How a deep sense of persecution and a taste for conspiracy have coalesced into a campaign about censorship that matters to almost no Democratic voters.
For Robert F. Kennedy Jr., censorship isn’t just about punishing speech, or even pressuring opponents into silence but can be decisions by even private actors who limit what can be said under their own rubric. | Roger Kisby for POLITICONEW YORK — The Bowery Hotel on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is the place where Hollywood stars and rock royalty stay when in New York.
“I can tell you are not troubled,” he said. “To me, that is just really shocking. I thought you were supposed to be a journalist.” “Jan. 6 was an attack on a building,” he said. “And we have lots of layers of government behind that building.” The problem for him is that no one much seems to care. When we spoke in April, Kennedy was a novelty act, someone who, after half a century as an activist and author and repeated entreaties to run for office, had finally jumped into politics. For a moment, it looked as if Kennedy would make a dent.
Kennedy testifies during the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on July 20 about the federal government censoring Americans on social media. “That is one of the missions of my campaign, to make censorship important to people," Kennedy said. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
“It is part of my job to remind Americans about what is important in this country,” he told me. And if, after they are reminded of his crusade, they just sort of shrug? Well, “they ought to care,” he said. “That is one of the missions of my campaign, to make censorship important to people.
He unleashes a torrent of stats and information about the pandemic far too fast to permit any kind of fact-check, threads together vast conspiracies of government figures doing the bidding of their corporate pay-masters, says that Vitamin D supplements are superior to the Covid shot, insists he has been proven right by everything and can’t believe how you have been fed lies about the cover-up involving the conspiracy to kill both his father and his uncle.
Even Kennedy’s booting from Instagram was at best an only partial cancellation. He was still publishing books, after all, still selling them on Amazon and still giving speeches. He was even still on Twitter and Facebook. No matter.
Back in the spring of 2020, before how you responded to Covid became a marker of political-tribal identification, most everyone was sealing themselves up inside their homes, wearing masks outside and washing down groceries to avoid a mysterious disease killing people by the thousands. Not Kennedy. After years of battling with the medical establishment, he saw a vast web of white coats who weren’t trying to save lives but were fulfilling their longstanding fantasies of societal control.
“Back home, the newspapers are saying that I came here to speak to 5,000 Nazis,” Kennedy told the crowd in a fiery address. “I look out at this crowd and I see the opposite of Nazism.” “I didn’t believe from the beginning,” Kennedy said. “I have a lot of knowledge of American history, and I know there is no pandemic exception to the Constitution.” | Roger Kisby for POLITICO
Kennedy’s take is similarly schizophrenic. On the one hand, censorship is the greatest threat facing the republic; on the other, YouTube, Apple podcasts, X, Instagram and the like are private companies, and he says, are free to kick him off anytime they want.
And what would a President Kennedy do if a foreign adversary attempted a similar attack on our election again? All of which is to say that Kennedy is not necessarily always wrong, but that the issues may be more complicated than he wants to acknowledge. And on some equally fraught speech issues that occur offline, he is less certain. Conservatives, for example, argue that ultimately money-in-politics cases likeare about free speech, and whether and how the government can restrict political speech in particular. Kennedy is against this kind of political speech, however.
Before the hearing began, 140 Democrats wrote a letter urging it be held privately in light of the fact Kennedy had recently been caught on tape making antisemitic and anti-Asian remarks about who was susceptible to Covid. | Francis Chung/POLITICO At many points the hearing nearly went off the rails, and showed what a slippery concept censorship is, and how it is often little more than a stand-in for other political values:are merely committed to the proliferation of factual information and the maintenance of some standards. What was Massie doing, after all, when he voted to censure Democratic Rep.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
RFK Jr. Reveals Ambitious Plan To Cut Mortgages by $1,000 a MonthRFK Jr. wants to give everyone a 'rich uncle' to cosign their mortgages\u2014Uncle Sam.
Read more »
Democratic revolutionary RFK Jr. poised to shake up presidential race with independent bidRobert F. Kennedy, Jr. has worn a lot of hats in the 20204 presidential race: vaccine skeptic, anti-war champion and environmental warrior -- as well as shirtless gym rat and backflip master.
Read more »
RFK Jr. set to speak at CPAC eventDemocratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will be a headline speaker at a Conservative Political Action Conference event in Las Vega...
Read more »
RFK Jr. to Speak at CPAC Event in Las VegasDemocrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will be a headline speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference event this month in Las Vegas, The Hill reported.
Read more »
The ultimate guide to tiki bars across Southern CaliforniaFacing a bustling Windward Avenue just off the Venice Boardwalk, Belles Beach House spills across a dining room with fanning palms, wicker and bamboo accents and carved ceramic faces that serve as light fixtures onto a netted patio. Your experience here depends entirely on when you visit. Weekend brunch is breezy and bright, with egg dishes, toasts and granola bowls, plus invigorating cocktails like the Sun Kissed with your choice of spirit, fresh carrot, orange, turmeric, lemon and black pepper. From 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, golden hour brings $10 cocktails and wines, $6 beers and an assortment of discounted bites to pair with the relaxed vibes; dog lovers will want to stop by on Thursday, when guests are encouraged to bring in their pups for 'yappy hour.' The Hawaiian-leaning menu is a great choice for a dinner date, spanning bao buns, crispy rock shrimp, decked-out sushi rolls, salads and poke bowls and large plates such as Hawaiian-style rib-eye and huli huli chicken. Post-dinner, a DJ usually takes over the turntables and a spinning disco ball attracts guests to the dance floor as the restaurant takes on a rowdier atmosphere. A lengthy cocktail list with classic, shaken, stirred, nonalcoholic and frozen options, in addition to shareable pitchers, helps keep the party going.
Read more »
The ultimate runner's guide to the 2023 Bank of America Chicago MarathonWhether you\u2019re a seasoned Chicago Marathoner or it's your first time on this course, here\u2019s everything you need to know about starting off on the right foot\u2026
Read more »