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RFK Jr. to run the EPA?????

notheist

Thinker
notheist
Joined
Jan 9, 2007
Messages
196
It's rather disturbing to hear Obama may be considering antivaccination believer RFK Jr. to head the EPA!

True, it would be worst in having him head the department of health or FDA, But after 8 years of GWB anti-science agenda we sure don't need a switch to pseudoscience.
 
Article

I agree. It seems that he has not made this decision yet. I hope that in the end he realizes that this is the wrong man for the job. It would not be 'new politics' but 'dynastic politics.'
 
notheist said:
It's rather disturbing to hear Obama may be considering antivaccination believer RFK Jr. to head the EPA!
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The headline is :

Team Obama: RFK Jr., California’s Nichols, Bandied as Possible EPA Chiefs

from the Wall Street Journal. (My emphasis.) If that disturbs you, get used to being disturbed.

True, it would be worst in having him head the department of health or FDA,
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Aren't you disturbing yourself by these imaginings?

But after 8 years of GWB anti-science agenda we sure don't need a switch to pseudoscience.
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Agreed. Let's not worry about stuff that's bandied about by scare-mongers and wait to see what happens. It's only a couple of months, and there's Xmas to distract us in the meantime.
 
Puppycow said:
Article

I agree. It seems that he has not made this decision yet. I hope that in the end he realizes that this is the wrong man for the job. It would not be 'new politics' but 'dynastic politics.'
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Forget "in the end", RFK Jr was never in the running in the first place. Even the WSJ refers to his name being "bandied about". It's not about Obama seeing sense, it's about people not recognising nonsense when the WSJ serves it up.

Not that the WSJ is entirely shameless

"So who’s on the short list? Plenty of names, starting with environmental lawyer and activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., according to Politico. That doesn’t have too many environmental types very happy—beyond Mr. Kennedy’s prior adventures in linking vaccines and autism, or opposing offshore wind power, many fear he doesn’t have the managerial expertise to handle a sprawling agency that will only get bigger."
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And yet there's only one name is in the headline. The only dynasty-freaks we're seeing here write for the WSJ.
 
CapelDodger said:
Forget "in the end", RFK Jr was never in the running in the first place. Even the WSJ refers to his name being "bandied about". It's not about Obama seeing sense, it's about people not recognising nonsense when the WSJ serves it up.

Not that the WSJ is entirely shameless



And yet there's only one name is in the headline. The only dynasty-freaks we're seeing here write for the WSJ.
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Never in the running? Click on the Politico article:
Obama considers stars for Cabinet
By MIKE ALLEN | 11/5/08 12:18 PM EST

President-elect Barack Obama is strongly considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a Cabinet post, Democratic officials told Politico.

Obama’s transition planners are weighing several other celebrity-level political stars for Cabinet posts, including retired Gen. Colin L. Powell for secretary of defense or education, the officials said.

Kennedy's cousin, Caroline Kennedy, who helped Obama lead his vice presidential search, is being considered for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, although some Obama officials doubt she would take the post. Obama is indebted to the Kennedy family for a hearty endorsement at a crucial point in the Democratic primaries.

The selection of Kennedy would be a shrewd early move for the new presidential team. Obama advisers said the nomination would please both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

It also would raise the profile of the EPA, which would help endear Obama to liberals who may be disappointed on other issues important to the Democratic left because of budget restrictions.
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I think CD's thought is that Kennedy was only being considered for the EPA job in the sense Condi Rice was being seriously considered for the McCain VP slot. That is to say, not at all. Condi Rice's name was being bandied about just like Kennedy's name, but name bandying is not much evidence of actual consideration.

I'm not sure that he's right about Kennedy but it looks like CD might be and if he is right that strikes me as a good thing.
 
I just read the Wikipedia article on Robert Kennedy Jr.

He's a pretty interesting guy. There was too much there to even summarize very well but a few things that I particularly noticed:

1. He was arrested for and convicted of Heroin possession. He received two years probation for that.

2. He favored Clinton in the primary and announced that he would consider running for her seat if she was elected president.

3. He co-founded a bottled water company. A bit of a strange path for an environmentalist but the proceeds were donated to charity.

4. He's written several books.

5. He's been active in environmental causes for quite awhile.

And of course they mentioned the autism/vaccine stuff and his theories about stolen elections.
 
Heroin? Conspiracy theories? Vaccine woo? None of this bodes well.

On the bright side, how much damage can the head of the EPA do? :boxedin:
 
boloboffin said:
What control does the head of the Environmental Protection Agency have over vaccines?
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None, as far as I'm aware. But what does his stance on vaccines and autism say about his ability to objectively weigh scientific evidence? Isn't that an important qualification for the head of the EPA?

The idea that RFK Jr. is being considered seems to trace back to a single source which claimed he was being "strongly considered" by the Obama team. Hopefully the source was mistaken, as there seem to be several more well qualified candidates out there.
 
Puppycow said:
Heroin? Conspiracy theories? Vaccine woo? None of this bodes well.

On the bright side, how much damage can the head of the EPA do? :boxedin:
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I think the head of the EPA has the potential to do substantial harm and substantial good.

Although it doesn't make the news much some industries are squeezed enormously by foreign competition and tightening US environmental regulations. Balancing the needs of industry and the environment is a tricky problem and a green zealot could leave a land of ruined businesses behind before he was replaced.

On the other hand, a pro business, to hell with environment type might allow unjustified environmental damage behind.

Of course it's a Democratic administration so the green zealot scenario is more likely but it would be nice if we could avoid either kind of extremist in the office and just get somebody who favors analysis, facts and practical solutions, and who has a combination of management experience and familiarity with environmental issues.
 
We already have a thread about this. I suggest they be merged.
People, could we actually search a little for a thread about a topic before starting a new one?
 
davefoc said:
I think CD's thought is that Kennedy was only being considered for the EPA job
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They're also "floating" the ideas. "Soandsos a, b, and c are being considered for job X", wait a week or two for the trial baloon to lift off or be popped, and pick the least problematic one.


So raise a fuss over Kennedy because of his woo-woo medical beliefs, and they'll drop him like a frozen turkey.
 
Before I posted here I didn't even know there was an anti-vacc movement. I have to give Obama a pass on this one if he appoints RFK. He has to pay Teddy back for the early endorsement.
 
RFK jr. is way over the top. His anti vaccine rhetoric is just the tip of the ice berg. I used to listen to his rants on a show called "Ring of Fire" on Air America which I assume he still does. Anyone who wonders why this would have been a poor choice should tune in some time.
 
davefoc said:
I think the head of the EPA has the potential to do substantial harm and substantial good.

Although it doesn't make the news much some industries are squeezed enormously by foreign competition and tightening US environmental regulations. Balancing the needs of industry and the environment is a tricky problem and a green zealot could leave a land of ruined businesses behind before he was replaced.

On the other hand, a pro business, to hell with environment type might allow unjustified environmental damage behind.

Of course it's a Democratic administration so the green zealot scenario is more likely but it would be nice if we could avoid either kind of extremist in the office and just get somebody who favors analysis, facts and practical solutions, and who has a combination of management experience and familiarity with environmental issues.
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Exactly! A conspiracy theorist who thinks Big Pharma is covering up the "dangers" of vaccines does not belong anywhere near a policy making post in our government.
 
corplinx said:
Before I posted here I didn't even know there was an anti-vacc movement. I have to give Obama a pass on this one if he appoints RFK. He has to pay Teddy back for the early endorsement.
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portlandatheist said:
He has to do no such thing.
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corplinx is the master of the, is-this-sarcasm-or-is-this-sincere post. His moderate independent political stances make it difficult to tell exactly where he's coming from based on his overall outlook.

In this case, though, I think what we had here was sarcasm with a touch of possible but unlikely truth mixed in.

My sense of it was that unlike the vast majority of political endorsements which are cynical and self serving Kennedy's endorsement was genuine. He believed that Obama had the integrity and skills to make an excellent president and that he had the skills that could get him elected. But, of course this could just be naive horse **** and Kennedy was just making a quid quo pro arrangement where Kennedy was securing treasure for the Kennedy's in return for this endorsement. I'd like to think not.

ETA: Or maybe Kennedy was just pissed at the Clintons and this was his idea of how to get back at them.
 
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