The Great RFK Jr. Charade - Strassel, WSJ

(Yes, she is as rabid as they come so when I see something like this, it grabs my attention)

The Republican Senate mantra these days is that a president is entitled to cabinet members he trusts to carry out his agenda. Does the same apply to a pick the president-elect has acknowledged is both unqualified and hostile to the most basic Republican ideals?

Welcome to the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nomination, one of the more counterproductive Washington charades in recent history. Donald Trump has, in payback for late-stage election support, nominated a man for the vital cabinet position (health and human services) whom he once labeled a “Democrat Plant” and a bigger threat to the country than Joe Biden. Now meet the Republican senators, activists and influencers who are so clueless—and so blindly eager to salute the leader—that they can’t see the opportunity to save Mr. Trump from a deal he would never have made in other circumstances.

(snip)

He’s a “Radical Left Liberal” who is “totally Anti-Gun, an Extreme Environmentalist who makes the Green New Scammers look Conservative, a Big Time Taxer and Open Border Advocate, and Anti-Military/Vet,” Mr. Trump said. He added that he’d even “take Biden over Junior” because under Mr. Kennedy the country “would collapse immediately.” “He’s not a Republican, so don’t think you’re going to vote for him and feel good. He’s a radical left Democrat. Let the Democrats have RFK Jr. They deserve him.”

Only, apparently, it’s now Republicans who do.

Mr. Trump wasn’t alone. Prior to Mr. Kennedy’s endorsement, the GOP universe was clear-eyed about the radical environmentalist who spent decades on a mission to destroy the Trump base. An online search finds pages of stories of Mr. Kennedy’s efforts to cripple farmers, ranchers, loggers and oil workers. Others outline his disdain for markets, core freedoms and limited government.

(snip)

It seems not to have occurred to Senate Republicans—who ought to have learned a little bit about Mr. Trump by now—that he needs a rescue here. No insider believes this is a heartfelt pick. Even political naïfs understand what happened: This agreement was entirely transactional. Mr. Trump saw an opportunity to gain RFK’s endorsement. The price was a promise of a big post. The president-elect is holding true to that deal as a businessman, so he won’t dare whisper misgivings for fear of leaks.

Instead Senate Republicans are playing monkey-see-monkey-do to an extent that even Mr. Trump must be exasperated. Nearly every GOP senator looks at Mr. Kennedy with wincing concern—knowing the havoc the anticapitalist big-government regulator can and will wreak on a Trump agenda. Yet no one steps up to save the president.

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-great-rfk-jr-charade-health-secretary-nominee-trump-administration-senate-confirmation-0d2147d7?st=aFgvxb&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

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