The Kennedy name is again center stage, and we’re about to find out if any political courage remains among the storm-battered descendants of Camelot.
No, I am not referring to President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the conniving RFK Jr. Rather, those siblings (10 of them) must now confront this generation of Kennedys’ most significant test. For they are his enablers, and I use that term as it’s often used by health professionals (note the irony): a person who facilitates, perhaps unintentionally, the destructive activity of a loved one.
Let’s be clear. There is only one reason RFK Jr. enjoys any political clout — the inherited celebrity and trickle-down credibility derived from the laudable accomplishments of his father and uncles John and Ted. The family name is his only strength. He’s impotent without it.
And, as wielded by Junior, the Kennedy family name is a loaded weapon soon to be deployed for purposes likely to cause great damage.
So far, the Kennedy siblings have been content to issue bitter denunciations, using harsh language to condemn their brother’s various campaigns.
That isn’t enough. The threat is too significant. Tossing spitballs from the safety of the sideline does not absolve an enabler (legally or otherwise) when severe harm to human beings is imminent. Especially if that enabler is in a position to prevent the damage.
As was demonstrated earlier this year with the Oxford Township, Michigan prosecution that convicted the parents of school shooter Ethan Crumble of involuntary manslaughter (and more recently with the indictment of the father of Georgia school shooter Colt Gray), family members who fail to act with appropriate regard for the lurking potential for violence can be found guilty as accessories.
So, too, these progeny of Camelot.
As a concerned citizen and lifelong Democrat, mainly of the grassroots volunteer variety, I never imagined myself giving a motivational pep talk to members of the gilded Kennedy clan. They need it, so here it goes.
Get active on Capitol Hill. Pressure members of Congress to oppose your brother’s nomination (yes, your Kennedy name will open doors). Blitz media outlets with candid accounts of your brother’s lifelong recklessness and abuse of privilege. Should that come to pass, appear as star witnesses at the Senate confirmation hearing to provide testimony in support of nationwide vaccination programs and, most especially, a vigorous FDA.
It would be thrilling, for example, to hear a Kennedy family member (cousins also eligible) read aloud from Sen. Ted Kennedy’s statement in support of the 2007 Food and Drug Amendments Act.
“Every day, families across America rely on the Food and Drug Administration in ways they barely realize. When they put dinner on the table, they are counting on FDA to see that it is free from contamination. When they care for a sick child, they are trusting the FDA to make sure the drugs prescribed are safe and effective. From pacemakers to treatments for cancer to the foods we eat, the FDA protects the health of millions of Americans, and oversees products that account for a quarter of the U.S. economy.”
Profiles in Courage time, Kennedy siblings.
The clock is ticking. The nation is watching. Show folks what you’re made of. Do the right thing. As your father, a gun violence victim, would urge you to do. Disarm that dangerous brother of yours. Before it’s too late.
