Send in your questions for RFK Jr.

[RFKJrNews]

What would you ask Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a candidate for president in 2008?

Want to find out his ideas on ending the Iraq war? The immigration crisis? The economy? Healthcare? Food and product safety? The erosion of our freedoms? It's up to you. Let him know what's on your mind!

We are in the process of requesting an interview with Mr. Kennedy in hopes that he will share with potential supporters his position on the issues of greatest concern to voters.

Currently, we are assembling a list of questions, and welcome your input. Let us know what you’d like to ask RFK Jr. by posting a comment on our new VOTER QUESTIONS page below:

http://rfkin2008.wordpress.com/voter-questions/

Please keep your questions focused on his potential candidacy and the issues only.

This is your opportunity to ask RFK Jr. about his thoughts on America’s future, and if he will take on the greatest of burdens and run - for all of us.

While we cannot guarantee that Mr. Kennedy will grant the interview or be able to answer each question personally, we will forward ALL of your questions to him for consideration.

Also, please take a moment to sign our online petition to draft Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run for the White House.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/RFKin2008/

We need to show Bobby our support NOW, before it is too late for him to enter the race. So be sure to sign the petition and let him know that we’ll go “all the way with RFK” in 2008!

[Phrogman]

1. I don't need to ask Bobby Jr. anything, if he's running he's got my vote.

big time!
rec and kick!

[saltpoint]

2. I sure do like the energy this man has contributed to our national public life.

And there'd be a no-bullshit zone around an RFK Jr. candidacy.

Also it would throw a startling shock into the current campaign -- and I'm just talking on our side, nevermind the Pukes' side. I get an image of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. debating a hapless fool like Mitt Romney and wow, does that pack a punch.

[RFKJrNews]

3. The no-bullshit zone.

Posted by Old Crusoe
<<<And there'd be a no-bullshit zone around an RFK Jr. candidacy.

Also it would throw a startling shock into the current campaign -- and I'm just talking on our side, nevermind the Pukes' side. I get an image of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. debating a hapless fool like Mitt Romney and wow, does that pack a punch. >>>

I think you're on to something there, OC. New campaign slogan?

Makes me want to print up some RFK t-shirts with "CAUTION: You're entering a no-bullshit zone!" printed on the backside. How about boxer shorts?:)

That's what I love most about Bobby. He's not taking any shite from anybody! RFK Jr. won't be bullied, intimidated, or corrupted.

And wouldn't it be a refreshing change of pace after 8 years of the Bush Reich to have a President who does NOT bully, intimidate, or corrupt everyone he comes in contact with?

Yeah, I'd love to see him KO Mitt Romney in a debate. What fun!!!

Imagine him going up against Rudy on the environment and 9/11. (If you've ever heard him talk about Rudy on his radio show, you *know* he's got some pretty strong words for the former mayor of NYC)...

[saltpoint]

9. Hey there, RFKin2008. Good morning and Happy September.

Your juxtaposition of Rudy Giuliani, American's Thug, and an evolved public servant like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is striking not only politically (agree that RFK Jr would reduce Rudy to a blubbering fool in seconds flat) but also because it is a contrast in manhood. Rudy plays the hero card all the time. Always did. Macho thug, in-charge, shove-'em-hard territorial thug.

RFK Jr is the community man, the mobilizer, the includer, the one who draws the circle wider to encompass all possibilities.

Just a huge contrast there.

And I don't think it would take most voters very long to pick up the difference and vote accordingly.

[RFKJrNews]

13. Speaking of September...

Back in early 1999, there was much talk of John F. Kennedy Jr. running for political office. Some of you may recall the rumors, shortly before his death, that he was considering a run for NY Senator or...MAYOR of New York City.

Just stop and think about that for a moment. If he had run against Rudy Giuliani, America's Thug, for the mayorship that year, he would have easily won. History written a different way. New Yorkers would have known what a *truly* compassionate leader could do on Sept. 11, 2001.

Just imagine the difference in response had JFK Jr. been Mayor instead.

Alas, this was not to be.

I've also often thought that RFK Jr. would make an amazing Mayor of New York City (but of course, I want him as my President even more)...sort of like Batman, swooping down to save the citizens of Gotham from the Joker.;)

[saltpoint]

14. I had forgotten that talk, but remember it now, and remember thinking

that a city like New York deserves far better a mayor than Rudy Giuliani.

There was a well-tuned mind in John Kennedy Jr. that didn't come to the fore that much in the press coverage.

He was lost to us too early. His sister Caroline has always impressed me, too. These people know what they're about.

[RFKJrNews]

15. September Song

Yes, it's almost jarring to think about in light of the tragedy that most likely would have happened on his watch, but John F. Kennedy Jr. very easily could have been the sitting Mayor of NYC on 9/11 instead of Rudy GiuLIEani.

Hmm. Gets me thinking about things that never were, and asking, "why not?"

Which brings one of his father's favorite songs to mind on this first day of September:

"Oh, it's a long, long while
From May to December,
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather
Turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time
For the waiting game..."

("September Song" - Frank Sinatra)

[saltpoint]

17. There it is. I didn't get that far in the connection you were making, but you

are right -- JFK Jr could have been New York's mayor during the 9/11 attacks.

What a different landscape we'd have had, too. Agree completely.

If RFK Jr a resident of New York State?

[RFKJrNews]

18. Bobby Jr. has lived in NY most of his life

He moved there as a young'un when his father was Senator from `64-68 and has lived most of his adult life there.

It's kind of funny, of course, because most people automatically think he's from Boston. But he was born in DC, and although he has spent some time in MA, he's really been a New York boy all his life.

Same story with JFK Jr. He actually spent most of his life in NY, not MA, and thought of himself as a New Yorker to the core.

[saltpoint]

19. Well. I'm all for an RFK Jr run for the White House, feeling strongly that

he would mobilize many many many more people for very very very good causes.

That said, isn't Bloomberg term-limited? New Yorker RFK Jr could make a bid for the mayor's office in our largest city. It might be nice to have a Democrat in that job for a change. Prefer Bloomberg to his predecessor, certainly, but prefer RFK Jr to either or to both combined.

I believe he would win that race in a landslide.

[RFKJrNews]

20. I wonder if RFK Jr. has considered running for NYC Mayor

He has already expressed interest in running for Hillary's Senate seat or Governor of New York. But he has also said that his friends are currently in those offices and he won't run against them.

I don't know how "friendly" he is with Bloomberg, but that would certainly be an open possibility for RFK Jr. if he does not run for the presidency in 2008.

If he ran for NYC Mayor, he'd win "in a New York minute." No doubt about it. He already has an impressive 25-year track record there for his tireless crusade to clean up the Hudson River and New York waterways, and has proven his ability to serve the best interests of New Yorkers, not the big corporations on Madison avenue.

Besides, it's about time for NYC to have a Democratic mayor again.

That is a very interesting possibility to think about. Hope RFK Jr. is including it in his seemingly limitless list of options right now...

[saltpoint]

21. Thank you for mentioning his work on the river clean-ups. Talk about

a thankless task.

I'm guessing the current Governor wants to stay in that job for awhile. There's the possibility of an HClinton nomination, then election, which would free a Senate seat.

The Governor would presumably fill it with a Democrat. Which could very easily be RFK Jr from my angle, but might not be RFK Jr. from the Governor's angle.

It could be an obstacle-strewn path to run for Senate if he's not appointed, although once he could win nomination for that race, I think he would win handily.

A lot of people are holding out for Gary Hart, Wes Clark, and Al Gore. I think we should add Robert F. Kennedy Jr's name to that list. If it happens that none of the other three enter the race, a sudden autumn entry for Robert F. Kennedy Jr would be a dramatic thing.

I'm stayin' to the end of this rodeo.

[Totally Committed]

4. I do have a question, actually.....

What are life-long Democrats like me -- who have worked for the Party for 45+ years -- going to do if people like you will not run for office and help us take this Party back?

I'm disgusted with the present-day Rightward turn this Party has taken. I am alarmed at the lack of representation we, the people, actually get in return for our votes, because the big corporations are able (and willing!) to bribe our Democratic candidates with their big $$$$. I am appalled at the level of collusion and enabling of the Bush Administration -- continued funding for the Iraqi occupation, and the support for FISA are just two recent examples -- against the overt wishes of the majority of Democrats who cast votes in the last election.

I am concerned at the level of power and influence the DLC is seeking, using proven neo-con methods of influence (corporate $$$$, management of message, attack on the Left, and treating elections like chess games instead of hearing the will of the people.) We are still without universal healthcare. We still see the poor and minorities having to endure Jim Crow attacks on their right to vote. Gays and Lesbians are still denied the right to marry for love, despite the fact that they pay taxes just like all other Americans. Women's right of Choice is hanging by a thread. Katrina is still a pile of rubble. We are hated, despised, and disrespected world-wide. And yet... it is corporate personhood that is being allowed to ride rough-shod over our backs while those we elect to support us are busy voting with the Republicans to extend the occupation, defund social programs and safety nets for the poor, extending tax cuts and advantages for the rich, and enabling the off-shoring and out-sourcing of decent, well-paying American jobs.

I am a Democrat hanging, late in life, by a thread. You are one of the few hopes I see for this Party if it is to survive. Are you willing to step into the debate and advocate for all the Democrats, like me, who want a Democratic Party that in uncorrupted by corporate $, who seek equality for all under a vibrant and fully-restored Constitution, who want our environment safe-guarded and protected, who want to see the poor given the things they need to succeed, and the middle class restored -- along with the "American Dream" it once engendered? Are you ready? We need you.

Even if you don't win, your voice would start important conversations, would add important ideas to the debate, and would give those of us who so desperately need someone who believes as we do a much-needed voice within this Party again.

Thanks!

TC

[RFKJrNews]

5. May I quote you on that, TC?;)

My God, you just asked the question of the YEAR, TC! Damn, that's good.

I'm posting your entire question AGAIN below, because every true freedom-loving American Democrat needs to READ THAT TWICE!!!

<<<Posted by Totally Committed:

I do have a question, actually.....
What are life-long Democrats like me -- who have worked for the Party for 45+ years -- going to do if people like you will not run for office and help us take this Party back?

I'm disgusted with the present-day Rightward turn this Party has taken. I am alarmed at the lack of representation we, the people, actually get in return for our votes, because the big corporations are able (and willing!) to bribe our Democratic candidates with their big $$$$. I am appalled at the level of collusion and enabling of the Bush Administration -- continued funding for the Iraqi occupation, and the support for FISA are just two recent examples -- against the overt wishes of the majority of Democrats who cast votes in the last election.

I am concerned at the level of power and influence the DLC is seeking, using proven neo-con methods of influence (corporate $$$$, management of message, attack on the Left, and treating elections like chess games instead of hearing the will of the people.) We are still without universal healthcare. We still see the poor and minorities having to endure Jim Crow attacks on their right to vote. Gays and Lesbians are still denied the right to marry for love, despite the fact that they pay taxes just like all other Americans. Women's right of Choice is hanging by a thread. Katrina is still a pile of rubble. We are hated, despised, and disrespected world-wide. And yet... it is corporate personhood that is being allowed to ride rough-shod over our backs while those we elect to support us are busy voting with the Republicans to extend the occupation, defund social programs and safety nets for the poor, extending tax cuts and advantages for the rich, and enabling the off-shoring and out-sourcing of decent, well-paying American jobs.

I am a Democrat hanging, late in life, by a thread. You are one of the few hopes I see for this Party if it is to survive. Are you willing to step into the debate and advocate for all the Democrats, like me, who want a Democratic Party that in uncorrupted by corporate $, who seek equality for all under a vibrant and fully-restored Constitution, who want our environment safe-guarded and protected, who want to see the poor given the things they need to succeed, and the middle class restored -- along with the "American Dream" it once engendered? Are you ready? We need you.

Even if you don't win, your voice would start important conversations, would add important ideas to the debate, and would give those of us who so desperately need someone who believes as we do a much-needed voice within this Party again.

Thanks!

TC>>>>

We've had some very good questions submitted so far, but this one is by far the best yet. While most of our questions are brief, I don't care how lengthy yours is, you say what needs to be said.

TC, **please** cut-and-paste your original post into the form on our Voter Questions page and submit it formally. I want to make sure Mr. Kennedy reads that one himself!

And it would not surprise me if he agrees with you 100%, as I do.

Here's the link to submit a question:
http://rfkin2008.wordpress.com/voter-questions/

I knew we could count on DU folks to come up with some great questions!

[Totally Committed]

6. Done, and with pleasure!

Man, I hope he runs. Everyone says those of us on the left need a "hero". I say all we need is a VOICE, and our policies and issues will take hold. Bobby could be that voice for us. I prays he steps in.

TC

[saltpoint]

10. TC, I'm not seeing you as hanging by a thread.

I'm seeing you as a mainstay.

And thank you, by the way, for those 45 years. Let's put in another 45 and kick a few Republican fannies in the bargain.

And there's quite a few Republican fannies in great need of being kicked.

I have a list right here...:hi:

[Totally Committed]

11. Hi, OC!

Thanks for that, but I'm *up to here* with the Democratic Party right now. I am *this close* to just throwing my hands up and walking away in disgust -- and that is something I thought would never happen. All it will take is for this Party to okay the new $50 million in funding for Iraq, or to lie down for one more horrendous nomination... whatever... and I could be gone. Believe me, it's that close a call, and I go from day to day seeing how much more I'll be able to take before I walk into my Town Hall and change my Party affiliation to "Independent".

I'm so disgusted.


TC

[saltpoint]

12. I steal from Paul Horgan:

"While admitting to the worst of all possible worlds, we must behave as if we were the best of all possible people."

I'm not saying there isn't reason for frustration and know I am not going to try and subtract from the dignity of your frustration with the way of things. I'd make changes if I could in the way the party does business some times.

I keep returning to the notion that it's rooted in the nation's failure to educate kids to be critical thinkers, and also the failure to urge them to behave more kindly to each other than they often do. A nation of critical thinkers inclined toward kindness is less likely to vote Republican, seems to me.

RFK Jr. must feel something of that, and from the evidence, quite a bit of what drove his father. And what drove his father inspired me to become a Democrat. Those were the years of Nixon and Agnew . . . and the best Republican you could find was Chuck Percy, and he was no great bargain.

Parties change and evolve. Democrats have always been a wild, mixed bunch. We have Andrew Jackson AND Woodrow Wilson. How could that be?! We have defectors (Shelby). We've lured defectors (John Lindsay). Today we have two not-so-liberal Nelsons and Kerry/Kennedy, all unde the Democratic banner. I want Mary Landrieu to vote the way John Kerry votes, but she isn't going to, no matter what I think. Landrieu to Old Crusoe: Drop Dead.

But to steal from yet another American writer, Joan Didion: you play the hand you're dealt and you stay in the action.

We need ya. That's the point.

[Totally Committed]

8. Oh! --- And you can quote me anytime!

:)


TC

[RFKJrNews]

16. From one "Disgruntled Democrat" to another...

...let me just say *thank you* TC, for giving the frustration so many of us are feeling a voice in the question you posed to RFK Jr. (It is words like that which I hope will have the most powerful impact on him and let him know just how desperately he is needed in this race.

Your question is now posted on our VOTER QUESTIONS page of the site at http://RFKin2008.com and I also quoted you in my DU Journal.

OC brings up some excellent points, reminding us of all the reasons why we still haven't given up on the old party quite yet. RFK Jr. could restore that lost hope, unite the party, and make us feel proud to be Democrats again.

He could also pick up a surprisingly large number of votes from Disgruntled Republicans, Independents, Liberal Libertarians and Greens. I think his crossover potential is tremendous.

[defendandprotect]

26. The Democrats have been moving rightward since at least Truman -- !!!!

[Vidar]

7. No questions at present, but I love RFK Jr. & I love the very idea of this thread.

[Totally Committed]

22. Kick for the afternoon crowd!

Run, Bobby, run!

TC

[saltpoint]

23. RFKin2008, upthread you mention the work Kennedy has done on

the Hudson etc. and if you'll allow this diversion, I'd like to throw in this link for folks who may not have followed this part of his career:

http://www.riverkeeper.org/our_bio_rkennedy.php

Also, there is a terrific photograph of Kennedy on this website with a winged beneficiary of his public service.

[Snarkturian Clone]

24. He's definitely passionate and sticks to his principles.

He spoke at my college back in 1998 and he flew off the handle over the fact that our school was right next to the most polluted river in north america. I remember thinking "he might run for president some day". Maybe it's his time.

[defendandprotect]

25. Questions. . . . sure . . ..

Ask him about the private Federal Reserve Bank and JFK's issuing "treasury notes" ---

Ask him about Electric Cars and the movie "Who Killed The Electric Car?" --

Ask him how he sees capitalism today -- again deregulated -- as opposed to FDR's having to undertake the regulating of capitalism in the New Deal to save capitalism --

Ask him about the demolition of WTC towers visible to the human eye and the impossibility of the administration's not noticing the world of warnings -- including from the United Nations in AUGUST --
when they sent UN representatives to both the White House and to our intelligence agencies because Putin/Russia was so concerned about Bushco's "Operation Ignore."

Ask him about the failure of government officials to properly investigate the Anthrax attacks on Daschle and Leahy -- and the two year delay in setting up a 9/11 commission heavily controlled and limited by Bushco?

Ask him about extending Medicare to everyone -- why start a new program -- ???

Ask him about how seriously threatened humanity is by Global Warming --
and the planet, itself. Al Gore had begun his Congressional testimony by talking about recent new seismic reports of the INCREASED SHAKING of the earth. Can Bobby elaborate on that????

Ask him about why the Democrats haven't moved to IMPEACH Cheney/Bush -- ???

Ask him if Bushco will be successful again in stealing the 2008 election -- ???

[RFKJrNews]

28. Wow, awesome questions from you all!

Defendandprotect, thanks for these damn good questions. Have you submitted them formally via the web site (http://RFKin2008.com)? I wish you would, because honestly, I'd really like to hear Bobby's answers to a lot of these, too. Yours are serious, soul-searching questions that nearly every candidate in this race so far has artfully dodged. And the MSM carefully avoids asking about these topics, such as...

<<Posted by defendandprotect
Ask him about the private Federal Reserve Bank and JFK's issuing "treasury notes" --->>>

Absolutely. And we wonder why our country is so deeply in debt! Although I can't answer this one for Bobby, he often quotes Lincoln regarding his issuance of "greenbacks". During the civil war, ol' Honest Abe said:

"I have the south in front of me, and the bankers behind me. And to be honest, I fear the bankers more!"

<<<Ask him about the demolition of WTC towers visible to the human eye and the impossibility of the administration's not noticing the world of warnings -- including from the United Nations in AUGUST --
when they sent UN representatives to both the White House and to our intelligence agencies because Putin/Russia was so concerned about Bushco's "Operation Ignore."

Ask him about the failure of government officials to properly investigate the Anthrax attacks on Daschle and Leahy -- and the two year delay in setting up a 9/11 commission heavily controlled and limited by Bushco?>>>

Being a New Yorker nearly all his life, I'm willing to bet that RFK is as mad as we are about the lack of credible evidence regarding 9/11. Not only do I think he would launch a *real* investigation (not a Warren Commission-esque cover-up) of the true facts, I also believe he could use the power of the presidency to uncover other hidden truths which have kept historians and researchers busy for the past 40+ years.

<<<Ask him about extending Medicare to everyone -- why start a new program -- ???>>>>

Now, that is one I'd REALLY like to hear him answer. We already have one question regarding universal healthcare, but yours is different, so please submit this one!

<<<Ask him about how seriously threatened humanity is by Global Warming -- and the planet, itself. Al Gore had begun his Congressional testimony by talking about recent new seismic reports of the INCREASED SHAKING of the earth. Can Bobby elaborate on that????>>>

Well, you KNOW RFK Jr. can talk all day on that subject! So if you ask, be prepared for a long and perhaps frighteningly detailed answer.

<<<<Ask him about why the Democrats haven't moved to IMPEACH Cheney/Bush -- ???>>>>

Bobby often says that "Bush should be impeached as a civics lesson." I hesitate to speak for him, but he has said this is many interviews and speeches. His point is that impeachment sends a strong message to the world that "America doesn't torture people" and that "you can't just tear up the Bill of Rights!"

Here's an interview with Bobby on that very topic:
"WE NEED TO IMPEACH BUSH AS A CIVICS LESSON" SAYS RFK JR.
http://rfkin2008.wordpress.com/2007/07/20/we-need-to-impeach-bush-as-a-civics-lesson-says-rfk-jr/

<<<Ask him if Bushco will be successful again in stealing the 2008 election -- ???>>>>

Ah, now THERE is the question of the day! As much as he has researched and written on this subject previously, I must honestly wonder if this may be the ONE GREAT CONCERN that may prevent him from making a run for the Presidency. Which makes me wonder if ANY honest man or woman can get elected to that office without selling their soul. If that's the case, why run at all?

My own feeling is that SOMEONE needs to try anyway, if nothing else to "test the system" and find out once and for all if our elections are still fair and free. It will have to be a strong candidate who not only understands how elections are stolen, but someone who really has a chance of winning. Bobby certainly meets all those qualifications -- the only question is, would he be willing to stick his neck out and run on that principle?

[saltpoint]

27. The question I might ask RFK Jr is whether he has any questions for us.

As a community-builder, a problem-solver, a husband and dad, and a heightened citizen, what questions does he have of us, with a view toward finding how much critical thinking we've done and how we might do better.

I think that would be an approach worth considering.

[RFKJrNews]

29. And so, my fellow Americans...

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

Although his uncle Jack initially made that call to service in his inaugural address nearly 50 years ago, I'll reckon that RFK Jr. would issue a challenge to all citizens along those same lines in 2009. In a sense, he would only be reminding us of how much work there is still to be done.

"All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."

The previous generation of Kennedys started the work - it is up to us to continue it.

"Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need - not as a call to battle, though embattled we are - but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation - a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself."

Those enemies still exist in America today, we're still fighting them. Now more than ever. Perhaps we are living in that "hour of maximum danger" that JFK so often spoke of. And it's going to require the efforts of every single American, united behind a fearless leader, to ever get us out of this mess.

[saltpoint]

30. That's the kind of talk I like to hear.

And my god, look at the language in that address. What have Reagan, Poppy, and Chimp produced that comes anywhere near it? Nothing.

[patrice]

31. Kick!

Thanks for this. I will return in a bit, sign the petition, and submit a question on that link.

NGU!