Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has metastasized into an enemy of the state. Since declaring his candidacy, RFK Jr. has appeared just about everywhere possible and touched upon a broad array of subjects, be it vaccine safety or the military-industrial complex cheerleaders in both political parties. Establishment attacks have accelerated, and these efforts have succeeded, with his support in the Democratic primary polls diminishing, going from 20% this past spring down to 10%. But while his White House aspirations are fading, RFK Jr. is ostensibly espousing the same “you don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” sentiment in his quest to showcase the absurdity that lies in the corridors of power.
RFK Jr. Goes to Washington
The House Judiciary Committee's Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government held a hearing on July 20 featuring the testimony of RFK Jr. He delivered lengthy remarks to defend himself from allegations of anti-Semitism and racism from Democratic members. But this perturbed the likes of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who requested the subcommittee shift to executive session because of his past comments. This would have prevented the public from viewing the hearing, and the contents would have been treated as confidential.
“Pursuant to House Rule 11, Clause 2, which Mr. Kennedy is violative of, I move that we will move into executive session because Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly made despicable, anti-Semitic and anti-Asian comments as recently as last week," she said. Rep. Wasserman Schultz would later request that the subcommittee rescind its invitation to Kennedy.
This behavior did not stop with Rep. Wasserman Schultz. Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) raised a point of order on limiting the time given to RFK Jr.'s opening statement. "If you want to cut him off and censor him some more, you’re welcome to do it!" said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who also chaired the hearing. “Is it the custom of this committee to censor viewpoints that we disagree with from witnesses?” asked Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Meanwhile, other Democrats, like Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), tore into Kennedy and accused him of enabling the Republican Party. “And no matter what you may think, Mr. Kennedy. And I revere your name. You’re not here to propound your case for censorship," he stated. "You are here for cynical reasons to be used politically by that side of the aisle to embarrass the current president of the United States. And you are an enabler in that effort today."
Throughout the roughly three-hour hearing, Democrats attempted to discredit and slander RFK Jr. So, why were Democrats so outraged over Kennedy’s appearance before Congress?
102 Unhappy Democrats
Before his appearance at the hearing, 102 Democratic representatives signed a letter opposing his testimony. They cited recent comments uttered by Kennedy at a press dinner in New York City, NY, where he reportedly charged that COVID-19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that might have "ethnically targeted" white and black people and left Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese immune. “We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted or not, but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact,” Kennedy added.
RFK Jr., (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"They intentionally chose to elevate this rhetoric to give these harmful, dangerous views a platform in the halls of the United States Congress," Del. Plaskett said. "That's endorsing that speech. That's not just supporting free speech. They have co-signed on idiotic, bigoted messaging."
But Kennedy pushed back, arguing that actions by Democrats are "evidence of the problem that this hearing was convened to address. This is an attempt to censor a censorship hearing." He added that all the accusations lobbed against him are "distortions" and "misrepresentations."
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) also interjected by inserting two studies into the record: "New insights into genetic susceptibility of COVID-19" and a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of the efficacy and safety of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. The former investigated the genetic susceptibility to COVID-19 by studying DNA polymorphism and receptors for the virus in 81,000 human genomes. The latter "broke down the effectiveness of the vaccine into seven different racial categories because this was also a concern of theirs and, frankly, it'd be delinquent not to study the effects."
‘This Is a Drill’
The standard narrative that has traveled throughout the big-box media is that RFK Jr. is anti-vaccine. However, Kennedy repeatedly pointed out during the hearing – Democrats also alluded to this possible gotcha – that he and his children were up-to-date on their vaccine schedules. The only jab he has not taken is for COVID. He also took offense to claims that he discouraged black Americans from seeking adequate medical care. Be it guilt by association or accusations of disinformation, Kennedy asserted that "this is a drill" in Washington to censor anyone who challenges official orthodoxies. Considering the playbook politicians in the nation’s capital use to quash dissent, the description might be accurate.
