Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the maintenance of political will in a long-term struggle
Regarding American climate policy, an American prince detects "treason":
"Get rid of all these rotten politicians that we have in Washington, who are nothing more than corporate toadies," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmentalist author, president of Waterkeeper Alliance and Robert F. Kennedy's son, who grew hoarse from shouting. "This is treason. And we need to start treating them as traitors." (emphasis added)
Actually, as I have reported to the point of tedium, the great political challenge is that the global warming crap-shoot has so far worked out well for most Americans. By and large, our winters have gotten warmer and our summers have not gotten hotter. It is hard to round up votes for personal sacrifice when that is the experience of most Americans. Indeed, since even metaphorical "treason" is to act or advocate against one's national interest, the supporters of Kyoto -- which required massive sacrifice by the United States and none by China, for example -- are arguably more susceptible to Kennedy's charge than the opponents.
Be that as it may, the "climate change" activists use such inflammatory rhetoric against "skeptics" because they are fighting to sustain political will in the service of a costly struggle against a deadly enemy, the results of which struggle are both uncertain and difficult to measure. Their opponents deny that the enemy is deadly, and claim that in any case the costs of the struggle far exceed the threat.
Sound familiar?
12 Comments:
By 
Georg Felis, at
Tue Jul 10, 02:29:00 PM:
Gee, it sounds like RFK jr does not think very much of his Uncle Ted and the booze-swilling leaches that hang out with him.
By 
, at
Tue Jul 10, 04:06:00 PM:
Isn't Robert still living off of trust funds being built by corporate toadies? You know the trust fund that he and Uncle Ted feel should be left to the feds upon death, that is , your trust fund, not his. And of course green wind energy, just not within their view.
By , at
Tue Jul 10, 05:52:00 PM:
If RFK is the Kennedy running th non profit "free oil from Venezuala" group I read that he gets a condo thrown in and $250,000 a year in salary. Isn't it good to see he donates his time to the less fortunate.
By , at
Tue Jul 10, 08:51:00 PM:
Nope, that's Joe, the other worthless demagogue. He's an inescapable presence on TV during the Winter.
As one of the three remaining Republicans in his state, I'm "represented" by Kennedy, Kerry and Barney Frank. Talk about "disenfranchised"...
By Jerub-Baal, at
Tue Jul 10, 10:32:00 PM:
Wait, 'anonymous' at 8:51 is one of the three remaining Republicans in Mass? There's Viking Pundit and I for the other two...
...I'm going to have to have a talk with my wife....
...unless 'anonymous' is my wife....
By TM Lutas, at
Tue Jul 10, 10:51:00 PM:
I think that the reaction so far is all wrong. Please Mr. Kennedy, make a list and tell us who these traitors are. That's what patriots do, right? Accuse people of treason and then get rid of them.
Maybe we can even have a special committee in the House, let's have a snappy, patriotic name to it. How about the House Unamerican Activites Committee. That hasn't been used for a while, right?
It's only a matter of time until JFK Jr. completes his morph into Senator McCarthy. Except there's only one thing missing. Peabody Energy is not International Communism.
By , at
Wed Jul 11, 01:12:00 AM:
Another kennedy brat spewing such redilous banter and from the eco-wacko group WATER KEEPERS ALLIANCE just proves how crazy the whole kennedy clan is getting
By , at
Wed Jul 11, 07:34:00 AM:
Davod - at least I've got Lynch instead of Frank - but RFKJr. must want his uncle to swing first since he personally killed Cape Wind.
By , at
Wed Jul 11, 10:26:00 AM:
RFK Jr. calls us "traitors," while Cindy Sheehan "dreams" of jailing neo-cons and starting a revolution for the "peasants" of American society. Somebody needs to double-check those photos of Sheehan and Hugo Chavez to see if Junior was hiding the background somewhere. Oh, and BTW, I DO question their patriotism. Sincerely, 509th Bob.
By , at
Wed Jul 11, 11:40:00 AM:
IIRC, Senator McCarthy was very tight with RFK Senior and was in fact named godfather to the infant RFK JR. Irony abounds...
By Dawnfire82, at
Wed Jul 11, 09:13:00 PM:
"RFK Jr. calls us "traitors," while Cindy Sheehan "dreams" of jailing neo-cons and starting a revolution for the "peasants" of American society."
Does that remind anyone else of somebody from history? Someone with a big mustache and a penchant for red?
By fmfnavydoc, at
Thu Jul 12, 06:20:00 AM:
Bobby Jr.,
You need to stop getting into Patrick's drug stash and Uncle Teddy's liquor cabinet at the same time...mixing the two does some weird stuff to the human hind
