Robert F. Kennedy Assassination

61st Anniversary Of JFK Assassination: It Still Hurts!

As I write this blog entry, the time of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy arrives, the most tragic event of my lifetime until September 11, 2001!

A young, vibrant, charismatic, good looking young President, murdered at a time when there was hope and optimism about the future of America.

This is very different than the present sense of pessimism and dread that millions of Americans feel after the nation has put into the White House a man who represents the worst elements of the American experience.

The fact that two women–Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris–who represented the sense of hope and change that Kennedy represented six decades ago, lost to Trump is very much a source of disappointment.

It is not as if John F. Kennedy was perfect or had a perfect rcord in office, but he inspired millions by being the youngest elected President in American history.

And the fact that his nephew, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has so damaged the historical memory of both his father, Robert F. Kennedy, who was also taken from the nation by assassination, and his uncle, by his horrendous and lunatic conspiracy theories about health and medicine, is tragic.

And the fact that RFK Jr. is about to work with Donald Trump in undermining the health care system, makes the anniversary of the JFK Assassination more depressing than ever before.

Republicans In Congress Plan Wrecking Ball On Democrats, Presaging Civil War!

The Republican Party at large, in both the House of Representatives and Senate, are planning a “wrecking ball”, open revenge on Democrats, due to the felony conviction of Donald Trump.

The Republican Party is declaring war on civility, and advocating open insurrection against the Constitution, the judicial system, and the rule of law, and this is being led by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and the multitude of MAGA Republicans.

In so doing, unstable American right wing extremists are being incited to rise up in rebellion, with the potential for mass bloodshed and violence throughout the nation.

The likelihood of a new wave of assassinations of public leaders, as occurred in the 1960s, but on a much greater scale, is becoming a reality, as we commemorate today the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, two months after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968.

This level of threat is a clarion call that could make for a level of violence reminiscent of the pre Civil War period in the 1850s.

This is no laughing matter, as the breakdown of law and order would also endanger America’s position in a world with major threats from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

The Danger Presented By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. As Independent Presidential Candidate

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, the namesake of former Senator and 1968 Presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy, has announced a run as an independent for the Presidential Election of 2024.

Other than being his namesake, there is absolutely no motivation for any sane person to vote for RFK Jr, as he clearly is a mental case, with major psychological and drug problems, and promotes lunatic conspiracy theories about vaccines and other scientific research.

His own siblings and other Kennedy family members have denounced him, and he has caused great pain and suffering for his elderly mother Ethel Kennedy, who is in her mid 90’s, still surviving 55 years after her husband’s tragic assassination. He is a disgrace to the Kennedy family tradition!

If Robert F. Kennedy had been alive now, nearing 98, he would, clearly, be totally shocked and stunned at what has happened to the mental state of his namesake.

It is a great human tragedy of massive proportions, but he could, in theory, affect the election results due to lunatic followers who may even think he is his father, and vote for him and undermine President Joe Biden, who has always been a great admirer of RFK, and has a bust of him on his desk, seen every time Biden is sitting and commenting on events.

Interestingly, Donald Trump has now denounced him, because it is thought, without proof, that RFK Jr. could siphon more Republican votes than Democratic votes in the election, but the best solution would be for him to go back into the woodwork and leave America free from his crazy, reckless and maniacal ideas!

Joe Biden And The Kennedy Family Connection

President Joe Biden has long had a close connection with the Kennedy family.

He and former Attorney General, NY US Senator, and 1968 Democratic Presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy share the same birthday 17 years apart—November 20—1925 and 1942.

Biden was a supporter of RFK in his 1968 run for the Presidency before his tragic assassination.

When Biden, newly elected to the US Senate from Delaware, lost his first wife and a daughter, and severe injuries to his two sons in December 1972, and was ready to give up the seat he had just won, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy befriended him, and convinced him to be sworn in to the Senate from the hospital room of his two injured sons early in 1973.

The two men became fast friends and allies over the next 36 years in the Senate, until Ted Kennedy’s death in 2009, when Biden had just become Vice President.

Biden’s connection to the Kennedys was much more than Ted Kennedy, including other relatives, such as the widow of RFK, Ethel Kennedy, who lives on at age 95, and close to many other Kennedy relatives.

Biden has a bust of RFK on his desk, always photographed in any photo of Biden sitting at his White House desk.

Additionally, Biden has four Kennedy family members as part of his administration:

Caroline Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy is Ambassador to Australia, after having been Ambassador to Japan under the Presidency of Barack Obama.

Joseph P. Kennedy III, former Massachusetts Congressman and grandson of RFK, is Special Envoy to Northern Ireland.

Victoria Reggie Kennedy, widow of Senator Ted Kennedy, is Ambassador to Austria.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, formerly Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, is advisor on retirement in the US Department of Labor.

Sadly, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is running against President Biden for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2024, backed by Donald Trump acolytes, and spewing conspiracy theories about the COVID 19 Vaccines, and besmirching the great reputation of now retired White House Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served every President since Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden.

His own family members have condemned him for his behavior, including John F. Kennedy grandson Jack Schlossberg (son of Caroline Kennedy); and it is a sad family tragedy, including for his mother, Ethel Kennedy, still surviving 55 years after her husband’s tragic assassination!

June 6, 1944 And June 6, 1968: Turning Points In American History!

June 6 is a special day in American history, as two events 24 years apart have had a great effect on the nation and the world.

The sacrifices of Allied soldiers from the US, Canada, and Great Britain in 1944 at Normandy, on D Day, started the process of liberation of Europe from the horrors of Nazi Germany, and it helped to lead to an unexpected event, the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower, to the Presidency in 1952.

24 years later, New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy was tragically assassinated in Los Angeles, after having won the California Presidential primary, with the growing belief that he might become the Democratic Presidential nominee in 1968.

His tragic passing sadly ended with the election of Richard Nixon, and the rise of right wing Republican conservatism 12 years later, with the election of Ronald Reagan.

The political effects of both events shaped the future, and mostly led to unfortunate events that prevented the nation from moving in the proper direction, particularly after 1968.

55 Years Since Robert F. Kennedy Assassination: What Might Have Been!

55 years ago today, New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, California after declaring victory in the California Presidential Primary race in the Presidential campaign of 1968.

His assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, remains in prison, denied parole numerous times.

Sadly, his namesake, his son Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is running a Presidential campaign against President Joe Biden, who shares his father’s birthdate, November 20, and whose bust is on the mantle to the left of Biden when he is sitting at the Oval Office desk.

His own family has repudiated RFK Jr, and there are many indications of his instability and maniacal behavior, as he accepts help from Steve Bannon and other Donald Trump acolytes, who see him as a way to undermine Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

It is certain that Robert F. Kennedy would not approve of what his son is doing, as it besmirches the good name of RFK.

More than a half century after his death, RFK remains an individual very complex, but one who many believe would have been able to transform America in a positive way, instead of the tragic corruption and criminality of Richard Nixon and the right wing of the Republican Party, leading up to the era of conservatism under Ronald Reagan!

Robert F. Kennedy’s Namesake Son A Disgrace To The Family Name!

President Joe Biden is a great admirer of former Senator, Attorney General, and 1968 Democratic Presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated on June 5, 1968.

So much an admirer that Biden has a bust of RFK on his Oval Office Desk, often shown in photos when Biden is sitting at the desk.

And the two men share a common birthday, November 20, for Kennedy in 1925, for Biden in 1942.

Sadly, in the present, RFK’s namesake, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been disgracing the family name and reputation as an anti vaccine conspiracy theorist, and collaborating with right wing extremists, while making a lot of money promoting attacks on the good name of Dr. Anthony Fauci. The former Chief Medical Adviser to President Biden, consultant to every President from Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden, and former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for four decades, has been pilloried without just cause!

Now, RFK Jr has announced his candidacy for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2024, challenging Biden!

This is laughable, as RFK Jr will receive only the support of anti science, anti medicine lunatics, who had no concern about the mass loss of life from COVID 19, which they contributed to by their reckless, ignorant repudiation of vaccines and masks in the most deadly epidemic in a century!

Biden should not agree to debate RFK, Jr, just ignore him, as RFK Jr makes a fool of himself, and embarrasses his mother, Ethel, who has lived 55 years since the tragic death of her husband, and will reach the age of 95 four days from now, mortified by her son, who seriously needs mental health treatment!

The Assassination Of Robert F. Kennedy 54 Years Ago Transformed The Future Negatively

On this day, June 5, 54 years ago, in the Presidential Election year of 1968, the nation and the world were transformed in a way that still reverberates.

New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the brother of the slain President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in Los Angeles at the Ambassador Hotel shortly after winning the California Democratic Presidential primary.

RFK was at a point where it seemed likely, although not definitively, that he might win the Democratic Presidential nomination to run against Richard Nixon.

The events of the past half century, from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan to George H. W. Bush to Donald Trump, have been very divisive and degrading in so many ways, but they might have turned out differently if RFK had lived.

One realizes that no one can be certain about the effects of a potential RFK Presidency, but for millions of Americans then and since, the shocking events of 1968 leave a sense of lost opportunity that has affected the past half century in a negative fashion!

My book, “Assassinations, Threats, and the American Presidency: From Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama”, Rowman Littlefield Publishers, 2015, Paperback Edition 2017, covers the tragedy of the RFK Assassination in Chapter 10!

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Besmirches Family Name, And Compares Vaccines To Nazi Germany And Anne Frank!

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the namesake of his famous father, New York Senator and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, is clearly a mental case, who espouses conspiracy theories against all vaccinations, including COVID 19.

He is also against masking, and has no concern about the loss of 860,000 Americans in the two years of the COVID 19 Pandemic!

He spoke at a rally in Washington, DC, this past weekend, alongside other nutty, wacky conspiracy theorists who are promoting the Death Cult, clear and simple!

And Kennedy had the gall to compare vaccines to Anne Frank, Nazi Germany, and the Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews in World War II!

Additionally, he has claimed that all vaccines cause Autism, which has no scientific validity!

What could be more reprehensible than to compare a life saving vaccine to mass murder by the Nazis?

Kennedy has no shame, but even his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, has openly disagreed with her husband’s lunatic viewpoint, and one can expect that RFK Jr. will soon be divorced yet again!

He also disgrees with his mother and most of his siblings about the assassin of his father in 1968, Sirhan Sirhan, taking the lunatic view that Sirhan did not murder his father, a shocking and totally disgusting assertion!

RFK Jr. seems to have elements of mental illness, and meanwhile, he has besmirched the family name, and one can be sure his own father would be shocked, and would repudiate his renegade son!

Sad 44th Anniversary Of The Passing Of Hubert Humphrey, My Original Political Hero!

On this day, January 13, 1978, 44 years ago, my original political hero, Senator, Vice President, and Presidential nominee Hubert H. Humphrey passed away from cancer at the young age of 66.

When I was young, Humphrey became my political hero, with his strong liberal championship of views on civil rights, and introducing many ideas that became part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society in the mid 1960s.

Not well utliized by Johnson, Humphrey became the nominee of the Democratic Party for the Presidency in 1968, a divided party that had elements rallying around Senator Robert F. Kennedy before his tragic assassination, and also those who backed fellow Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy.

In a three way Presidential race, Humphrey would fall short, losing to Richard Nixon, and with George Wallace being a strong third party candidate.

Humphrey, who had been Mayor of Minneapolis, and then a US Senator from 1949-1965, returned to the Senate in 1971, replacing the retiring Senator McCarthy, and competed unsuccessfully for the Presidential nomination in 1972, and remained a major figure until his untimely death in 1978.

This author and blogger literally wept when Humphrey died, as I was drawn to his humanity, empathy, decency, and compassion.

And once he passed away, I looked around the US Senate for a successor leader I could believe in, and found the young Delaware Senator Joe Biden, still in his first term at age 35.

I feel fortunate that although there were many barriers to Joe Biden’s advancement to the Presidency, that after serving in the Senate for 36 years, and as Vice President under Barack Obama for eight years, that four years later, on his third try for the Oval Office, Biden finally won, and saved the nation from the menace of Donald Trump.

Neither Humphrey nor Biden were or are perfect, no such situation exists, but the two men shared characteristics that caused me to fall in love with them as political leaders.

I am sure that Humphrey would be very proud of Joe Biden, and the two men stand out as uncommonly models of leadership!