The American Spectator’s Gala Provides a Glimpse Into the Kennedy Family

Things that happen every year at a certain time can be fun. Think birthdays, anniversaries, cherry blossoms, and The American Spectator’s gala.

This year’s gala was more than a success. It was more than a hit. It was magical.

The music was good, the food was good, the faces were cheery, and everyone there seemed to want to be there. We saw a nice video greeting from Jon Voight, trailed by the Reagan trailer, followed by Lila Rose accepting an award for her holy work saving innocent souls in the womb.

Even the speeches were good, and Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) hit the keynote in describing how his medical career prepared him for his political career, and how he discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic that political motivations and medical crises create a toxic brew.

Yet — not to minimize the well-structured and well-delivered vibe of the entire event — the spell that bound this magical evening came when editor Paul Kengor and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pulled up chairs on the stage and sat down for a back-porch gabfest.

The Kennedys: Old Democrat Family Doing Things the Old Democrat Way

Rather than provide a transcript, permit me to offer an impression and to try to convey the moment, the feeling, and the flavor, but not necessarily all the content.

We got a sense of old Joseph Kennedy Sr.’s house, with Joe Jr, as the “golden child” and the apple of his father’s eye. He made the family proud, but he sadly went down with his fighter plane in the Pacific in World War II.

Then Jack filled in and, after serving as a senator from Massachusetts, he went on to win the presidency. Nephew Robert Jr. sat in the front row at the inauguration. He was proud of how Uncle Jack was striving to keep America out of wars while shouting down the mongers and the mongrels. (READ MORE: How Kamala Bested Newsom in Their Decades-Long Feud)

Even after President Kennedy sent advisers to Vietnam, there were fewer military men on that mission than were sent by him to protect one black student at the University of Mississippi. When the injury toll in Vietnam reached 75, the president signed an order to bring all the men back stateside. He was shot within a month of that, and Lyndon B. Johnson pushed things in the other direction, eventually sending over a half-million men, a tenth of whom came home in body bags.

RFK Jr. told us about current events as well. He explained the history of Secret Service details. Originally, the protection provided by that agency during campaigns was limited to the two major-party candidates. But after his father, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., was shot during a campaign rally, the policy was changed overnight and agents were assigned to third-party candidates as well.

He — RFK Jr. — was the first candidate of his stature to be denied protection since that era. He had received numerous threats and appealed several times for protection. Indeed, he got the clear impression that the reason he was denied was not that people in power wanted to see him hurt, but that they were seeking to impoverish his campaign. Because smaller-party candidates have smaller donation limits, the million dollars a month he had to spend on private security was a major drain on resources.

The Democratic Party of old was devoted to free speech and wide-open access to long-shots and outsiders in primary campaigns. RFK Jr.’s own family, as loyal as they were to the Democratic Party, did not hesitate to mount campaigns against incumbents, like his father challenging Lyndon Johnson in 1968 and his Uncle Ted competing with Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Now the culture within that party has shifted so radically, even to the point that they manipulated events so that Kamala Harris could become this year’s candidate without a primary and a convention challenge. In one pithy insight, RFK Jr. noted that the demos have little to say among “Democrats.” How ironic, how sad! (RELATED: RFK Jr.’s Fight for Principle)

He told an amazing story that has not been reported on at all. A man came to one of his campaign rallies with a bag full of weapons. He presented a badge as a U.S. Marshal, indicating he was there to assist the security team. He was brazen enough to try to deceive the professional protectors, but a sharp-eyed member of Kennedy’s team thought the badge looked a little too shiny. It did not give an impression of being worn out with extensive use. They confronted him and discovered two weapons on his person and many more in a tote bag.

There was so much more, and it is well worth your time to listen to the recording. Let me conclude with his trenchant insights about Trump.

RFK Jr. shared an anecdote from some years ago in which his wife wanted to attend an event in Florida, but he didn’t want to spend the money. She asked Trump to bankroll her trip, and he agreed. RFK asked her, “Doesn’t he know that I sued him twice over environmental issues on his properties?” She replied that he did, but didn’t take it personally.

RFK has made his deal with Trump. He consented to drop his campaign and offer his endorsement in exchange for his issues — including better supervision of foods and medicines — becoming part of the campaign. Trump has not just offered nominal backing in some political paper or on a website; he has actually incorporated them into his rhetoric at public rallies.

A special guy. A special mission. All were a great fit for this special event.

The post <i>The American Spectator</i>’s Gala Provides a Glimpse Into the Kennedy Family appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.