Briefly Noted: RFK Hypocrisy? Admin

Yesterday I was fairly rough on Ron DeSantis and his flip flopping on Russia. What I said was, I think, fair. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate much of what DeSantis has accomplished in Florida. The real point is that DeSantis has been able to accomplish what he has in Florida without being forced to sell out and back pedal. That’s the difference between politics on the state level—even the level of a major state—and politics on the national level. While states do get involved in foreign policy from the standpoint of trade and commerce, governors just don’t ordinarily get involved in issues of war and peace decision making. DeSantis can raise money for his state operation without undue pressure on such issues.

Obviously that all changed when he became involved in presidential nomination politics. The result was that he was revealed as highly vulnerable to financial pressure and willing to publicly reshape his rhetoric and policies to accommodate the policies of pressure groups with which he probably isn’t in fundamental agreement. That’s not good. Trump did that, too, to some extent, but the pressure exerted was far more than merely financial and Trump did show a willingness to fight back. That’s all I’ll say on that.

Regarding RFK, I was prompted today by an email in which I was asked whether I thought RFK might end up endorsing Trump—presuming, as I do, that RFK is forced out of the race by the Dem establishment. I’ve also seen commenters express support for RFK, based on his anti-war attitudes as well as his courageous work on vaccines. One thing that must be remembered, however, is that—despite his anti-vax views—RFK is a basically a liberal and moves in circles that are largely populated by liberals. There’s a reason he’s seeking the Dem nomination and not the GOP or a third party nomination. He is pro-abortion and he is also willing to compromise on his views when his personal life interfaces with his policy views. For example, in 2021 guests to a party at his house were urged to get injected with the mRNA gene therapy medication, or to be tested for Covid. When asked about this, RFK responded that this was a decision by his wife, Cheryl Hines.

We can all understand how these things work, how compromises are made in married life for the higher good. In Trump’s case I actually believe that Melania had a positive influence on Trump’s presidency, including in policy terms. On the other hand, it’s well known that the wives of Reagan and both Bushes disagreed with the public positions on social issues that their husbands were identified with, so RFK is not an exception in this regard.

This incident may not mean a lot going forward, but it is worth bearing in mind. If the Trump presidency tells us anything, it’s that a president cannot be separated from his party. Ultimately, the party organization trumps the president—in most, virtually all, cases. It’s a dynamic that I would never bet against. It’s a depressing thought for conservatives, but it’s the truth. The only redeeming aspect is that the party organization is also beholden to public opinion. The Trump SCOTUS is proof of that. I would never, ever, bet that RFK could pull that off by going against he Woke agenda of the Dems.

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A brief admin note. This morning when I signed in to MiH I was twice blocked with a “phishing” warning. Of course I don’t harvest personal data here, nor do I know who may have been behind this. I mention this just in case readers encounter similar issues.