For RFK Jr., “Apolitical” is Leftist

Dear Mr. Kennedy,
In the last issue of the Brown Spectator, I wrote a piece about you, titled “RFK, Jr.: Another Joke from the Kennedy Family.” I was even lucky enough to have my article make the front cover. And how fortuitous the placement of that article was, seeing as you gave the keynote address at Parents Weekend. When you delivered your address on 20 October, I sat quietly in Sayles Hall, watching the simulcast that was sent from the Salomon Center. I could not help but smile wryly in response to your address. Heck, that night I heard the best joke of my life when you said, “I won’t be political.”

Mr. Kennedy, you are still a joke to me, so fret not. However, your statement that you would not be political trumps the ridiculousness of your own personal character. You are incapable of offering anything other than an extreme leftist tilt. Take this one statement that you, the Spin Doctor, offered: “[The Bush Administration] is the worst environmental Whitehouse that we’ve had in history.” Interesting, Comrade Kennedy, very interesting.

Alright, that’s it, no more sarcastic humor on my part—I’m going to let loose. Mr. Kennedy, it really is a shame that Senator Joseph McCarthy was before your time. You would have been a great media relations assistant to the Senator, as you surely have a knack for spinning the truth to conform to your views. You are a man of half-truths, which makes you appealing to some, but diabolical to those who recognize the actual truth.

I label you as a man of half-truths because your cause is just. Protecting the environment is critical to our national well-being, let alone our spiritual well-being. I am a Christian, too, Mr. Kennedy, and so I am well aware that the environment, God’s creation, merits the utmost protection. You know, my favorite President is actually Theodore Roosevelt, a man for whom protection of the environment was second in importance only to morality. Consequently, I agree with you in your assertion that the environment deserves our strongest protections.

President Bush agrees with you, too. On 30 May 2001, at the Sequoia National Park in California, Bush remarked:

“Our duty is to use the land well, and sometimes, not to use it at all. This is our responsibility as citizens; but, more than that, it is our calling as stewards of the Earth. Good stewardship of the environment is not just a personal responsibility, it is a public value. Americans are united in the belief that we must preserve our natural heritage and safeguard the land around us.”

President Bush is dedicated to the protection of the environment, but he is not about to skew the facts to delude people into a utopian view of reality, like you, Mr. Kennedy. You exhibit the same feeble-minded ignorance that plagues your uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).

Your Uncle likes to spin the facts as well. For example, he supports the minimum wage and even does a good job of making a raise in the minimum wage seem like a good idea. But his rhetoric is an illusion because simple economics dictates that a higher minimum age actually hurts the economy by causing unemployment, needlessly diverting money from production, and giving unearned benefits.

Just as your Uncle distorts the truth about the minimum wage, you twist the facts on the environment. You advocate a radical approach to the environment that will actually cause harm to the environment. There, I said it. Mr. Kennedy, your fanaticism, based on ideology and not facts, is what truly harms the environment. Further, your seeming disregard for the disastrous effect that unnecessary environmental regulations have on the American people and the economy is a cause for concern.

Now, back to your leftist tilt. At some point in your keynote rant, you claimed that “Republicans are just Democrats who don’t know what’s going on.” That is an intriguing assessment, Mr. Kennedy, especially considering your earlier statement that you would be apolitical. If you are the standard by which Republican knowledge should be judged, I fear for the environmental policy of our country. Why should people place any faith in what you say about the environment when you have made a career out of slanting the truth?

So many more parties deserve rebuke, in addition to the “esteemed” Mr. Kennedy. Director of Government Relations and Community Affairs, Timothy Leshan, is one such person, as is the event organizer who aided in Leshan’s attempt to censor. You see, on the night of Kennedy’s address, two editors from the Brown Spectator handed out copies of the journal to attendees of the lecture. Though Editor-in-Chief Pratik Chougule stated that no one interfered with his distribution of the journal, Managing Editor Jason Carr recounted that both Leshan and the event organizer tried to stop him from distributing the journal. Here is Carr’s account of the events of that night:

“I was approached first by a woman who appeared to be the event organizer while I was handing out copies of the Spectator to incoming parents in Salomon. The woman asked that I stop distributing, telling me that she was going to call a dean of some sort about the matter. I asked if there were any specific rules that would prohibit my speech in this venue; she provided none but still asked me to stop on the grounds of ‘respect.’ A few moments later I was approached by a man who identified himself as ‘Brown’s Director of Government Affairs.’ He, acknowledging that there was nothing to prohibit my distribution, echoed the event organizer, asking that I stop out of ‘courtesy.’ I responded with, ‘As long as there is no specific rule against my being here, I think I’ll put my ass on the line on this one.’ ”

Brown’s response was typical. The University attempted to thwart the exercise of free speech, simply because the free speech in question was critical of the demagogical RFK, Jr. That is really all that I have to say on the matter, as the censorship of ideas speaks for itself, and for the character of the Brown officials who would attempt to shield such a man as RFK, Jr. from criticism. I also ask that my readers note an important and telling detail—Director Leshan would not agree to an interview. He then directed me to Media Relations Director Molly de Ramel, who said that the University would not comment on the incident. I wonder why…

Mr. Kennedy compares OUR PRESIDENT to a fascist and I for one will not tolerate such an egregious distortion of reality. The only thing that I regret about Pratik and Jason’s actions is that I was not with them. Men like RFK, Jr. must be knocked off of their pedestals of self-constructed power. We must all stand together and denounce this man for what he truly is—a liar who tells lies in order to effect his own greater glory. Kennedy is selfish and inimical to democracy. He must be unseated from his position of influence. Let us all join together in this pursuit.