RFK Jr and Nicole Shanahan's "Al Powell" moment.

And yes. This makes me John McClane

The other day I was watching (as I often do) an episode of Dave Smith’s Part of the Problem podcast. He was interviewing Nicole Shanahan, RFK Jr’s running mate in his bid for US president in 2024.

I like her quite a bit. I hadn’t heard of her, but she has impressed me since she was picked by RFK Jr to run with him. I like RFK Jr as well. When I railed against him in an earlier article on this Substack, it was only in the context of him running as a Libertarian. He ain’t no libertarian, as even a cursory glance at his campaign website “issues” page reveals.

Nicole’s conversation with Dave was about RFK’s decision to suspend (not end) his campaign and throw his support behind Donald Trump. RFK Jr will still be on the ballot in most states, and there’s still technically a path for him to win the presidency this cycle, but it’s a very slim one.

Given RFK Jr’s stated issues during this campaign, supporting Trump seems wise. Trump is a deal-maker who at least says he supports many of the issues RFK Jr does. Perhaps they can work together productively. Time will tell.

But early on in the conversation, I had a laugh-out-loud moment. Nicole seemed so astonished and betrayed by all the dirty tricks the Democrats had pulled on them.

They refused to hold a legitimate primary, instead preferring to coronate the incumbent Biden. They sued in state after state after state to keep RFK Jr off the ballot. They refused to let him into the debates despite having a huge amount of grassroots support. They swapped out Biden for Harris in a staggeringly “undemocratic” way after lying to us all about how “sharp as a tack” the president was this whole time.

Nicole was so shocked. How could her beloved Democratic Party do this in our beloved democracy?

I just laughed in my chair. I felt like John McClane, high up in Nakatomi Tower watching poor Sergeant Al Powell back away from the building in a panic, under fire from machine guns and after having a dead body dropped on his squad car.

“Welcome to the party, pal!” I snickered.

The Libertarian Party (and other minor parties in this country) has been dealing with this crap for decades. The crooks that target us are usually the Republicans, but it’s the same dirty game:

Use your insider power to keep dissident political parties (including Independents like RFK Jr. this cycle) off the ballot so you and your cronies have a better shot at retaining power.

Sue the candidates if you can. Connive with the state legislatures to change the laws to make it difficult for minor parties to gain ballot access. Control the media. Keep outsiders out of any debates. Rinse. Repeat.

And RFK Jr’s grassroots support was probably what the regime hated about him the most. They are horrified by popular populists, regardless of their ideology or preferred policies. For proof, look into how the DNC treated socialist populist Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020 and how the RNC treated libertarian populist Ron Paul in 2008 and 2012.

Dirty, dirty, dirty, is the regime.

One of the “white pills” this year is that Nicole’s shock at the corruption in our political system is shared by millions more people across out country (and outside it). The mask is falling. The rot is showing. The public is waking up from their stupor.

Will it be in time? We can hope.

Naturally,

Adam

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