Well...I'm sure you can name many politicians that have hailed from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
One name in particular dominates them all.
KENNEDY.
Multiple generations of the Kennedy family have served the people at the local and national level. Did you know, for example, that John F. Kennedy's grandfather was
once Mayor of Boston? In more recent times, Joseph P. Kennedy II was a member of Congress - and resigned in order to found a local home heating fuel charity, called "Citizens Energy", which he still runs.
But then we have Joe's older brother. Named for their father, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Having such a revered name and family lineage would seem like a golden ticket to a bright future.
Except, he's a complete fascist. So much so that he has zero credibility here in Boston, and in fact,
much of his family has disowned both him and his policies.
In the last two weeks, boldfaced names like Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and Alicia Silverstone have voiced their support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s getting-harder-to-ignore-by-the-day run for president. This might sound impressive, particularly if you haven’t been paying attention to how Musk, Dorsey, and Silverstone’s public personas have evolved in recent years. But as Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to challenge President Biden to be the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election picks up steam, it’s also worth noticing what notable names are missing from his corner: That would be literally any others that also end in Kennedy.
In fact, various news outlets have been reporting all spring about how “disgusted” most of the Kennedys are by their brother/cousin/uncle’s decision to oppose Biden. Why does he have so little support among his family members? It’s pretty simple: As the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy Jr.’s name and connection to his family’s political dynasty are his biggest assets. But he doesn’t actually share most of the Kennedy clan’s mainstream Democratic politics. Instead, his beliefs pretty plainly diverge into conspiracy theories and anti-vax rhetoric. You might call him a KINO. Politico went with “black sheep.”
A sampling of these beliefs? He thinks the pandemic originated at a U.S.-funded lab in China, he thinks 5G networks are killing us, he thinks the 2004 presidential election was stolen from John Kerry … and so on. He’s so far gone that he was suspended from Instagram in 2021 for spreading vaccine misinformation, though he was recently reinstated. But despite holding these fringe positions, Kennedy Jr.’s attempt to trade on his name appears to be working: He’s polling as high as 20 percent among Democratic voters, though as my colleague Jim Newell has explained, many of them may not know the extent to which he’s fallen off the deep end. Kennedy Jr. is also a popular figure on the right, though it’s unclear how sincere Republicans’ embrace of him has been.
Kennedy Jr. is well aware that he and his family aren’t on the same page: At a press conference in April, he said, “My whole family, including myself, have long personal relationships with President Biden … and many of them just plain disagree with me on issues like censorship and war and public health. They are entitled to their beliefs … and I love them back.” Still, he clearly knows how compelling his name alone is to voters. Why else would Kennedy, as CNN pointed out, choose to launch his presidential campaign in Boston, a city he’s never lived in, other than to emphasize his deep connection to Kennedy country?
On some level, Kennedy Jr. might be used to family strife by now. His family has been opposed to his views—going so far as to write op-eds against them at times—for a long time now. Even his own wife has had to distance herself. Last year, Curb Your Enthusiasm actress Cheryl Hines, who is Kennedy’s third wife, “expressed disapproval of his anti-vaccine beliefs … after he compared the plight of an anti-vaxxer to the plight of Anne Frank in Nazi Germany,” People reported. Hines does, however, support Kennedy Jr.’s presidential run. At least he has her—Politico reported that “just a smattering of his children and grandchildren showed up” when he launched his presidential campaign earlier this year. In addition to political differences, Kennedy Jr. has inspired interfamily ire over advocating for the release of his father’s convicted killer, Sirhan Sirhan, from prison.
It is even more unfortunate that
he seems to be polling reasonably well, were he to actually challenge Joe Biden. But you cannot discount the intelligence of the average American voter, or in this case - the complete lack thereof.
A recent Economist/YouGov poll shows Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with a significantly higher favorability rating than President Joe Biden. The survey found 49 percent of respondents expressed a positive view of Kennedy, while 30 percent held an unfavorable opinion of him, giving Kennedy a net favorable rating of 19 points. Biden on the other hand holds a favorability rating of minus 11 points.
This comes on top of a recent Emerson Poll showing Kennedy at 15% among Democratic primary voters, up from 10% two months ago in another poll.
Most troubling for Biden, Kennedy may be able to attract core members of Biden’s base. Polling shows Kennedy is gaining support with minorities, women, and young people, all groups Biden cannot afford to lose.
Fifteen percent of blacks and 13 percent of voters under age 30 say they would support Kennedy in the Democratic primaries against Joe Biden.
In addition, Kennedy’s favorability is highest among black voters. Nearly a quarter of blacks (24%) say they view Kennedy “very favorably” compared to 10% of whites and 16% of Hispanics in the poll. Overall, 62% of blacks view Kennedy either “very favorably” or “somewhat favorably,” giving Kennedy a 44-point favorability rating. Among whites and Hispanics alike Kennedy holds a 24-point net favorability rating.
Kennedy’s favorability ratings are highest among both very young voters and those over age 65. Fifty percent of voters aged 18 to 29 and 49% of voters 65 and above view Kennedy positively. The Democratic contender’s net favorability rating is +27 points with voters under 30 and +12 points with voters over 65.
Lower and middle income voters are Kennedy’s largest supporters, with 49% of those earning less than $50,000 and 51% of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year indicating they have a favorable view of him.
Notably, Trump voters view Kennedy significantly more favorably than Biden voters do, indicating Kennedy is drawing significant support from outside of the Democratic Party. While only 40% of Biden voters view Kennedy favorably, 61% of Trump voters do. Kennedy’s favorability is also highest among Republicans and Independents compared to Democrats. Fifty-six percent of Republicans and 48% of Independents view Kennedy favorability, compared to 44% of Democrats.
When it comes to ideology, Kennedy draws more support from conservatives and moderates than liberals. He is viewed favorably by 56% of conservatives, 54% of moderates and 37% of liberals.
So this is where we are. I wonder, how many Americans of every age, simply hear the name "Kennedy" and assume they know what that means and what a candidate stands for?
They couldn't be more wrong in this case. We may as well just tear up the Constitution and give up - let this experiment come to a close on the eve of our semiquincintennial.
(You could look that one up.

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