BREAKING NEWS: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Fires Back At Stacey Plaskett, Accusations He Is Racist

thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman maybe we could put five minutes on the clock then not ten live on the clock and we'll start it running thank you Mr chairman and I I want to start I want to put it aside my written State and for a moment and address one of the uh points that was brought up I think an important Point by the ranking member that this body ought to be concerning itself with the uh with issues and impact directly the American people the rising price of groceries 76 percent of the past two years were basic food stuff uh the war in Ukraine the inflation issues the Border issues many many other issues that concern us all as a nation we can't do that without the First Amendment without debate uh when I gave my speech my announcement speech in Boston uh two months ago YouTube I I talked about all those issues I focused on groceries I focused on the fact that Working Class People can no longer afford to live in this country I talked about inflation all the issues that deeply concerned you and that you've devoted your career to alleviating those ashes five minutes into my speech when I was talking about Paul Revere YouTube deep platform to me I didn't talk about vaccines in that speech I didn't talk about anything that was a verboten subject I just was talking about my campaign and things the conversation that we ought to be happening with each other as Americans but I was shut down and that is why the first amendment is important debate congenial respectful debate is the is the fertilizer it's the water it's the sunlight for our democracy we need to be talking to each other oh this is a letter and many of you signed many of my fellow Democrats I've spent my life in this party I've devoted my life to the values of this party there's 102 people sign this is itself is evidence of the problem that this hearing what is convened to address this is an attempt to censor a censorship hearing the the charges in this and and by the way censorship is antithetical to our party it was at it was appalling to my father to my uncle to FDR to Harry Truman Thomas Jefferson is a chairman referred to is the basis for democracy it sets us apart from all of the previous forms of government we need to be able to talk and and the first amendment was not written for easy speech it was written for the speech that nobody likes you for and I was I was censored not just by the Democratic Administration I was censored by the Trump Administration I was the first person censored by as the chairman pointed out of the Bible Administration two days after it came into office anti-semitism racism these are are the most appalling disgusting pejoratives and they're applied to me to silence me because people don't want me to have that conversation about the war about groceries about inflation about the war on the middle class in this country that we need to be having and and by the way I want to say this while I'm on the record that in my entire life and why I'm under oath in my entire life I have never uttered a phrase that was either racist or anti-Semitic I have spent my life fighting my professional career fighting for Israel for the protection of Israel I have a better record on Israel than anybody in this chamber today I'm the only person who was publicly objected to the two billion dollar payout that Divine Administration is now making to Iran which is a is a genocidal program I'm the only one who's objected to that I fought more ferociously for Israel than anybody but I am being censored here through this target through through through the smears through misinterpretations what I've said through lies through Association which is a tactic we all thought we had been discredited and dispatched with after the Army McCarthy hearings in the 1950s but those same weapons are now being deployed against me to silence me I know many of the people who wrote this letter I don't believe there's a single person who signed this letter who believes I'm anti-Semitic I do not believe that there is no evidence of that now I want to say something I think this is more important than it goes directly to what you talked about ranking member which is the the need this toxic polarization that it is destroying our country today and how do we deal with that we are more this kind of division is more dangerous for our country than any time since the American Civil War and how do we deal with that how are we going to every Democrat on this committee believes that we need to end at polarization do you think you can do that by censoring people I'm telling you you cannot you that only aggravates and amplifies the problem we need to start being kind to each other we need to start being respectful to each other we need to start start restoring the comedy to this chamber and and to the rest of America's but it has to start here my Uncle Edward Kennedy has more legislation with his name on it then any senator in the United States history why is that because he was able to reach across the aisle because he didn't deal any insults because he didn't try to censor people he brought home people who were antithetical as to what he believed in he came home almost every weekend with people like Orrin Hatch to our house it's a compound in Hyannis for it at that time Orrin hatched to me was like Darth Vader because I was an environmentalist and I was saying why why is Teddy bringing this guy home but he knew he was effective because he understood that comedy and respect and kindness and compassion and empathy for other people is the way that we had the only way to restore the function in this in this chamber but more importantly today we need to give an example in the leadership of our country of being respectful to each other if you think I said something that's anti-semitic let's talk about the details I'm telling you all the things that I'm accused of right now by you and in this letter our distortions they're misrepresentations I didn't say those things there's fragments that I said but I denounce anybody who who uses the words that I have said to imply something that is negative about people who are Jewish I never said those things and I want to point out also that the chairman pointed to Dennis kucinich is fighting behind me there is no two people in the country who feel differently about them more differently about American politics than these two people and yet they weren't friends Dennis attended his children's basketball games attended his daughter's wedding this is what we need how we need to start treating each other in this country we have to stop trying to destroy each other to marginalize to vilify to Gaslight each other we have to find a place inside of ourselves of light of empathy of compassion and above all we need to elevate the Constitution the United States which was written for Hard Times and that has to be the premier compass for all of our activities thank you very much thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman I

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Length: 9min 5sec (545 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 20 2023