to regain power because that's the only thing they believe in.

[Meadowoak]

51. We just have to make sure everyone knows Steve Bannon is behind it.

[peggysue2]

52. Agreed!

Bannon's support is like the kiss of death for the Democratic Party and its interests.

[MuseRider]

31. He was an environmentalist then.

AND a liberal. I have one of his books and he autographed it after we went and saw him give an amazing talk about the environment.....many years ago. I have been forever stunned by his turn. He was good before but now he needs to just go away.

[Abigail_Adams]

36. I've long wondered

what happened to make RFK Jr. such a jerk. His father stood fast with Martin Luther King and championed the poor. This apple fell pretty far from the tree, IMO.

[Major Nikon]

38. Evidently the hard drugs took the better part of his brain

[GoCubsGo]

3. That spinning sound you hear is coming from his father's grave.

I strongly suspect he'd be appalled by the company his son is keeping. I can't imagine the rest of the family is too thrilled with it, either.

One has to wonder how much his past drug use has addled his brain.

[2live is 2fly]

55. Thinking same, his dad was such a beautiful, caring, giving & compassionate human being. Whenever I

hear the word empathy, a picture of Bobby Kennedy Sr. appears in my mind.

[claudette]

4. He'll

never win the primary. In my view

[AZ8theist]

22. He'll never win ANY PRIMARY.

There, fixed it for you.

[claudette]

35. Thanks

👍

[Delphinus]

6. How can

he even think of running as a Democrat?

[2naSalit]

7. It's becoming a new tactic...

That is showing up in lots of places. Posers who run as Democrats then switch party or just hang out with the magats and vote with them.

They are showing up all over the place. This one just isn't hiding it at the jump.

[JanLip]

14. I totally agree

Jan

[underpants]

9. Jesus talk about taking a horribly drastic turn in your life

I almost feel sorry for him

[2naSalit]

17. Who?

Jeezus or the alleged candidate?

I didn't know god was a cell phone!

[underpants]

25. 🙃

?a466632

[Carlitos Brigante]

30. .

.

[TheBlackAdder]

11. RFK Jr's gotta hit up Macy's for a new suit, unless he like sporting stretches and pants bulge.

[TheBlackAdder]

15. Keeping on the topic, Did Michael Flynn buy his suit at a Farmer's Market Haberdashery?

.

Look at the stitching and the pattern on it.

.

[2naSalit]

54. Who dressed those kids?

Yikes!

[niyad]

65. I just enlarged the photo! What in the world happened to that suit??? I have had

clothes that were not completely dry not look that bad.

[barbtries]

12. from such a great family

to all the way off the rails. sad.

[Joinfortmill]

13. What an abomination. Sickening.

[allegorical oracle]

18. Wonder if his dad is spinning in his grave. Sad for a man who has let down the name he bears. nt

[DinahMoeHum]

19. What a pathetic shit-stain on his father's legacy.

[pazzyanne]

20. Just sad!

From a bedrock Democratic family to an anti-vaxer is a long downhill slide. He should be

[AZ8theist]

21. Who's the woman? That Russian spy??

[solara]

49. The woman in the RFK Jr pic with Flynn and Stone is

Anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger

[AZ8theist]

56. Might as well be a Russian spy...

...after all the Ruskie disinformation spewed during the pandemic.

fucking idiots.

[Maru Kitteh]

23. I think he's genuinely losing all semblance of rationality. I think he may be ill.

I know apples sometimes roll far away from trees but seriously

[Rebl2]

42. Have wondered

the same thing about him.

[ashredux]

24. What is happened to him? Doesn't he understand the heritage of his family name?

[gab13by13]

28. What if he runs on the Green Party ticket?

He would be pulling a Jill Stein.

[bigtree]

29. welcome to 1%

___ Stein, who had been the Green Party's presidential nominee in 2012 (receiving 469,627 votes) would once again secure the Green Party nomination and lose in the general election, this time receiving 1.07% of the popular vote and no electoral college delegates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Stein_2016_presidential_campaign

[Demsrule86]

61. It wouldn't work this year and he will be outed for his GOP loving anti-vax ways.

[haele]

32. He and Marianne Williams will siphon votes off each other.

They're attractive to similar groups.
A few Dems might be attracted to the Kennedy name, but the further away from the OG political Kennedys that history flies, the less influence the Kennedy name carries.
Especially since that pretend goober Kennedy is now stinking up the Senate with his "Simple Country Lawyer" schtick.

Harle

[SYFROYH]

39. Who is the person in the pretty dress?

[2live is 2fly]

48. That may be (from story) anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger.

[SYFROYH]

57. oh. eww.

[NotVeryImportant]

40. The Covid pandemic really did a number on some people's heads

Or brought out what was already present w/i them.

Whichever is more relevant I guess.

Damn shame nontheless.

[Richard D]

41. How many deaths is this a-hole responsible for?

...

The Pacific island nation of around 200,000 first declared an outbreak of measles on October 16. The highly contagious viral infection spread rapidly, and officials declared a state of emergency by mid-November. The outbreak has continued to flare, however. On Sunday, the government reported that there had been 198 new measles cases in the last 24 hours alone.

...

The drop may be partly explained by the tragic deaths of two infants in July 2018, according to the WHO. The infants died on the same day at the same hospital, shortly after they had each received what was supposed to be an MMR vaccine (which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella).

While some quickly blamed the vaccine itself, officials later determined that two nurses had improperly prepared the immunizations. Investigators found that they had mixed in a lethal dose of muscle relaxant, and one of the nurses tried to cover up the error by taking the empty bottle of the muscle relaxant home after retrieving it from the garbage. The two faced charges of manslaughter and were both sentenced to five years in prison in August of this year.

Still, news of the heartbreaking deaths shook the island nation’s confidence in the healthcare system. And anti-vaccination groups pounced on the circumstances. Most notably, the deaths were picked up by the Children’s Health Defense, run by the prominent anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As The Washington Post noted, Kennedy’s organization spent months highlighting the deaths on Facebook while questioning the safety of the MMR vaccines. But the organization did not correct the posts or update its audience with information regarding the nurses’ error and convictions.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/12/measles-outbreak-spurred-by-anti-vaxxers-shuts-down-samoan-government/

[niyad]

66. Would you consider posting this as its own OP for wider visibility?

[Richard D]

67. Will do

[niyad]

68. Thank you.

[2live is 2fly]

45. Steve Bannon (according Daily Beast) was the PO$ who convinced RFK jr to run

[LastDemocratInSC]

53. There are black sheep in every family. Even in mine.

One of my brothers is a Republican and the other is an Apple Macintosh user.

[keep_left]

58. And there you have it, more proof of the right-wing book fraud machine.

Kennedy Jr. by contrast has spent months hyping his book, including at the far right Reawaken America conference in Southern California in July. Last month, CHD urged supporters to buy the book right away so it would make the New York Times bestseller list. Some commenters on CHD’s site said they bought multiple copies to drive sales. One said they had bought nine and were planning to buy more to put in neighborhood book exchange boxes “to help boost the book to number one on the New York Times bestseller list.”

We all know about how this works with their "think" tanks and fundraisers, partly because the New York Times Book Review explained it when they started keeping tabs on fraudulent far-right book "sales" figures. The "think" tanks and party organizations make huge bulk buys, and then give the books away at fundraisers or as premiums when people subscribe to NewsMax or whatever. Anything that can't be given away either gets sold to the dollar stores or is shredded.

Now it looks like the latest thing is to con the MAGA chuds into buying multiple copies to further inflate book sales. One wonders what they do with all those stacks of books, though.

[Hekate]

59. Jesus Christ on a Trailer Hitch -- what a ghastly picture

[Ms. Toad]

62. Same snake-oil salesman he's been for at least 2 decades.

Back then, people on DU were touting his virtue for exposing election fraud (incidentally promoting the same conspiracy theories Trump later adopted). Since he was on "our side," we looked the other way about his anti-vaccination nonsense, ignoring the fact that his election conspiray theories were just as unfounded as his anti-vax theories.

He's just found a new buyers for his snake oil these days.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

63. RFK Jr. wrote a book in 2021 accusing Dr. Fauci of perpetrating "a historic coup d'etat

Link to tweet

[Meowmee]

64. Ha family

Must be horrified. I would be.