Before Bobby Kennedy chose Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, I thought sure he would try to win the Libertarian Party nomination. That would get him on the ballot in all 50 states. Otherwise there is no way he makes it on all.
Now I am not so sure he will go Libertarian. Nicole Shanahan is no Libertarian. Just the opposite. “I think that a lot of libertarians are a little bit confused over why he chose Nicole Shanahan. I’m sure she’s a lovely person, but she doesn’t necessarily fit into alignment with any of our views,” Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle said in an interview.
While Bobby Kennedy made a stir when he attended the state Libertarian Party convention here in California a few weeks ago, that was before his selection of “lovely person” Nicole Shanahan. At that time Jesse Ventura was in the running as VP, and he’s a solid libertarian choice. No more.
There are already 34 candidates for the Libertarian Party nomination, to be decided by delegate vote at the national convention in Washington DC in two months. I didn’t recognize any names on the list except Jon Stewart, and he’s not the comedian (though he once was a professional wrestler, a la Jesse Ventura). Bobby Kennedy would likely take the convention by storm if he wanted to.
The main black mark against Bobby Kennedy is his support of Israel against the Palestinians in the Gaza War. That’s a big issue for Libertarians. Libertarianish senator Rand Paul was famously the only senator last October to refuse to cosponsor a resolution supporting Israel. 99 to 1.
If Bobby Kennedy wants to go Libertarian, he’ll have to make some compromises. Nicole Shanahan will too. Will they want to? I doubt it.
Even if they did, the Libertarian Party nomination might cost the two of them the very voters they seem to be courting — liberal women and the like. So I think it’s unlikely they will take the needed steps. But time will tell.
That’s a good question. I don’t have a good answer. Nor does anyone else seem to. Bobby Kennedy is a quirky candidate, with no experience in business or government, so it’s hard to see why he has any appeal to anyone. Obviously, though, he does.
The only threats, as I see it, are in the battleground states. In California, I may throw my vote to RFKjr just because. If only between Biden or Trump, I’d pick the latter, and I speak as a lifelong progressive blue Dem—prior to 2020, anyway. There are things I like about A Trump and things I like about Kennedy, but there’s pretty much zilch I like about Biden. No surprise, since I find the entire Democratic Party has lost their ever-loving minds.
Mr Dangar – RFK has been an incredibly successful litigator and activist and has won billions of dollars of settlements. He is a very intelligent, knowledgeable and capable person.
I was convinced he was a bigger threat to the Republicans because of his Libertarian streak drawing a big chunk of the GOP base, but since he chose the leftist Shanahan, I’m flummoxed. To me he sold out any appeal at all that he had to conservative voters. He is now going to draw many center-left Democrats who are fed up with the lies and mismanagement of the Biden White House. IMHO, this was deliberate. I was becoming something of a believer in RFK Jr, but now I think his candidacy is a deliberate torpedo to sink Biden in 2024. Whatever else, it’s huge fun!
Libertarian- where everyone is a chief and there are no workers.
Libertarian- political Scientology
John Murray
1 month ago
RFK Jr is not remotely libertarian; the article is really grasping at straws.
Also, the last I heard the Libertarian Party has been taken over by a fairly hardcore crew who thought Gary Johnson was too much of a squish. Hard to imagine a crowd like that wanting to nominate RFK Jr.
Before Bobby Kennedy chose Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, I thought sure he would try to win the Libertarian Party nomination. That would get him on the ballot in all 50 states. Otherwise there is no way he makes it on all.
Now I am not so sure he will go Libertarian. Nicole Shanahan is no Libertarian. Just the opposite. “I think that a lot of libertarians are a little bit confused over why he chose Nicole Shanahan. I’m sure she’s a lovely person, but she doesn’t necessarily fit into alignment with any of our views,” Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle said in an interview.
While Bobby Kennedy made a stir when he attended the state Libertarian Party convention here in California a few weeks ago, that was before his selection of “lovely person” Nicole Shanahan. At that time Jesse Ventura was in the running as VP, and he’s a solid libertarian choice. No more.
There are already 34 candidates for the Libertarian Party nomination, to be decided by delegate vote at the national convention in Washington DC in two months. I didn’t recognize any names on the list except Jon Stewart, and he’s not the comedian (though he once was a professional wrestler, a la Jesse Ventura). Bobby Kennedy would likely take the convention by storm if he wanted to.
The main black mark against Bobby Kennedy is his support of Israel against the Palestinians in the Gaza War. That’s a big issue for Libertarians. Libertarianish senator Rand Paul was famously the only senator last October to refuse to cosponsor a resolution supporting Israel. 99 to 1.
If Bobby Kennedy wants to go Libertarian, he’ll have to make some compromises. Nicole Shanahan will too. Will they want to? I doubt it.
Even if they did, the Libertarian Party nomination might cost the two of them the very voters they seem to be courting — liberal women and the like. So I think it’s unlikely they will take the needed steps. But time will tell.
Do you think Kennedy is a bigger threat to the Dems or Republicans? I can’t figure that part out.
That’s a good question. I don’t have a good answer. Nor does anyone else seem to. Bobby Kennedy is a quirky candidate, with no experience in business or government, so it’s hard to see why he has any appeal to anyone. Obviously, though, he does.
The only threats, as I see it, are in the battleground states. In California, I may throw my vote to RFKjr just because. If only between Biden or Trump, I’d pick the latter, and I speak as a lifelong progressive blue Dem—prior to 2020, anyway. There are things I like about A Trump and things I like about Kennedy, but there’s pretty much zilch I like about Biden. No surprise, since I find the entire Democratic Party has lost their ever-loving minds.
Mr Dangar – RFK has been an incredibly successful litigator and activist and has won billions of dollars of settlements. He is a very intelligent, knowledgeable and capable person.
I was convinced he was a bigger threat to the Republicans because of his Libertarian streak drawing a big chunk of the GOP base, but since he chose the leftist Shanahan, I’m flummoxed. To me he sold out any appeal at all that he had to conservative voters. He is now going to draw many center-left Democrats who are fed up with the lies and mismanagement of the Biden White House. IMHO, this was deliberate. I was becoming something of a believer in RFK Jr, but now I think his candidacy is a deliberate torpedo to sink Biden in 2024. Whatever else, it’s huge fun!
Libertarian- where everyone is a chief and there are no workers.
Libertarian- political Scientology
RFK Jr is not remotely libertarian; the article is really grasping at straws.
Also, the last I heard the Libertarian Party has been taken over by a fairly hardcore crew who thought Gary Johnson was too much of a squish. Hard to imagine a crowd like that wanting to nominate RFK Jr.