Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Robert F. Kennedy. I believe he would have won the 1968 Presidental election if he had not been assassinated. I try to imagine sometimes how different our country would be today if our great leaders like RFK had been allowed to live. We would be better off, I am sure. The eulogy Ted Kennedy gave his brother, Robert, is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard. Listen to it when you have time. RIP, Bobby.
I didn't like him then nor now. As involved with anti Vietnam war efforts everyone expected RFK to challenge LBJ. He did not. He claimed he did not want to split the party And Senator Eugene McCarthy came in and after better than expected New Hampshire primary, LBJ dropped out. Then RFK reaccessed and was willing to split the "Peace Vote". His followers were not that committed to the Peace Vote as their activities after the assassination demonstrates. So, we got Humphrey. RFK was not JFK!
I wasn't aware of all these things. I was only 13 years old when RFK was assassinated. What I remember about him was his sincere compassion and empathy for poor, suffering people. The only thing RFK did that disappointed me, was when he put the wiretaps on Martin Luther King's telephones. I'm sure he only did it under pressure from the folks who hated King. He might have been as great as JFK, if he'd lived long enough.
Yes, Eugene McCarthy, the senior senator from Minnesota gets very little "remembering". As for RFK, there were reasons he was termed, "Rat Fink Kennedy". He could be as vicious as Senator Joe McCarthy, no relation to Eugene, or even J. Edgar Hoover. He was less of a saint than most. Some said it was because he was compensating for being the runt of the Kennedy-s. It amazes me how poor people, and people of color involve themselves with a candidate who really never did anything for their needs. Ref.: Obama, Hillary. Group loyalty. Don't involve them with facts. Lost in future history will be candidate Trump saying to a group of Black people they should try vote GOP and see because the Democrats have only given them "words not deeds". Now Black unemployment is at a historical low while Trump got a pittance of their vote.
I find it interesting how on one hand people will say, "Why do you poor people vote for Democrats? They don't do anything for you". Then in the next breath they will say, "The Democrats are buying poor people's votes with welfare, food stamps, Section 8 housing and Obama phones". Which is it? Are they giving their votes away or are they being compensated?
