(I don’t write diaries often. I’m not great at it. Apologies for readability issues, brevity, etc. DK staff, please make me aware of any factual errors — I will correct and give credit.)
Folks, I think we need some eyes on this.
The shady, Republican-funded No Labels grift has stumbled and folded for 2024, thank goodness. But, as you’re almost certainly aware, there’s another spoiler in the field. There’s been speculation that RFKjr and his team are more or less working directly to draw electoral votes away from President Biden to help Trump. “But yeah, maybe sorta, not sure, maybe he just really believes…” and so forth.
Well… nope.
This link is to an article on Digby’s Hullabaloo, a blog you should probably add to your daily-ish reading if it’s not there already. To hit the key points: RFKjr’s NY Campaign Director doesn’t just say the quiet part out loud here, she sounds damn happy about it. I’ll quote from the following Xitter clip:
Starting at 0:57, and for the non-Xeeters (emphasis added):
If the Republicans… accepted the fact that New York, Maryland, Illinois, California, New Jersey, Connecticut — most of the Northeast is going to go blue, why wouldn’t we put our vote to Bobby and at least get rid of Biden, and get those 28 electoral votes in New York — the card’s a little wrong, it says 26 electoral votes — give those 28 electoral votes to Bobby rather than to Biden, thereby reducing Biden’s 270. And we all know how that works, right? 270 wins the election. If you don’t get to 270, if nobody gets to 270, then Congress picks the President. So who are they going to pick? Who are they going to pick, if it’s a Republican Congress? They’ll pick Trump. So we’re rid of Biden either way. Does everybody follow that?
Note that these remarks are delivered in a light tone, and there are quiet expressions of approval from at least at least a few audience members after she concludes. These folks are casually discussing scuttling an election and wrecking the future of the United States, and it’s like tea and coffee cakes for them.
There is no dissembling here, no fig-leaf over the intent. They want to deny President Biden re-election, by any means they can — and they’re totally willing to put Trump back in the White House for that end. With all the horror that implies.
I don’t have a solution to offer here, except talk to people about how flagrantly nuts RFKjr is. The really committed ones (I know a couple) won’t listen to anything about sabotaging or throwing the election — they’ll try to stand on Kennedy winning in his own right. They won’t listen when you tell them he has next to no chance. The excuses you hear will make your eyes cross.
So: show them his quotes (there are plenty). Let them hear his conspiracy theorism in his own voice. Ask them if someone this sketchy needs to be anywhere near the nuclear football — or their parents and grandparents social security, for that matter. Or the health of America’s kids.
And to give relevant counterpoint, here’s an article from Steve M. on NoMo pointing out that RFKjr isn’t exactly being subtle about his conspiracy-theorizing, and that he sounds… remarkably Trumpy for someone who — according to his NY Campaign Director — is “moving the blues (states) on his own.” Please share stuff like this in conversation with possible RFKjr voters too. This guy is not okay, and he sure to hell doesn’t need to be in the Oval. He isn’t talking sense — he’s waving red meat around to get people mad. (Sounds kind of like a Republican, hmm? Point this out.)
I hope this was useful and helpful news/information to at least some readers. I wish I had time for more, but I’m wordy by nature, so hopefully this is enough. Please forgive me if my conversation/debate tactics are unwanted.
Also, the lead image has nothing to do with Trump or his cronies, or RFKjr, except via distant association. It’s Charles Colson, a Watergate criminal who “found god” and became a radio host. I figure we’re almost all sick and f___ing tired of seeing Trump’s face on so many articles here, so I figured I’d use a criminal that some oldies (like myself, at least through reading) would possibly recognize, but doesn’t trigger more mental and emotional stress.
Hang in there, folks. Long road ahead and no part of it will be easy.
Thanks for reading.