On September 29, the very pro-Biden Mediaite site headlined and reported with hostility toward RFK Jr., “EXCLUSIVE: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Planning to Announce Independent Run”. Then, on October 4, RFK Jr.’s Presidential campaign announced that on October 9 he “will make a historic announcement in Philadelphia, where he will share a vision of a profound realignment of American politics.” On many occasions recently, Kennedy has stated that the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) are running one campaign — the DNC is effectively being run by Biden — and are blocking him from even a possibility of winning the Democratic Party’s nomination, such as by their changing the Party’s rules so that in Georgia, for example, every vote for Kennedy will instead be counted as being a vote for Biden.
However, the most detailed explanation of what’s happening has been posted by the People’s Party, which is gearing up to assist the campaign of RFK Jr., and which had headlined on September 28, “Majority of Americans Support RFK Jr. Running as an Independent”. They reported there the results of an Ipsos poll of 1,000 Americans during September 15-18 which found that “If the 2024 presidential election was held today between these candidates, who would you vote for?” was answered 39% for Trump, 38% for Biden, and 17% for RFK Jr. if he runs as an independent. 17% is exceptionally strong for any candidate other than a current or former U.S. President at so early a time in the campaign-season. The People’s Party noted that “Polling at 17% would qualify him to participate in the general election debates if the major parties used the traditional 15% threshold.” Furthermore: if the 2024 final election will instead be only between Trump and Biden, then the result would be 45% Trump and 44% Biden; so, Trump was 1% ahead of Biden in each of those two hypothetical situations. The People’s Party also reported there that:
The Democratic Party is a dead end for Kennedy’s campaign. An incumbent president has never lost a party primary. In 2017, the DNC stated in court that its presidential primaries are a charade and that it picks the nominees. It stated that, as a private corporation, it is under no obligation to be impartial or follow its own rules. The court upheld this argument.
Furthermore, the DNC and the Biden campaign are essentially the same entity. Biden appointed DNC Chair Jamie Harrison, who is shutting down debates and rearranging the primary schedule according to Biden’s wishes. In February, the entire DNC unanimously endorsed Biden. The president’s campaign dictates the rules of the primary and can change them at will. At the convention, the party can even choose a nominee who didn’t run in the primary, as it did in 1968. This means that even if Biden dropped out, the DNC would still install someone like Gavin Newsom [i.e., a Biden-clone].
The Biden campaign is also the biggest donor to the DNC. Donations to the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee with the DNC, financially sustain the party. It brings in hundreds of millions of dollars from big donors that flow to the DNC, all fifty state party organizations, and their vast array of staff, consulting firms, and vendors. The entire party ecosystem and everyone who profits from it would collapse if the party nominated Kennedy. This is why the party rigged the election against Bernie twice and why it will never choose RFK Jr. The party would rather lose with an establishment candidate who keeps the corporate money flowing than win with a populist.
RFK Jr. is the only current or possible U.S. Presidential candidate who even conceivably could win the U.S. Presidency on the basis of his personal brand instead of on the basis of one of the two Parties’ brand.
Likely the biggest challenge that RFK Jr., will face will be obtaining ballot access in each of the 50 states for his name to be appearing as one of the options that will be presented to voters on the ballot’s Presidential line.
This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
