They Knew What They Were Getting Into -- Digby (on RfkJr)

[erronis]

https://digbysblog.net/2026/04/12/they-knew-what-they-were-getting-into/

This piece at the UnPopulist by Matt Johnson takes a look at RFK Jr. Reign of Horror at HHS. He starts off noting the absurd naivete (or self-interested cowardice) of Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy:

Cassidy and every other Republican who voted for Kennedy had all the information they needed to see that he would be a disaster for public health in the United States, from his decades-long crusade against vaccines to his history of fevered conspiracism. Cassidy acknowledged that he studied Kennedy's record "exhaustively" and took his decision "very seriously." According to Cassidy, Kennedy "has been insistent that he just wants good science to ensure safety" and claimed he would "work within the current vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems." Cassidy said Kennedy also promised to "maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes" and that the CDC "will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism."

Kennedy has broken every single one of these promises.

Nobody who had done the slightest investigation of RFK Jrs life would have believed any of that. If a Democrat had nominated this nutcase for that job, I believe that the vast majority of Democrats, including me, would have screamed bloody murder. And he's a Kennedy and a lifelong Dem. The fact that these Republicans went along with his woo-woo BS is as much of an indictment as anything else they've done.

The piece goes into detail and concludes:

Kennedy's defining obsession has always been what he regards as the immense dangers posed by vaccines. His promises that he just wants "evidence-based science and medicine" are as hollow as the promises he made to Cassidy. It's no coincidence that the first year of Kennedy's tenure has resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of recommended vaccines and the elimination of mRNA research. Kennedy's HHS is focusing on what it regards as promising frontiers of research, such as a "comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links." As Kennedy has purged career scientists and civil servants from HHS, he has promoted anti-vaccine ideologues and lackeys to positions of power in the agency. He has already inflicted severe harm on America's public health, and he's only been in charge for a year. It's chilling to imagine what damage three more years will reveal.

But sure, let's get rid of the vaccines. Because the addled weirdo who helped Donald Trump get elected thinks we should.

. . .