Let's make one thing clear up front: There's no chance that anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will win the Democratic presidential nomination.
Yes, the son of the assassinated 60s era leader is polling at an alarming 19% in the Democratic primary polls, causing Bill Maher, who is wrong about most things these days, to gush about how "surprised" he is by Kennedy's supposed success. In truth, those polls are more an artifact of Kennedy's famous name, coupled with ignorance about what a crank he is, than a robust show of support. Kennedy, whose infamous anti-vaccination articles have been retracted, will almost certainly fade swiftly once it gets closer to primary season. Still, just because Kennedy is not a threat to Biden's primary chances doesn't mean his campaign doesn't have real potential to cause serious damage, both to public health and democracy. The former because, of course, Kennedy's main reason for running is to convince more people to avoid vaccinations. The latter is evident by the alarming swell of support Kennedy is getting from the loudest, most famous fascists in the nation.
