Robert
F. Kennedy, Jr. Disappoints
By
Joel S. Hirschhorn
02 December,
2007
Countercurrents.org
RFK,
Jr. has disappointed millions of liberals, progressives and environmentalists
by endorsing Hillary Clinton.
RFK, Jr.
once said: “the Republicans are 95 percent corrupt and the Democrats
are 75 percent corrupt.” This has been widely quoted because of
its honest assessment of the corrupt two-party system.
He has also
pointed out: "While communism is the control of business by government,
fascism is the control of government by business. …The biggest
threat to American democracy is corporate power. …our most visionary
political leaders have warned the American public against the domination
of government by corporate power. That warning is missing in the national
debate right now. Because so much corporate money is going into politics,
the Democratic Party itself has dropped the ball. They just quash discussion
about the corrosive impact of excessive corporate power on American
democracy."
Those these
statements were made some time ago, a few days ago on November 28 he
talked about the impact of industry on environmental agencies: “It’s
been a revolving door of plunder.” Kennedy saved special scorn
for “the negative and indolent press of this country,” which
he said has become controlled by corporate interests in the last 20
years. “Americans have become the best-entertained, least-informed
people on earth,” Kennedy said. He also said five companies control
80 percent of newspapers and almost all radio, and those corporations
are not in business to tell news thoroughly or fairly. “The only
ideology they represent is their own pockets,” Kennedy said. So
his criticism of the corporate plutocracy seems as strong as ever.
Such honest
views of the sad state of America have made Kennedy the darling of many
people – independents, liberals, progressives and environmentalists.
But the news
that this esteemed honest liberal has endorsed the candidacy of Hillary
Clinton was startling. Now he says: “Hillary Clinton has the strength
and experience to bring the war in Iraq to an end and reverse the potentially
devastating effects of global warming. …Hillary will inspire the
real change America needs." That Kennedy can see Hillary as an
agent of change is a betrayal of all the good will that Kennedy has
built up over many years.
Kennedy said
he feels "very uncomfortable" about the amount of corporate
money flowing into Clinton's campaign, "But I also think you can't
come into this race with one arm tied behind your back." How’s
that for convenient rationalization? There is no reason why any sane
American should be very comfortable about the poisonous and corrupting
amount of corporate money dumped into Clinton’s campaign.
In examining
media coverage of Kennedy’s endorsement of Clinton I could find
no references to his earlier critical remarks of Democrats and the corporatist
plutocracy. But people commenting on the New York Times article often
were aghast at his endorsement, noting that it would have made much
more sense for him to endorse Obama or Edwards. Bloggers, so far, have
also not been critical of the Kennedy endorsement. The progressive community
seems frozen by self-delusion and unwilling to criticize their adored
Kennedy.
Here is my
take: Hillary Clinton represents the worst of the Democratic contenders.
She is totally committed to take all the corporate money she can get
and pay whatever that eventually costs, should she become president.
She really is a hawk when it comes to the Iraq war and even voted the
wrong way recently when it comes to Iran. She is incredibly dishonest
and phony. The reason why there are millions of Hillary haters is that
she inspires distrust. A Hillary presidency would pursue corporate globalization
and the terrible trade policies of her husband that has done so much
to destroy America’s middle class. Her views on universal health
coverage do not seem focused on getting rid of all the insurance industry
involvement.
Kennedy’s
endorsement of Hillary just shows how the status quo political establishment
can rig the system to get what it wants. What has Bobby been promised?
Head of the US EPA? Support for replacing Hillary in the Senate? Who
knows? But his endorsement stinks and puts a big blemish on his credibility
and reputation.
[Reach Joel
S. Hirschhorn through www.delusionaldemocracy.com.]
Leave
A Comment
&
Share Your Insights
Comment
Policy
Digg
it! And spread the word!
Here is a unique chance to help this article to be read by thousands
of people more. You just Digg it, and it will appear in the home page
of Digg.com and thousands more will read it. Digg is nothing but an
vote, the article with most votes will go to the top of the page. So,
as you read just give a digg and help thousands more to read this article.