99 Comments

Hoping that Larry David has publicly denounced and fully distanced himself from RFK, Jr. , the husband of his good friend and acting colleague Cheryl Hines. Kennedy is a useful idiot for the Republican Party -- especially the conspiracy wing that controls it. He is a sad and sorry excuse for a Kennedy.

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I hope Cheryl Hines does too. I don’t wish people heart ache, but how does she stand by manipulative and crazy? She should curb her enthusiasm.

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I don’t know how she stands by this either. I like Cheryl Hines!

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She’s the actress who played Larry David’s wife in Curb & the real wife of RFK Jr.

I wonder how partners stand by crazy. 🕊️🕊️of a 🪶

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I don't know who Cheryl Hines is, and I never watched "Curb", but your last sentence is a laugh out loud.

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The man is a silver spooner and a lawyer and has NO expertise in vaccine work. One of the conspiracies RFKJr pushes is the conspiracy that vaccines cause autism: you know, the bad science and lies of Andrew Wakefield, who by the way, had his work retracted because it was so badly done, and eventually lost his medical license.

His harassment of Dr. Peter Hotez, who is a vaccine expert, is disgusting. Hotez maintains that his work does not indicate that vaccines cause autism. He should know: he has an autistic child.

The only reason Kennedy can do this is because he is wealthy.. The dysfunction and abnormalities in thought seem to go along with the wealth, I would guess because when you get that wealthy, you can choose to stop caring about the glue that holds us together as a species: the truth and facts.

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Andrew Wakefield’s work was retracted because it included actual fraud and he was paid by lawyers intending to sue vaccine makers and failed to disclose that inconvenient fact.

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Here’s what will happen: he’ll lose in the primaries and then switch to become an independent. That will cause the vote to be diluted just enough in swing states for Trump to cobble together a win. This is the likely nightmare and the MSM will act surprised when it happens. Mark my words and get out and campaign for Biden.

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Yes! Democrats and those who support Biden need to get out a vote! And if they can help with speaking truth and getting out the vote, that is good, too.

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Joe Manchin is thinking of running as an Idependent. Heard it on MSNBC tonight. Craziness abounds.

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I thought he was maybe gonna run for no labels, that garbage "unity" party?

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Doubtful. Everyone seems hellbent on pulling the votes away from President Biden and steer them towards trump. Manchin, RFK Jr, they ALL know they don't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning. But they're determined to get votes away from Biden. Next will probably be Jr saying he's got Manchin as his running mate. Craziness is everywhere, it seems.

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Democrats are NOT going to vote for anti-vaccine nut case RFK Jr. The Kennedy Camelot years are LONG gone. These GQPs are too old to realize this era has been over for many years. And anti-vaccine people NEVER rally Democrats!

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I doubt it. He wants to hijack the Democratic race. He won't run as an independent because all he can do is be Jill Stein II. If you recall, Stein was also an anti-vaxxer.

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I hope you’re right….

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RFK Jr. was already someone for whom I had no esteem as a candidate because of his anti-vaxx rhetoric. Now knowing what I know about his donor demographics, I am hoping he gets buried in the primaries.

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Like there was any doubt that RFK, Jr., was a Republican tool to weaken President Biden.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: RFK, Sr., would be completely ashamed of what his son has become.

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"Tool" being the operative word

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RFK Jr is a national embarrassment to America & his family. he's clearly mentally ill & is being used by The GQP Cult to divide democrats, as they cannot fairly win any election based on their platform of hate, racism, theofascism, & bigotry. They have no positive plans to improve things in America, only to destroy. Vote Blue 2024 !

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As a freshman in college, I went with my friends to hear Bobby Kennedy. Coming from a Republican family, I carried a hand made Rockefeller sign. I walked out a lifetime democrat and am unable to vote for republican policies. I went onto the field after Bobby spoke and was able to shake his hand. His namesake is a terrible mess. I vote but I will never vote for him.

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So, the GOP machine has creatively pursued funding an alternative to Biden to dilute votes? OMG, they are exploring all avenues to defeat Biden, aren’t they? No matter the personal cost. To confuse voters? Who remember Camelot with nostalgia and will not separate the heritage from the current contender/ individual beliefs opposed to Democratic platform ideals? Are they feeling desperate, afraid Trump is running his mouth or tweeting himself non-stop to incarceration? Or hanging on to the illusion that he will be elected and pardon himself and all conspirators/ traitors?

A new low for the party of Lincoln, don’t you think?

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Judith..the RescumliCon party is over, and they know it. They are working on Hunter Biden and will move to Camilla Harris to distract their gullible dupes but it’s not going to work for Democrats who stand in large majority to RescumliCons. LGBTQIA+ , Recognition of injustices to people of color, removing safe abortion access, & more is all on the line. This time we must turn out in such numbers as to shut the Fascist Party down forever!

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Anyone that has half a brain knows there’s only one reason for Kennedy to run, and that is to get on the ballot as a third-party candidate to steal votes from Joe Biden.

Kennedy as a third party candidate may leach a few votes from the Republican side--but 90% (my estimate) will be from the Democratic side.

It’s their back door plan to install Trump as America’s first dictator and to make America into the fascist Christian theocracy the so-called “moral majority” (who are neither moral or a [real] majority) have been pursuing since the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964.

In America there are about 250 million eligible voters and yet approximately 100 million of them just don’t take the time to vote. If we are to keep our country moving forward we need to convince a solid number of these non-voting Americans to vote--because I believe the majority of these people would be voting for Democrats.

But, that is a personal and ambiguous (open to having several possible meanings or interpretations) statement, so if there is anyone who has some verifiable numbers on this I would like to see them.

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I'm guessing you meant "ambitious statement", no? Not at all ambiguous... ; > )

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JaBier, totally disagree. Kennedy Jr has zero appeal to the Democratic voting base today? Do you know Dems who love the anti-vax stand that GQP created? I sure don’t. He’s a non-entity for Democrats. He offers nothing outside of conspiracy theories.

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The big question is what can we do about it? What is the Biden campaign and the DNC doing to call out this? We all need to be putting this message out so people hear it.

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He is just awful, the product of steroids, entitlement, and jealousy.

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Many years ago I appreciated RFK Jr’s support of environmental issues and I will confess the Kennedy sparkle in his eyes appealed to me. The sparkle is gone. I suppose that can happen naturally with age, but because the eyes are how a person meets the world, I’ve always believed they tell a unique story. I can’t tell if his are sad, tired, unhappy or something else.

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The lights are on(ish), but nobody's home.

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The old saw - the enemy of my enemy is my friend comes to mind after reading this revealing article. In the unlikelihood Mr. Kennedy becomes the Democratic nominee for POTUS, the GOP donor spigot will run dry and Trump will say Kennedy is a f-ing moron. Should he decide to run as a third party candidate the spigot will likely become a firehouse.

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Jul 17, 2023·edited Jul 17, 2023

If RFK Jr. were running as a Republican he would probably be in front of Desantis in the polls. The current iteration of the GOP doesn't care about actual Democrat/Republican policies as much as they care about crazy conspiracy theories and the authoritarians who espouse them. RFK and Trump supporters are the living, breathing embodiment of the horseshoe theory -- as you move toward the left/right fringes they get closer together and begin to converge. Anti-vaxx used to be the purview of Berkeley lefties and has now been adopted by the right. Populism is a scourge irrespective of what side it comes from.

Do not be surprised if Trump courts RFK Jr as Vice President. First, he would bring a sizeable chunk of Democrats with him which would help him close the gap with moderate voters. Second, they would raise tons of money. Finally -- and this cannot be discounted -- there is *nothing* that would give Trump a tiny little mushroom chubby than having his name on a ticket with top billing over a Kennedy. It would be the "unity ticket" to unite the left and right fringes and should terrify reasonable people.

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I read recently that Kennedy is polling at 20% behind Biden and Trump. But then, I don't believe in polls, especially since 2016 saw Clinton leading over Trump all the way to election day.

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I keep seeing this 20% figure repeated but I never see a citation. All polling organizations are not equally accurate and some (like Rasmussen) have an axe to grind.

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I saw it mentioned in a piece I read about how donations to Biden's campaign eclipsed everyone else's. I don't pay attention except that campaign donations are a more accurate indicator than polls in getting an idea of who's ahead. I certainly am not losing sleep over Kennedy or Trump.

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OK, that explains a lot. You are probably thinking of this chart from Popular Information: https://popular.info/p/gop-donors-fuel-rfk-jrs-presidential

These represent the percentage of donors who gave the maximum amount individual donors can contribute ($6,600.00) to Junior's campaign. The total number of donors represented is 96, 19 of whom "have a history of consistently supporting Democratic candidates."

That's right, a whopping 19 people.

This is another galaxy far away from "20% of Democrats support Junior."

I'm sorry to harp on this, but if even those of us on the center/left insist on repeating numbers we heard somewhere and misrepresenting, however unintentionally, how much (or, in this case, how little) they mean, we only make the disinformation problem worse.

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Yes, that's where I saw it.

Jesus, we're all just commenters here. Where the heck do you think we should get our information if not from things we read?

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I trust that he is way behind Biden and Trump. I just think that he appeals more to the fringe of the left and right and would probably steal 2nd place in Republican polls from DeSantis.

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We really need to revoke “Citizens United,” a euphemism for just the opposite of what it is. RFK, Jr is mentally ill. I think I remember his father better than he does. BEHOLD! The long-term effects of trauma and drugs.

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In light of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which I strongly urge you to investigate, it is possible that Kennedy is aligned with the Conservative movement’s agenda to “take back our government.”

“It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the next conservative administration.

This is the goal of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. The project will build on four pillars that will, collectively, pave the way for an effective conservative administration: a policy agenda, personnel, training, and a 180-day playbook.

The project is the effort of a broad coalition of conservative organizations that have come together to ensure a successful administration begins in January 2025. With the right conservative policy recommendations and properly vetted and trained personnel to implement them, we will take back our government.”

https://www.project2025.org/about/about-project-2025/

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If it has anything to do with The Heritage Foundation, it stinks of the Kochs.

If you want to know something about the Koch family’s intentions, read Dark Money by Jane Mayer and also read some history on the Robber Barons.

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Jan, while I have no doubt of the unwelcome contributions and support of the Koch family's involvement with the Heritage Foundation I can say with confidence that this movement goes well beyond the Koch family.

If you will take a moment to look at the Project 2025 Advisory Board which is "A broad coalition of more than 65 conservative organizations has come together to form the project pillars."

You will see just how extensive this movement is, especially in light of the fact that the advisory board in view had only 45 members as recently as January of 2023 and now boasts 65 organizations as of today.

https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/

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“This is the goal of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. The project will build on four pillars that will, collectively, pave the way for an effective conservative administration: a policy agenda, personnel, training, and a 180-day playbook.” You mean “No Labels” which is just the Republican Party trying to win no matter how they do it. Pray tell, send your “list” of these 65 organizations. How many does Leonard Leo run?

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Post script: I just found a direct connection between the Project's advisory board and Leonard Leo.

The Teneo Network is where Leo joined Teneo’s board of directors as chairman in 2021 and has since become a driving force.

More on this will be posted at my Substack asap.

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At this link, https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/

is the current list of publicly affiliated Project 2025 organizations. At this time I cannot find any direct connection between Leonard Leo with the Project, but it is a foregone conclusion that he is in collusion with them.

Having only just discovered this Project this past weekend I am only now beginning to investigate this situation and will be writing about it at my Substack, which I would be happy to see you subscribe to so that you can follow my research into this matter.

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At this point, Robert, your "research" is more of the brainwashed variety. Yes, I did scan your link, and all I smelled was Christian Nationalism, and billionaire bullshit. I hope you can find a light switch soon.

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