Aurora Starchild
Bobby Kennedy Junior has officially announced his presidential bid. The Democratic lawyer and activist’s stances are more controversial than his predecessor’s. But it’s also bringing up memories of his father’s own tragic presidential campaign, which led to his assassination 55 years ago.
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Robert F Kennedy and His Brother John F Kennedy Were Assassinated 5 Years Apart
Robert F Kennedy was President John F Kennedy’s brother and served as Attorney General under his administration from 1961-1964. He was then elected as a New York Senator in 1965 and served until his death on June 6, 1968. Known for his liberalism, RFK was a staunch advocate for civil rights, the decentralization of power, and peaceful international relations.
Five years after his brother John F Kennedy’s assassination, RFK announced his own presidential bid in March of 1968.
“I do not run for the presidency merely to oppose any man, but to propose new policies. I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous course and because I have such strong feelings about what must be done, and I feel that I’m obliged to do all I can,” Robert Kennedy said from the Senate room of the old Caucus building. It was the same room where his brother announced his own bid for presidency eight years earlier.
RFK’s biggest Democratic primary opponents were Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, his brother’s successor after his death. Despite the odds and his then controversial stances against racial prejudices (he gave a speech after Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination) and war, RFK continued on. On June 4, 1968, he won the California and South Dakota primaries. It was considered a huge win and put the odds in his favor.
Just after midnight on June 5, 1968, RFK gave a speech at LA’s Ambassador Hotel ballroom. Despite his bodyguard’s warnings to avoid the kitchen, he followed another person’s advice and walked through, believing it was a shortcut to the press room. RFK stopped to shake a hotel employee’s hand as a 24-year-old Palestinian man named Sirhan Sirhan opened fire. He was shot three times with a .22-caliber revolver. He lost consciousness shortly after and, despite being rushed to the hospital, was pronounced dead 26 hours later.
Even the Kennedy Family Believes Their Kin’s Deaths May Have Been a Conspiracy
With two Kennedy assassinations in such a short period of time, conspiracy theories have run rampant. His own son, Bobby Kennedy Junior, also believes there is a conspiracy. After a months-long investigation, he told The Washington Post that he didn’t believe Sirhan Sirhan was the person who killed his father.
“I went there because I was curious and disturbed by what I had seen in the evidence,” Kennedy told The Post. He had met with Sirhan Sirhan although he didn’t discuss their conversation. “I was disturbed that the wrong person might have been convicted of killing my father. My father was the chief law enforcement officer in this country. I think it would have disturbed him if somebody was put in jail for a crime they didn’t commit.”
“Bobby makes a compelling case,” said Kathleen Kennedy, one of Bobby Junior’s ten siblings. “I think [the investigation] should be reopened.”
Despite His Father and Uncle’s Legacies, Bobby Kennedy Junior Is Running for President
Imagine living with this unknowing, and a pattern of violence directed towards your own family, and yet deciding to follow in the footsteps of those you believe have been martyred. For Bobby Kennedy Junior, that seems to be the case.
Bobby Kennedy Junior put out a trial balloon on Twitter in March, asking for the public’s opinion on his presidential bid.
“Help me decide whether to run for President. Visit http://TeamKennedy.com to volunteer or contribute,” he wrote. “If it looks like I can raise the money and mobilize enough people to win, I’ll jump in the race.”
RFK Jr. stated that his top priorities would be “to end the corrupt merger between state and corporate power that has ruined our economy, shattered the middle class, polluted our landscapes and waters, poisoned our children, and robbed us of our values and freedoms.”
According to reports, Bobby Kennedy Junior filed paperwork for his presidential run earlier this month. On April 19, 2023, he will formally announce his bid as Democratic Presidential candidate in Boston.
Bobby Kennedy Jr Is Notoriously Anti-Vax
Bobby Kennedy Junior’s presidential candidacy, like his father’s, has been widely deemed controversial. He is a vocal opponent of mandatory vaccinations, and some have said his reasoning is based on lack of evidence. Four years ago, he testified against a proposed bill in Washington that would mandate all children from Kindergarten age and up to show proof of a measles vaccination.
That same year, he opposed California state bill SB 276, which essentially put red tape in place for people to receive medical exemptions for vaccinations. He stated that he believed that some vaccinations could cause ADD, ADHD, autism, and speech impediments and that not all vaccines underwent thorough safety testing. Actress Jessica Biel lobbied with him at the time, citing her cause as being “for safe vaccines and for medical freedom.”
Especially considering the fact that Bobby Kennedy’s anti-vaccination, or anti-mandatory vaccination stance came out prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, he has since become a contentious public figure. The spread of disinformation and misinformation online has had its own set of issues, but a large part of the population is simultaneously concerned about the over-policing of personal freedoms, including mandatory vaccines.
Does Being an Anti-Vaxxer Make You a “Middle of the Aisle” Candidate These Days?
However, Bobby Kennedy Jr’s anti-vaccination stance may actually make him popular among many conservatives, despite his other stances leaning far left (such as advocating for the environment and reducing fossil fuels). According to the Brookings Institution, data collected by 2021 showed that 45% of Republicans supported mandatory vaccines compared to 84% of Democrats.
That same divide is already being seen within the Kennedy family itself. Bobby’s sister Kerry is the president of the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organization. She issued a public statement on the subject of her brother’s presidential candidacy.
“I love my brother Bobby, but I do not share or endorse his opinions on many issues, including the COVID pandemic, vaccinations, and the role of social media platforms in policing false information,” the statement read. “It is also important to note that Bobby’s views are not reflected in or influence the mission or work of our organization.”
One thing is for certain. It takes guts to put yourself out there and run for any political office. Here’s to a peaceful 2024 presidential run, win or lose.
