
<p>One of the most famous political dynasties in American history is the Kennedy Clan – one President, three senators, a few congressmen, and assorted lesser offices. ; On the Republican side, you have the Bush family – two presidents, a senator, couple of congressmen.</p>



<p>All of the Kennedy clan were diehard progressives. ; For many decades, they defined the left edge of the Democratic Party. ; That was before the really radical left took over.</p>



<p>Now we have Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. &#8212; the son of the assassinated senator.  ; His father was a potential President who arguably was the furthest left of the Kennedy clan. ; His son appears to be an acorn that traveled far from the Kennedy tree.</p>



<p>RFK, Jr. Is not like his relatives. ; He is not conservative, for sure – but he is not a doctrinaire liberal, either. ; He is sort of a mixed breed. ; He opposes what he considers to be corporate control of Government. ; On the other hand, he is an anti-vaxxer.</p>



<p>Kennedy is an interesting character. ; First, because he comes from arguably the most famous political family in America. ; His father was one of the children of Joe and Rose Kennedy. ; All the boys were groomed to be presidents. ; </p>



<p>First, Joe, jr. – but he was killed in a military accident in England in World War II. ; John F. Kennedy was designated as the next to be President by Pappa Joe. ; He succeeded but was assassinated. ; The next was Robert. ; He seemed poised to be the Democrat standard bearer in 1998, but was assassinated as he was celebrating his victory in the California Democrat primary, ; ;</p>



<p>Finally, there was Senator Ted Kennedy – the youngest of the children. ; He was moving toward a presidential campaign when a young political staffer, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned in the car Kennedy was driving. ; He made a later bid to unseat President Carter but was unable to shed a life of serial scandals.</p>



<p>To say Robert Jr. is the black sheep of the family is an understatement. ; He is the only member of the Kennedy clan to be publicly rebuffed by the other members. ; His political views are not only out of line with the hardcore progressive views of the clan, but he has put himself in the category of a gadfly.</p>



<p>His announcement of his campaign for the Democratic nomination was greeted with shaking heads and laughter. ; He is not considered to be a serious candidate – and most observers give him little chance of winning the nomination.</p>



<p>But just as the political world was primed to ignore Kennedy, the first polling numbers came in – and he is at 14 percent. And that is against an incumbent Democrat President. ; That is a polling number that generally suggests potential. ; That is not the number a nutcase candidate normally gets.</p>



<p>Before Kennedy supporters get giddy optimism, Kennedy is not going to win the Democrat nomination. He will not even come close. ; ;</p>



<p>What that 14 percent support does reveal is the weakness of President Biden. ; Already 47 percent of Democrat voters do not want Biden to be the Democrat candidate. ; It is safe to assume that the 14 percent support for Kennedy comes from the 47 percent who want an alternative candidate. ; That means that approximately one-third of the 47 percent would vote for the gadfly over Biden.</p>



<p>It is conceivable that Kennedy may even increase his support as he starts to campaign. ; That polling number would guarantee him a place on the stage next to Biden. ; Since it is unlikely that any serious challenger will announce, Kennedy could be Biden’s primary opposition.</p>



<p>It is unlikely that Kennedy will be anything more than a fringe candidate – but his impact may be greater than we might have initially expected. ; Biden would be foolish to give Kennedy the back of his hand. ; Perhaps Kennedy will be to Biden what Senator Gene McCarthy was to President Johnson.</p>



<p>(For the younger generation – those under 70 – McCarthy was a bit of a gadfly in the Democratic Party. He took on Johnson in the 1968 primaries. ; While he was unlikely to win the nomination, he exposed Johnson’s vulnerabilities to the point that he withdrew from the campaign – leaving Robert Kennedy as the heir apparent. ; After his assassination, the nomination went to Vice President Hubert Humphrey – who lost to Vice President Richard Nixon.)</p>



<p>RFK Jr may be a gadfly, but he may also be more than a nuisance.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

RFK, Jr. – A Kennedy of a Different Color – Takes on Joe for President
