thependulumswings

Coincidences?  Plenty.  Deja vu?  All over again.  Reality?  Sinking in.

Netflix is very good at docuseries.  They released a solid one in 2018 called Bobby Kennedy for President.  It has more viewers now than it did then.  It chronicles the then New York Senator Robert Kennedy’s life and philosophies prior to him running, running, the tragic ending, and its aftermath in the tumultuous mid-60s.

One-half of a century has passed.  One of his sons, Robert Kennedy Jr, was 14 then.  He’s 69 now.  Last evening he participated in a town hall setting on Fox’s Hannity show discussing his philosophies and beliefs as he is a candidate for President in 2024.

Senior traveled to California to support Cesar Chavez, an American labor leader and civil rights activist.  He walked the streets of very rural East Kentucky, the backwoods of Mississippi, and the streets of LA post-Watts riots.  In short, he connected with the people in the street who felt disconnected.

Those were very divided times.  His brother President John was killed in Dallas.  Malcolm X was assassinated in New York.  Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis.  America was spending a fortune in lives and dollars in a war that it could not win in the jungles of Vietnam.

Junior lamented last evening about how divided we are today, exclaiming that, while a bit more civil, we are every bit as divided today.  He went on to question why we are in a war (by proxy including plenty of $) with Russia when we need so many wrongs made right here at home.

Senior built a nationally organized grassroots campaign in a sense.  Junior is forced into a similar route as the DNC decided to shut down its nomination process to protect one Joesph Biden.

Bobby had plenty of momentum, winning the California Primary moments before walking into a hotel kitchen that he would not walk out of.  He very likely would have faced Nixon.

Robert Jr. seems like he is gaining momentum by the day.  He’s direct, studied, and wants “to tell America the truth.”  He has many beliefs that are conservative as well.  His dad had a few, too.

Both father and son were/are Democrats.  But, you sense that they decide to take stances on issues one by one through careful consideration, not just following party lines and espousing careless rhetoric.

Both decided to run against sitting presidents in their own party running for reelection.   Senior v Lyndon Baines Johnson and Junior v Biden.

In the summer of 1968, the war seemed more futile than ever. Johnson’s approval rating fell into the mid-30s, the approval for his handling of Vietnam even lower.  He was battling significant, though some undisclosed, health problems as well.

LBJ shocked the globe in 1968. He ended a Sunday night TV speech with, “Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”

Will Biden actually run in 2024?  His approval ratings are woeful as well.  His handling of Ukraine v Russia isn’t good either.  His health?  Most would agree that physically he’s better off than he is mentally, but that says little.  And little is what his handlers continue to try to get him to say.

The DNC, try as it might, did not close the door.  The RNC should be shown the door.

Obama in 2008 and Trump in 2016 came from almost nowhere.

History might be our best teacher.

Deja vu?