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 my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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