A Virtual Church

Responding to your questions

July 11, 2024

I carefully read all the responses I receive relating to the articles I have written. Some have been downright ugly, but others are thought-provoking and worthy of a little discourse. Thought it would be fun to answer some of the questions today.
 
1.         What do you think of Robert F. Kennedy’s run for the Presidency?
In the 2024 election cycle, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is one of the Libertarian party/Independent candidates, but he is not the only one. Jill Stein is running for the Green Party. She is a physician, an environmental activist, pro-labor and anti-war. Cornell West is a philosopher, scholar, thinker and activist running as an independent. He is Harvard educated, and a strong voice for justice and equity.
 
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whose name alone should garner a look is leading the independents. The attention he’s getting is not all good. Early clips of vax denial and a few other bizarre statements were a turnoff. Even his family, the Kennedys, are opposed to his candidacy. Yet there are other clips in which Kennedy speaks with clarity and Kennedy-esque persuasion. His polling is rising, coming closer and closer to the numbers Ross Perot had when he was a third-party candidate in 1992. Perot garnered 19% of the vote. His example is the key to my own thinking about third party nominations. Perot’s vote split the Republican Party vote. He lost. Bush lost. And Bill Clinton won the presidency. The risk of voting for third party candidates is splitting the vote. In this election, if RFK splits the Democratic vote, and garners some of the Independent vote, Trump will be the winner. Neither West nor Kennedy are on the ballot in NC at this point. So this might be a moot point. 
  
2.         Why don’t you write more about Mark Robinson?
There isn’t enough ink in the world to write about Mark Robinson. Bombast, insult, provocation, and suggestions of violence are in his rhetoric. His soul must be a dark hole. Pity the afflicted, the prayers say. Many candidates up and down the Republican line need pity. When I think that Mark Robinson could be Governor of North Carolina, I am sick to my stomach. He will be embarrassing and dangerous. But he is only one of the candidates in our state who fill this bill. From Roy Cooper back most of our governors have been principled people. Not a one of them said they were going to kill their enemies. Oh, dear! How we are falling! 
 
3.         I think what you wrote about Project 2025 is fake news!
Think what you will. From the time of radio’s Rush Limbaugh, the assault against Democrats began. I was listening to Rush on the day Bill Clinton was elected. His rancor was, “you democrats this and you democrats that.” The barrage of insult was horrifying. I said out loud in the car, “We Democrats don’t have to listen to you.” Then I turned the radio off. A lot of people didn’t, and Rush and Alex Jones and Breitbart as news sources created something even more noxious than Ditto-heads. Believe what you want, but you don’t have to scratch the surface of any mainstream news source to read a ton of information about Project 2025. The whole manifesto is online verbatim. It’s over 900 pages, so pack a lunch. 
 
Heads in sand do not render good voting decisions. Read all you can, discuss without being disagreeable. Make good choices. 
4.         Do you really think Joe Biden has the goods to win an election and govern four more years? 
When I wrote about President Biden, I tried to be even-handed in assessing his capabilities over those of Donald Trump. Donald Trump is in the same category as Mark Robinson. They are blowhards, and they are obnoxious. Plus, Trump is a convicted felon who has trouble telling truth and offering a vision for this country. It’s all negative burn-the-place-down chatter. I hear people talking about what country they can move to for the next 4 years if Trump wins. 
 
The defiance of President Biden in the face of being called on to leave office is somewhat surprising and disheartening. Defiance is fueled by adrenaline. Counting on adrenaline to fuel a campaign into November, much less powering a presidency for another four years seems an exhausting stretch. There are no consolation prizes in this year’s election. Doing the best you can is not good enough in this year’s race. We need the brightest and best minds and hearts to get us over the election finish line with a victory over Donald Trump. Democrats need to put up or shut up. We don’t need to give the Trump machine ammunition. 
 
Thank you for your feedback. Bless you as we all struggle to save this country we love.
 
Lib Campbell is a retired Methodist pastor, retreat leader, columnist and host of the blogsite www.avirtualchurch.com. She can be contacted at libcam05@gmail.com