QUESTION ASKED: Do You Remember 2005?
RFK Jr.’s message is the same one he delivers today. “It’s not all vaccinations,” he told [fellow leftist Jon Stewart on the Daily Show], just the ones that use the substance he deems unsafe. Stewart pushes back, at one point asking why the government would conspire to suppress his arguments, even at the price of public health. RFK, Jr. responds. And so on and so forth. Which is to say: The entire interview is driven by curiosity and good faith and ends with respect: “It’s a remarkable story,” Stewart says. “I wish we had more time, but I appreciate you getting the word out and I know parents of kids with autism truly appreciate it. I know it’s a very difficult thing for them to be dealing with, so I’m sure they appreciate the help and support.”
That was 18 years ago.
Back then, the very same ideas, expressed the very same way, earned RFK Jr. a friendly, measured spot on the nation’s hottest television program. Today, it brings him smug condescension and often vicious contempt, from The New York Times announcement of his run for president informing readers that his campaign would be “built on re-litigating Covid-19 shutdowns and shaking Americans’ faith in science” to the Center for Countering Digital Hate placing him on its “Disinformation Dozen” list and demanding that his social media accounts be blocked. “He’s a crazy conspiracy theorist,” Times opinion columnist Farhad Manjoo shot back at someone on Twitter who dared to wonder why RFK Jr. might deserve attention, the smear rolling off Manjoo’s keyboard with the ease of someone receiving talking points from the Politburo instead of doing the work of having thoughts of his own.
What changed?
It’s a vitally important question for anyone wishing to understand our current collective lunacy, so let’s take the scientific approach.
In 2020, the left got their chance to bring out their inner fascists, and they liked that feeling — a lot:
This is the best video I’ve seen on @twitter. Watch it. Have any of these people apologized for being 100% wrong on covid and “the science?” Trust me, watch it: pic.twitter.com/NnsmOCMMsT
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 24, 2023
(P)resident Biden’s White House is still channeling the spirit of 2020 today: WH Brings Back Face Masks, Social Distancing for the Unvaccinated.
Speaking of which, RFK Jr. is performing an important function today: RFK Jr.’s Success Is Forcing the Media to Acknowledge COVID Vaccine Skeptics on the Left.