Independents

RFK Jr. thirsts after Kamala meet

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently tried to arrange a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the possibility of serving in her administration, offering to drop out of the 2024 race in exchange for a position as cabinet secretary.   Kennedy’s campaign manager, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, told ABC News the Kennedy campaign had yet to hear back from Harris. RFK’s attempt to meet with Harris comes after the candidate met with former president Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month, where he offered a similar deal that resulted in no agreement. Kennedy spoke about advising Trump in a second term on health and medical issues.

rfk

RFK goes it alone in Philadelphia

Had you blindfolded me yesterday morning, led me to the front lawn of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, removed my blinder and asked me to guess where we were, I would have said, “A James Taylor benefit concert for NPR.” In the crowd on this sunny fall day was a heavy contingent of the boomer delegation, of various stripes and checks. There were even some traditional tweed, and, with blazers out in full force, on both men and women, paired mostly with denim — though late-season red chinos and season-rushing corduroys were on display, too — and invariably some statement eyewear, leather dress shoes, and baseball caps keeping flowy silver hair tamed and sun-spotted skin safe. It was plain from their collective style that this group was at least self-aware.

rfk

The battle cry of the politically homeless

Like millions of other Americans, I’m exhausted. But I’m not tired from #Resisting or tired from screaming at a MAGA rally. I’m tired of the toxic tribalism infecting the very foundations of our democracy, straining our relationships, and poisoning our view of our fellow humans. I’m tired of everyone being outraged, getting worked up over the latest news cycle only to forget about it two hours later. Tired of being afraid to voice my own opinions, of knowing how saying the wrong thing at a barbecue while someone is filming on their iPhone could result in a nationwide clarion call for my head on a pike. I’m tired of rage mobs and cancelations. 2016 was the breaking point, or at least a watershed moment, when the vilification of diverse opinion exploded.

politically homeless