Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Roger Simon in studio to discuss the potential presidential candidacy of Democrat Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the consequences that will pose for Independents, Republicans, and Biden.
Leahy: In studio all-star panelist Roger Simon. Roger, we’re gonna turn the page here to another topic and that is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who is 69 years old. He’s filed with the FEC; he’s going to run for president. You have a column about this at The Epoch Times.
Simon: When you say 69, that makes him a kid in the presidential derby, with the exception of Vivek Ramaswamy.
Leahy: He’s a kid. He’s a kid! There is still hope for me.
Simon: Because the announcement was last night. I wrote a column very fast before I went to the Passover seder. And already commenters are saying, what about a Kennedy and Ramaswamy ticket? (Leahy laughs)
Everybody’s being sarcastic, but nevertheless, I think it is a fabulous thing because one thing we can all agree on is the Democratic Party has become incredibly stultified starting with Obama, but even more so with Biden.
When I talk to Democrats and ask them about Biden, they always change the subject because they see it as an embarrassment to America. So now, all of a sudden, here comes a Kennedy from the past. Now I’m not for dynasties, let’s make it clear, but he is a smart guy who’s written a fantastic book about how bad Fauci is.
Leahy: It’s a very well-received book. Well researched. It makes the case.
Simon: It makes the case which is something Democrats don’t want to hear a lot of them because they all have a religion of believing the state.
Leahy: He’s running for, of course for the Democratic nomination. He’s actually not made a statement yet. It’s just that he’s filed, he’s not made a public statement yet.
Simon: He will shortly. He will very soon. And he’s made a lot of statements on Epoch TV to actually imply it. And he’s closer to going than DeSantis, really?
Leahy: He’ll be announcing in the next couple of days, don’t you think? Or maybe that formal announcement.
Simon: Yes. This is going to shake things up. It’s also gonna be interesting to see whether Biden will debate him because I think on IQ points, he beats Biden by somewhere between 30 and 40.
Leahy: He has a problem, though, the health problem with his, with spasmodic dysphonia.
Simon: Yes, he does.
Leahy: Which means he talks like (Imitates talk). And it’s a permanent condition. It’s not life-threatening but is life-changing.
Simon: But if you listen to his interviews on Epoch TV, which you can get right now, that he’s quite easy to hear. Understand It’s not that serious. It’s serious to him, I’m sure but as you say, not life-threatening.
Leahy: Let me also add about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. You’ve got a lot of interesting things about his life. Of course, you’ve got the Kennedy Legacy. His uncle John F. Kennedy was assassinated as president in 1963. His father, former attorney general of the United States, and former New York State Senator Robert Kennedy who was assassinated in June of 1968.
Simon: I saw him speak, Robert F. Kennedy two days before he was shot.
Leahy: So I’ll tell you my Robert F. Kennedy story. In 1964, I was a nine-year-old kid living in Plattsburgh, New York, which is just 60 miles south of Montreal. And he decided to run for the Senate in New York. He was running against Ken Keating, the Republican from Rochester, way back when.
And it was probably late October 1964. And Kennedy was supposed to arrive at the little Plattsburgh airport at 2:00 p.m. My mom was there, and her best friend was there. All my siblings were. We waited from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., six hours for him to come by.
It was so crowded and I remember distinctly Robert F. Kennedy walking by. I wanted to shake his hand so badly because Irish Catholic kid from upstate New York. I wanted to be John F. Kennedy.
Simon: Everybody wanted to be John F. Kennedy. And Bobby was the inheritor of that in, in ways. He was more charismatic than he was.
Leahy:Â Yes, he was in some ways. And so he came by, and Roger, I went to shake his hand. There were so many people there. I couldn’t shake his hand, but I was able to literally reach my hand around and grab his forearm and shake his elbow. I grabbed his elbow. And that is my recollection of Robert F. Kennedy.
Simon: My memory of it is that two days before he was shot is that he was the most charismatic speaker I have seen ever, with one exception, Donald Trump. And they resembled each other in that manner, physically, not at all.
Leahy: Now, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., because of his physical problem with spasmodic dystonia, wouldn’t fit into that category
Simon: No.
Leahy: As a speaker, let’s look at this. I saw a poll from a group. I don’t recognize the pollster that had in the Democratic primary. Marianne Williamson, who’s completely loony.
Simon: Loony and no consequence.
Leahy: At 10 percent against Biden. I don’t really believe it. But here’s my point. They’ve changed the democratic process of selecting a nominee to put South Carolina where James Clyborn is gonna basically give it all to Joe Biden. South Carolina’s now gonna be first. But guess what? The people in Iowa are not happy with this.
Simon: They’re very unhappy about that.
Leahy: We’ve got The Iowa Star. We’ve got a reporter there. And right now, the Democrats in Iowa intend to conduct a caucus. The Democratic National Committee is going to penalize them. They are basically giving the Bronx salute, shall we say.
Simon: Yes. That will be really fertile ground for our RFK, Jr.
Leahy: This is my point. If Robert F. Kennedy JR. Wants to stir up things and be a disruptor; what he’s probably gonna do is he’s going to go to Iowa this next week and camp out and go to every little county in Iowa. And I’m telling you what. He’s gonna get a good reception from Iowa Democrats.
Simon: Unquestionably. Also, he will get a good reception in New Hampshire. That very early state because he’s a Kennedy, and that’s Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The population zones of New Hampshire are usually about 15 minutes from Massachusetts. I think this is very treacherous for Biden. Also, Biden can’t speak English anymore. (Laughter)
Leahy: So I think his favorite language now is Ukrainian. (Laughs)
Simon: I think it’s going to be very difficult no matter what vocal difficulties RFK, Jr. has; he understands the English language well.
Leahy: And he’s a smart guy. There’s no question about it now.
Simon: I think, by the way, this is very good for the Republicans ultimately. I really do.
Leahy: I agree.
Simon: If I were in the Trump camp right now, I’d be going…
Leahy: You’d be saying go get him! Because what it’s gonna do is it’s gonna free up Independents.
Simon: Yes. Also, it’s gonna unmask Biden as an imbecile. (Laughter) Sorry to be so blunt.
Leahy: That’s a good line. A criminal imbecile. It’ll be interesting to see if Robert Kennedy, Jr. goes after the criminality part. He may not. He doesn’t want to alienate Democrats.
Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.” by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.Â
