The Speech RFK Jr. Should Give to Live Up to His Name

Two months before his assassination, Robert F. Kennedy gave a brief speech in Phoenix, Arizona, while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president.

“If there is one overriding reality in this country, it is that we must resist any erosion of the sense of national decency,” the March 30, 1968, speech began.

“Make no mistake: decency is at the heart of the problem – and at the heart of this campaign. Poverty is indecent. Illiteracy is indecent.”

The Vietnam War was at its bloody peak, and he continued: “The death or mutilation of brave young men in the swamps of Asia is indecent.”

But the rest of what he had to say applies equally to our current problems.

“It is indecent for a man to work with his back and his hands without hope of seeing his son go to college. It is indecent for a man on the streets of New York or Portland, Detroit or Watts, to give up the only life he will ever have in despair. It is indecent for the best of our young people to be driven to the terrors of drugs and violence, to let their hearts wither with hate.”

And the remedy then was the same as it is today.

“This is a time to create, not destroy. This is a time for men to show decency, not resentment. This is a time to start over. That is why I am running for president, and that is why I am asking for your help.”

On Friday, 56 years after those remarks – and a day after the Democratic convention in Chicago that reaffirmed Kennedy’s principles – his son and namesake is scheduled to deliver a speech about his own presidential bid.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appearance was preceded by a grandiose press release titled “Kennedy Addresses the Nation.”

“Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will address the nation live on Friday about this historic moment and his path forward,” the statement said.

The younger Kennedy should announce his withdrawal from a race in which he has never been more than a spoiled party pooper. He is a reckless anti-vaxxer, prone to conspiracy theories, who has gone against much of what his father stood for. The ultimate betrayal began two months ago, when he entered into discussions with the most dishonorable figure in American politics, someone who is a continuing affront to national decency.

According to CNN and other media reports, Kennedy and Donald Trump have discussed trading their support for a top job in a new administration. Trump has made it clear that he is open to what he has called a “deal” with Kennedy.

“I like him a lot. I respect him a lot,” Trump told CNN. “I probably would if something like that happened. He’s a very different guy, a very smart guy. And yeah, I would certainly be honored by that support.”

Kennedy, who did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast, also reportedly approached Kamala Harris to share his ideas for a similar deal. He was met with silence.

But Trump remains open to a deal, and the two men’s schedules suggest it is at least close to being finalized. Kennedy is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. MT in Phoenix. That’s 20 minutes from Glendale, Arizona, where a Trump rally is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

A Kennedy endorsement – ​​with him close enough to perhaps deliver it in person – would give Trump a much-needed boost after the widespread drama of the Democratic convention in Chicago.

But the proximity of this gathering and its historical context also make the young Kennedy appear as an apostate son.

Five days after Kennedy’s father’s speech in Phoenix in 1968, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Kennedy was campaigning that day in Gary, Indiana, and as riots broke out in other cities, he proved able to calm a restless crowd by quoting his favorite poet, Aeschylus: “In our sleep, the pain that cannot be forgotten falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”

Kennedy continued in his own words: “What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or anarchy; but love and wisdom and compassion for one another, and a sense of justice for those who still suffer in our country, whether they be white or black.”

Because of this decency, Kennedy won the California primary in June. He delivered a triumphant victory speech to a packed ballroom at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

“Now let’s go to Chicago and win this victory!” he urged.

Kennedy then walked away from the podium and began to exit through the kitchen, where a 24-year-old assassin was waiting for him with a stolen revolver. Kennedy never made it to the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, but he was one of the better angels at that year’s gathering.

More than a half-century after his death, Kennedy Sr.’s passion for social justice was as strong as ever, particularly in speeches by former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. But neither they nor anyone else on the podium mentioned the great man’s name.

To have uttered the word “Robert F. Kennedy” would have raised the shameful specter of his son. RFK Jr. could prove himself worthy of his father’s name Friday by using his father’s words and staying true to his vision: decency.

Instead, he will seal his disgrace by allying himself with an enemy – not just of the Democratic Party, but of decency itself.