Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have a better shot at the presidency this week than he ever has before. Devon Archer's testimony has put a spike in the Biden 2024 re-election effort. It's still rolling on, but eventually that tire is going to deflate and the whole thing could end.
If it does, Democrats will still need a candidate. Gavin Newsom has been working to boost his national profile (while ignoring his actual job in California), so he is the likeliest alternative -- except for the fact that Kamala Harris, the first black female VP, may want the job.
There are also looming deadlines for qualifying for the ballot in various early primary states. Newsom can make most of these -- or Democrats can change the rules, which they obviously have done before -- but it will be a tough lift to put together a national effort.
So... Democrats may be stuck with Kennedy (or Marianne Williamson, who is not building much momentum). They don't know it yet, but that could help them, because there will still be voters that are looking for an alternative to Donald Trump -- including Republicans.
That's where the genius -- intentional or not -- of Kennedy's campaign comes in. If he does, in fact, squeak in as the Democratic nominee -- if he can get past the constant attacks and the superdelegates and the rest of it -- he will pull in crossover votes.
Kennedy's "conservative" positions, which were once common-sense views within the Democratic Party, are already attracting positive attention from the conservative media. On Thursday, for example, he is presenting a documentary about his recent trip to the border.
He wants to seal that border -- just as Trump and most of the other Republican candidates want to do. That may not attract "progressive" votes in a Democratic primary, but it could make an impact in some early primary states, and it could attract Republicans in the general.
Democrats have backed themselves into this corner by marching in lockstep with the Biden White House and its lies about Hunter and corruption etc. They are so dug into their anti-Trump media bubble that they may not realize it has burst until it's far too late.
What will that mean? Will they rally around Kennedy, on the basis of Supreme Court choices, and so forth? Maybe. Or maybe they'll have to come to terms with the policies he's brought them, even if they are now seen as "conservative" positions. It can only be for the good.
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
