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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: End toxic polarization: only environmentalist on Fox News

Q: Some of your early admirers include Trumpists like Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, and Roger Stone. Do you welcome that [even if it] helps Donald Trump?

KENNEDY: I'm trying to unite the country. I'm not going to pick out people and say that they're evil, they should be cancelled, or whatever. I'm a Democrat. I know what my values are. I've always spoken to Republicans my entire life. During all the years that I was a leader of the environmental movement, I was the only environmentalist who regularly went on Fox News. I think the kind of tribalism that [the media] is advocating is poisonous to our country. I think it's toxic. It's created a polarization, a division, in this country that is more dangerous than at any time since the American Civil War.

Q: Isn't there a difference between disagreement and--

KENNEDY: I believe in the same America that my father and my uncle believed in--I don't care if they're Republican or independent, or what they are.

Source: The New Yorker magazine on 2023 Presidential hopefuls Jul 7, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Good environmental policy identical to good economic policy

An environmental lawyer by trade, Kennedy has positioned environmental policy as a centerpiece of his presidential bid. "In 100% of the situations, good environmental policy is identical to good economic policy," Kennedy told a crowd of supporters when announcing his presidential run in April. "If we want to measure our economy, this is how we ought to be measuring--based upon how it produces jobs and the dignity of jobs over the generations and how it preserves the value of the assets of our community."

Kennedy has also promised, if elected, to protect wild lands by curbing logging, oil drilling and mining and containing suburban sprawl.

"We will become a global advocate for rainforest preservation and marine restoration," his campaign website states. "We will rethink development policies that promised economic growth while ignoring ecological sustainability, and ended up delivering neither."

Source: ABC Politics on 2023 Presidential hopefuls Jun 21, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Riverkeepers: Sue polluters to clean up Hudson River

Kennedy litigated and supervised environmental enforcement lawsuits on the east coast estuaries on behalf of Hudson Riverkeeper and the Long Island Soundkeeper, where he was also a board member. Long Island Soundkeeper brought lawsuits against cities and industries along the Connecticut and New York coastlines. In 1986, Kennedy was on a team of three law firms that won a case against Remington Arms Trap and Skeet Gun Club in Stratford, Connecticut, that ended the practice of shooting lead shot into Long Island Sound.

On the Hudson, Kennedy brought a series of lawsuits against municipalities and against industries, including Consolidated Edison and General Electric to stop discharging pollution and to clean up legacy contamination.

In 1995, Kennedy advocated for repeal of legislation during the 104th Congress which he considered unfriendly to the environment. In 1997, Kennedy wrote "The Riverkeepers" [book with John Cronin].

Source: Wikipedia "Riverkeeper" on 2023 Presidential hopefuls Oct 9, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: 1995: "The Kennedy Who Matters" for environmental law

While volunteering for an environmental nonprofit during his probation period, he found the cause to which he would dedicate much of his life. Kennedy threw himself into environmental law, fighting to clean up the Hudson River and prosecute polluters. He created a legal clinic at New York's Pace University that enlisted law students to work on environmental cases, which became a model for projects around the country, and received accolades for his work focused on Indigenous communities. A 1995 cover of New York magazine hailed him as "The Kennedy Who Matters."

Over time, perceptions of Kennedy shifted from widely respected environmental crusader to conspiratorial outcast. Pharmaceutical companies were pushing harmful substances on children, he argued, and U.S. regulators were lying about it the same way they had about river pollution.

Source: Time magazine "Very Online" on 2023 Presidential hopefulss Jun 14, 2023

  • The above quotations are from Interviews and analysis of presidential primary hopefuls during 2023.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Environment.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Joe Biden on Environment.
  • Click here for more quotes by Donald Trump on Environment.
2024 Presidential contenders on Environment:
  Candidates for President & Vice-President:
V.P.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(I-CA)
Chase Oliver(L-GA)
Dr.Jill Stein(D-MA)
Former Pres.Donald Trump(R-FL)
Sen.J.D.Vance(R-OH)
Gov.Tim Walz(D-MN)
Dr.Cornel West(I-NJ)

2024 presidential primary contenders:
Pres.Joe_Biden(D-DE)
N.D.Gov.Doug Burgum(R)
N.J.Gov.Chris_Christie(R)
Fla.Gov.Ron_DeSantis(R)
S.C.Gov.Nikki_Haley(R)
Ark.Gov.Asa_Hutchinson(R)
Former V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
U.S.Rep.Dean_Phillips(D-MN)
Vivek_Ramaswamy(R-OH)
S.C.Sen.Tim_Scott(R)
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Page last updated: Nov 02, 2024