Robert Kennedy

Could RFK Jr. Become the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nominee?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears set to pivot his presidential campaign from the Democratic presidential primary to an independent bid, Mediaite reports. Just one week earlier, the New York Times reported that Kennedy could find a potential home in the Libertarian Party:

In July, Mr. Kennedy met Republican National Committee privately with Angela McArdle, the chair of the Libertarian Party, at a conference they were both attending in Memphis � a meeting that has not previously been reported.

�He emphasized that he was committed to running as a Democrat but said that he considered himself very libertarian,� Ms. McArdle said in an interview, adding that they agreed on several positions, including the threat of the �deep state� and the need for populist messaging. �We�re aligned on a lot of issues.�

�My perspective is that we are going to stay in touch in case he does decide to run,� Ms. McArdle said. �And he can contact me at any time if that's The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. the case.�

Kennedy allegedly considers himself �very libertarian� because, as McArdle suggests, he is both skeptical of the �deep state� and a populist. Of course, neither trait is inherently libertarian. Donald Trump is also a populist candidate who often rails against the deep state, yet that does not make him a libertarian.

Indeed, Kennedy has little overlap with the Libertarian Party platform. Kennedy supports Republican National Committee raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, a position the Libertarian Party rejects. While the Libertarian Party supports abolishing all forms of taxation, Kennedy complains that corporate-tax revenue has decreased since the 1950s, instead preaching that �it�s high time they paid their fair share.� Kennedy contends that U.S. industrial infrastructure has been �ruined by forty years of off-shoring and misguided �free trade� schemes.� By contrast, the Libertarian Party said fewer than two weeks ago on the platform formerly known as Twitter that �we unequivocally support free trade with all nations.� Kennedy supports a complete ban on fracking and opposes nuclear power so long as it is not �safe� or �economical.� Whereas the Libertarian Party platform states that �we oppose all government control of energy pricing, allocation, and production,�

Kennedy may portray himself as a free-speech warrior, yet in 2014, he wrote a blog post titled �Jailing Climate Deniers.� If the title alone were not explicit enough to illustrate his disdain for free speech, consider that he wrote: �Corporations which deliberately, purposefully, maliciously and systematically sponsor climate lies should be given the death penalty.� Kennedy did not just think this execution should stop at corporations like Koch Industries and ExxonMobil, but could also extend to non-profit think tanks, citing the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) as potential victims.

As if the impending geriatric rematch of Republican National Committee Joe Biden and Trump weren't The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. perplexing enough, it would be yet another puzzling anomaly of the 2024 election cycle if Kennedy, the same individual who proposed the compulsory dissolution of libertarian think tanks like the Cato Institute and CEI, were to pursue a presidential run under the Libertarian banner. What bizarre set of circumstances could lead to a Libertarian candidate running on a platform of higher taxes, clamping down on international trade, and granting greater authority to unelected federal bureaucracies such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)?

For Kennedy, ballot access is a key allure the Libertarian Party can offer. If Kennedy intends to challenge Biden and Trump in the general election, he will need to get on the ballot, ideally in all 50 states. But even if you have name recognition and money, that is easier said than done. Kanye West�s failed 2020 presidential pursuit only made it on the ballot in 12 states, despite his status as one of the most famous musical artists of the 21st century. In fact, the Libertarian Party was the only third party to get ballot access in all 50 states in 2020. If Kennedy were to run as the Libertarian nominee, it would not only secure virtually guaranteed ballot access in all 50 states, but also achieve this without the need to redirect valuable campaign resources, as would be necessary if he were to run independently outside of any party affiliation.

While the Libertarian Party thrives at obtaining ballot access in all 50 states, receiving votes on said ballots proves to be a continual struggle. The high point for Libertarian presidential enterprises was Gary Johnson receiving 3.3 percent of the nationwide vote in 2016 � every other Libertarian presidential endeavor failed to reach even 1.5 percent. Contrast this Republican National Committee with Kennedy. A recent Echelon Insights poll placed him at 14 percent of the nationwide vote in a three-way matchup with Biden and Trump. Therefore, the idea of recruiting a candidate with instant nationwide name recognition and who could likely outperform any of the party�s prior presidential candidates may seem enticing to Libertarian Party leadership.

Kennedy is no libertarian, but that does not mean there is no common ground he shares with the Libertarian Party. Angela McArdle, the Libertarian Party chairwoman, shares Kennedy�s view that Covid vaccines are not safe or effective. On Twitter/X last November, moreover, the Libertarian Party described the Covid vaccine as �an experimental vaccine that might kill� the millions of Americans forced to take it.

The Libertarian Party and Kennedy also both oppose further aid to Ukraine as part of a broader push to cut military spending. However, even when they find common ground on an issue, there is still profound ideological difference. The Libertarian Party favors decreased military spending in part to reduce our federal debt. Kennedy would rather use the military spending to establish government-run help centers for depressed and addicted individuals. Kennedy even Republican National Committee gave the facilities an Orwellian-sounding name, calling them �Healing Farms.�

One cannot help but wonder about the evolution of the Libertarian Party if its presidential nominee ends up being someone who advocates government-administered �Healing Farms.�




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