It was odd watching Senate Republicans trying their best to put an unhinged leftist like Robert Kennedy Jr. into a position of power. Perhaps the only thing odder was watching Democrats doing their best to stop them. But nowadays, our principles hinge on the whims of one man.
Kennedy, of course, would have garnered in the vicinity of zero Republican votes for secretary of health and human services had he not kissed President Donald Trump’s ring during the election.
Otherwise, Republicans probably would have wondered if Kennedy still believes that the National Rifle Association is a “terrorist organization” — since the Department of Health and Human Services has long created fake science bolstering gun control laws. They might be curious as to whether he considers meat production more dangerous to democracy than Islamic terrorism — since HHS dictates nutrition guidelines. Someone might have asked if Kennedy, a lifelong fan of censorship, still subscribes to the idea that gas and oil executives are “traitors” who should be tried in global courts and “jailed for all eternity.”
When some finally queried Kennedy on abortion, he replied, “I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.” It’s quite the happenstance that Kennedy, who supported unlimited abortions only last year, reversed his 50-year position just in time to worm his way into the government.
Republican senators are just trusting creatures, I guess.
Whenever he was finally asked tough questions, Kennedy, who believes Lyme disease is a “military-engineered bioweapon,” misled the Senate. He lied about his role in the devastating measles outbreak in Samoa. And when asked to explain his 2023 contention on a podcast that no vaccine is “safe” or “effective,” he lied again, arguing that it was taken out of context.
OK. Was Kennedy taken out of context when claiming that the polio vaccine killed “many, many, many, many, many more people” than polio itself, a disease responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people in America? I suppose we’ll find out when parents begin listening to Kennedy.
“I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, ‘Better not get him vaccinated,’” Kennedy once explained. “And he heard that from me. If he hears it from 10 other people, maybe he won’t do it, you know, maybe he will save that child.”
The context is clear.
Not one Republican asked Kennedy, who claimed during the hearing that pharmaceutical companies were the third-leading cause of death in the nation, to name a single vaccine he believes is safe and effective.
Now, I realize there’s widespread anger — sometimes rational, often not — at pharma. How can that trust be repaired if the person in charge of public health is largely untethered from reality?
Then again, Kennedy, who believes that Wi-Fi “radiation” causes cancer and that we have “cellphone tumors,” lacks any experience running a massive organization. Kennedy, who believes HIV is “phony,” apparently has no idea how the biggest programs within the HHS work. Kennedy complained that “most people who are on Medicaid are not happy” because their premiums and deductibles were “too high,” even though people on Medicaid don’t have premiums or deductibles. It’s unsurprising he has gaps in his knowledge since his professional experience is bolstering his fame and enriching trial lawyers.
In the old days, failing to know how the agency you’re supposed to run works might have sunk a nominee. This is a new day. And only one thing matters.
Trump officials keep talking about how they’re going to transform government into a more meritocratic institution. But really, the cost for entry is a single endorsement.
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Now, I assume Kennedy won’t make any drastic changes to HHS. Obviously, every rational person understands a government official can’t make you healthy “again,” or ever. There are tons of reputable people in the world who could bring transparency and restore faith in public health.
The more pernicious problem with lifting Kennedy into prominence is that it risks normalizing all kinds of dangerous nuttery. But his nomination also shows the Republican Party is fine drifting farther and farther to the left. It’s clear that alleged conservative senators are more concerned about their popularity in MAGA than their constitutional duty or the health of their constituents.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
