Episode 147: The Leftist Case for RFK 2024
Added 2023-08-28 13:00:07 +0000 UTCDan Kovalik joins us to talk about the subject of his recent article, “Why We Need RFK, Jr.: Russia, Ukraine & the Slide into Nuclear War.”
Daniel Kovalik is a human rights lawyer, labor rights lawyer and peace activist. He has contributed articles to CounterPunch, The Huffington Post, and TeleSUR. He teaches International Human Rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is the author of several books, including his most recent: Cancel This Book: The Progressive Case Against Cancel Culture. dana
Check out Dan Kovalik's author page at Amazon
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Poster Child" by Mock Orange
Comments
Yeah, it is a mess. The Democratic Party is terrible. I am not sure it even makes sense for RFK Jr to try and win the primary rather than running as an independent. People have all sorts of gripes about RFK, and I also am not perfectly in alignment with him across the board. The problem is that he is the only guy trying to put together a winning coalition so that we don't end up with another dedicated servant of the lawless oligarchy of empire. So whether we look at RFK or covid or Jimmy Dore or those Ukraine protests (CodePink et al essentially protesting the GrayZone protest)....we see a US Left that has been expertly rendered ineffectual by what are (in effect if not design) divide-and-rule tactics. Since the Left is not going to seize state power, coalition building is important. For many on the Left, coalition building = "We are 100% correct and will build a winning coalition as our correctness becomes obvious to more and more people."
Aaron Good
2023-09-04 18:59:27 +0000 UTCNewbie here. I didn't want to listen to this, but I'm so glad I did. I don't mind RFK Jr's vaccine stuff (What the hell do I know about medicine or vaccines?) At this point, I'm pretty open to anything. It was partially Israel that moved me to support Cornel West. But it's also the lasting pain of a shattered worldview. I fell for the Democrats' lies in 2020. I look at RFK Jr and think, "fool me once..." That being said, I appreciate the kind, leftist take on RFK, Jr. But I most loved the exchange about current leftist factions. I started reading and listening to leftist stuff in Nov 2022 after Democrats screwed the rail workers and blamed it on the Republicans. I have no history or economics background. I am so confused by leftist factions. It's nearly impossible to search the internet for (sincere) explanations of why one leftist group says one thing and another says another. I'm here trying to learn what the hell is going on in our country, only to find one leftist shitting on another leftist. For example, I go to the wsws to read a leftist news perspective. I end up finding angry articles vilifying peace rallies, covid lab leak believers and now, the cool dude with the song about wealth and poverty. I mean, what the hell?? This is so f-ing confusing. I don't know how many of these tribal leftists operate in good faith or bad faith, or whether they know something extremely essential that I'm missing. I just spent two weeks binging on Jimmy Dore to figure out why some leftists say Jimmy Dore is bad. So, thank you for this episode and especially for the part about factionalism, because good golly it sure is confusing.
Rachel Winkel
2023-09-04 05:30:02 +0000 UTCWhat do mean "ceding"? When were they ever consulted or ever in a position to influence foreign policy? The Left-most president since FDR was JFK and he was not a Leftist but a New Deal liberal...like Henry Wallace but with a Cold Warrior persona. I'd guess RFK Jr. surmises that Israel is an untouchable orthodoxy that if a politician messes with it, he is harmed more than it could ever benefit him. Whether he is right or wrong, he's not campaigning on reversing US-Israel policy. At that point, one question is: Is there another candidate who can do what RFK Jr won't and reverse US-Israel policy. I would say the answer is obviously no. As such, a question then arises as to whether there are other issues which would make RFK worth supporting. For me, the answer is yes b/c only RFK has sensible polices on Russia/China, US global dominance in general, Wall Street's corruption of domestic policy, censorship, whistle blowers, surveillance, lockdowns, mandates, nuclear weapons, biological weapons--as well as his call for a Truth and Reconciliation process to address the political assassinations of the 1960's. The only other candidate worth considering IMO is West. Since he cannot win, a vote for West is half protest vote and half investment for a future where the a Leftist Green Party might be viable. I personally don't want to play nuclear Russia Roulette for another four years. For that reason--and for the other reasons I list above--I am backing RFK Jr. Even if we think some of his positions and rhetoric are bullshit, I would say that he is motivated by something very righteous. I believe that he would walk over hot coals and broken glass to be able to do exactly what got his father killed: wind down the empire and achieve a measure of justice for JFK (and now RFK). Like his father, he is risking assassination and he knows it. I admire this. I believe that the people on the Left who disregard this or who cannot see it are dangerously myopic. I would add that the Leftist ignorance about the 60's assassination represents a real triumph of the deep state's propaganda and psychological operations. Many Leftists actually get angry if you accuse the US Empire of killing this or that person. I'm trying to contemplate these things sociologically rather than letting them piss me off.
Aaron Good
2023-08-31 21:27:44 +0000 UTCAaron: i have never understood the American Left’s ceding of foreign policy to nuts like Kissinger, Brezhinski, and other “adults” (aka old white men). Foreign policy is my #1 issue. To me, RFK’s position on Israel is a window into an incoherent thought process that calls into question all of his decision-making on all issues. (Not even going to mention vaccines) If you want to call that a “purity test,” go ahead.
Arielle Curtin
2023-08-31 19:38:13 +0000 UTC
