Opinion | Observing RFK Jr. in the Senate Caused Personal Distress
I was employed by his father, who would never have acted so deceitfully.
TroibNews 
Watching Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his Senate confirmation hearing was a painful experience for me. It wasn't just his struggle to articulate basic knowledge about Medicare and Medicaid, or his attempts to rationalize his retraction of previously stated positions. It was also his history of "crusades" that have jeopardized the safety of countless children while he aims to lead the country's health department.
This experience felt deeply personal, evoking memories of my first day working in the office of his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and attending a Senate hearing with him over half a century ago.
Sen. Kennedy had invited me to observe him during a discussion regarding the effectiveness of the newly implemented federal education law. For many liberals, the law represented a significant victory, but Kennedy took a different approach. He pressed the top federal education official on the allocation of funds, questioned the declining achievement statistics of Black children in grades three to six, and noted, "when I go into the ghetto, one of the things people dislike most is the public education system."
This experience provided a glimpse into the inquiring and skeptical mind that characterized RFK. He was never content with superficial answers to pressing policy issues. He transcended traditional liberalism, expressing concerns about the oversized role of government, believing the public welfare system often failed its beneficiaries, and doubting the effectiveness of increased school funding without substantial reform. The difference between this mindset and his son's adherence to debunked theories could not be clearer.
Another striking absence in Kennedy Jr.’s testimony was the sincerity that marked his father’s approach.
During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy Jr. repeatedly refused to acknowledge his numerous past statements, including his full support for abortion rights, his constant warnings about vaccines, and even his outrageous comparison of the CDC to Nazi death camps. This denial of his prior views was a notable aspect of his appearance.
In contrast, the elder Kennedy faced contentious issues head-on. When separating from President Lyndon Johnson regarding the Vietnam War, he stated: “I was involved in many of the early decisions on Vietnam, decisions that helped set us on our present path. … I am willing to bear my share of the responsibility, before history and before my fellow citizens. But past error is no excuse for its own perpetuation. ‘All men make mistakes,’ Sophocles said, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only sin is pride.”
Such a candid acknowledgment may prove elusive for RFK Jr.
The stark contrast between his previous passionate support for abortion rights as a woman's choice and the position of his potential boss, Donald Trump, leads to the expectation that Kennedy should say something along the lines of: “I want to run the Department of Health and Human Services and turn my health care views into policy, so I will completely put aside my views on abortion and follow the views of the president.” While that would have exhibited honesty, it appears he could not bring himself to make such a concession.
This is not to portray the late Robert F. Kennedy as flawless; he was no stranger to hardball politics and often hesitated to directly critique Johnson's Vietnam policy, caught between traditional political values and emerging coalitions.
Yet, witnessing the younger Kennedy’s performance prompted one disheartening realization: sometimes, the apple does fall very far from the tree.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
This experience felt deeply personal, evoking memories of my first day working in the office of his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and attending a Senate hearing with him over half a century ago.
Sen. Kennedy had invited me to observe him during a discussion regarding the effectiveness of the newly implemented federal education law. For many liberals, the law represented a significant victory, but Kennedy took a different approach. He pressed the top federal education official on the allocation of funds, questioned the declining achievement statistics of Black children in grades three to six, and noted, "when I go into the ghetto, one of the things people dislike most is the public education system."
This experience provided a glimpse into the inquiring and skeptical mind that characterized RFK. He was never content with superficial answers to pressing policy issues. He transcended traditional liberalism, expressing concerns about the oversized role of government, believing the public welfare system often failed its beneficiaries, and doubting the effectiveness of increased school funding without substantial reform. The difference between this mindset and his son's adherence to debunked theories could not be clearer.
Another striking absence in Kennedy Jr.’s testimony was the sincerity that marked his father’s approach.
During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy Jr. repeatedly refused to acknowledge his numerous past statements, including his full support for abortion rights, his constant warnings about vaccines, and even his outrageous comparison of the CDC to Nazi death camps. This denial of his prior views was a notable aspect of his appearance.
In contrast, the elder Kennedy faced contentious issues head-on. When separating from President Lyndon Johnson regarding the Vietnam War, he stated: “I was involved in many of the early decisions on Vietnam, decisions that helped set us on our present path. … I am willing to bear my share of the responsibility, before history and before my fellow citizens. But past error is no excuse for its own perpetuation. ‘All men make mistakes,’ Sophocles said, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only sin is pride.”
Such a candid acknowledgment may prove elusive for RFK Jr.
The stark contrast between his previous passionate support for abortion rights as a woman's choice and the position of his potential boss, Donald Trump, leads to the expectation that Kennedy should say something along the lines of: “I want to run the Department of Health and Human Services and turn my health care views into policy, so I will completely put aside my views on abortion and follow the views of the president.” While that would have exhibited honesty, it appears he could not bring himself to make such a concession.
This is not to portray the late Robert F. Kennedy as flawless; he was no stranger to hardball politics and often hesitated to directly critique Johnson's Vietnam policy, caught between traditional political values and emerging coalitions.
Yet, witnessing the younger Kennedy’s performance prompted one disheartening realization: sometimes, the apple does fall very far from the tree.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
