Blowin in the Wind

Following the Presidential election of Barack Obama in 2008, Bob Dylan, now a Nobel laureate, told a Minnesota audience, "I was born in 1941 the year they bombed Pearl Harbor. I've been living in a world of darkness ever since. But it looks like things are gonna change now."  

The results are in. Generational Flip has occurred. We are now the Establishment.

By "we" I mean Boomers. This is not news so much as confirmation, as evidenced by the Robert F. Kennedy, Jr campaign to get on the ballot for President in all 50 states. The former Democrat has started his own political party, We the People.

Leader of Anti-Vax and scion of the famed Kennedy clan, RFK JR is fast appearing everywhere, fueled by the technology fortune of his choice for VP-running mate, Nicole Shanahan, who will be 39 in September.

Former spouse of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Shanahan brings not only mucho denaro to RFK's campaign, but anti-establishment bona fides. She pooh-poohs medical science with beliefs that include "natural light therapy" for autism. She reportedly had a fling with Elon Musk. She introduces a Libertarian flare to politics and she surfs!  

Campaign rallies, documentaries and social media posts are being fed to a wide audience including youngsters who are members of the new Anti-Establishment that used to be us, or me. Although I see no comparison between Joe Biden and Dick Nixon. I canvassed for Senator George McGovern against Nixon in 72 and lost big time. The Establishment won.

Encouraged by a family associate, I picked up a copy of RFK Jr's book, The Real Anthony Fauci, a hit piece purportedly proving that Fauci is a fraud and huckster. The book is dense and mean-spirited written in the style of a supermarket tabloid. I tried to follow the so-called evidence but it bogs down into circuitous studies and footnotes. The Kennedy family, firmly established in American culture and the Democratic Party, disavows the opinions of Bobby's son.

He has struck a sensitive anti-establishment nerve in our country, members of whom I know and love.

This all leads to a third-party candidate who speaks to those disenfranchised by our cumbersome and elderly political leaders. Who wouldn't want new blood, new ideas, a new empowered future for a better country and world? I wanted anti-war McGovern, who served as a fighter pilot in WWII and came with knowledge and experience of war-time conflict. He spoke for the Anti-Establishment (a tad more coherently) in the same way that Kennedy speaks today. He reflects their conscience and desire for a better world. I understand his appeal.

Slick videos in support of Kennedy have been appearing on Facebook. Paid for by his campaign. They’re high-quality, and difficult to avoid or escape once you click into his posts. I assume this is due to Shanahan's contribution. She's a savvy techie with deep pockets.

Curious about how his presence on the ballot for President might effect the National Election, I've engaged in a very unscientific, random "poll."  I have read lots of comments made by his supporters. Many are hopeful and well-intentioned. A few still support Donald Trump. Some comments are by people who voted for Trump and are looking for something new. I haven't seen any express that they are former Biden Democrats. I'm sure there are those.

Our two-party system of electors makes it nearly impossible for a third party to win the Presidency. Essentially, it's a vote between two major candidates of the two established parties. A third candidate's only effect on the election is to take a vote away from, or give a vote to, one of the two major candidates. Third-party consumer-advocate Ralph Nader in 2000 swung the vote, a very narrow margin, to George W. Bush over Al Gore. In 1992, third-party candidate Ross Perot swung election for Bill Clinton over former President George H. W. Bush.

There are three third-party candidates this year -- Kennedy, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and People's Party candidate Cornel West.

How this will influence our National Election and the two major candidates is a guessing game at this point. It's only April and the Election is in November. Trump could have a criminal record by then. I don't want to consider numerous other calamities and surprises that could or might happen.

If I were going to place a bet in Vegas today, based on the simple facts that I have gleaned, I would not put my money on the anti-establishment Donald Trump, who seeks vengeance and wants to be king. My money would go on the most establishment of all candidates: Joe Biden. 

I am currently a tax-paying member of the once reviled, I-swore-I-would-never-join, Establishment. I still believe in peace and that we shall overcome. Unfortunately, the country was not ready for President Obama, who was blocked at every turn by the opposing Republican Party, which has fallen apart.