Leaving the Democrat Party
& Going Independent!
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024, raised concerns about certain Democratic National Committee (DNC) rules that he perceived as favoring incumbent President Joe Biden. One specific allegation involved the DNC's decision to penalize candidates who campaigned in states that did not comply with the party's revised primary schedule.
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DNC Rule Changes and Their Implications:
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In an effort to restructure the primary calendar, the DNC proposed moving South Carolina to hold the first primary, aiming to enhance diversity in the early voting states. This adjustment conflicted with existing state laws in places like New Hampshire, which mandates that it holds the nation's first primary. The DNC warned that any state conducting its primary ahead of the sanctioned schedule could face penalties, including a reduction in delegates. Additionally, candidates who campaigned in these non-compliant states risked penalties, such as being denied delegates from those contests.
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Kennedy's campaign interpreted these rules as a strategic move to disadvantage challengers. They contended that if Kennedy campaigned in states like New Hampshire, which intended to proceed with their traditional early primaries despite the DNC's new schedule, he could be penalized by losing delegates. This situation led to concerns that votes cast for Kennedy in these states might not be fully recognized or could default to President Biden, especially if Kennedy was deterred from active campaigning due to the potential penalties.
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Kennedy's Response:
In response to these developments, Kennedy criticized the DNC's approach, asserting that the party was "rigging" the primary process to favor the incumbent. He expressed concerns that such measures disenfranchised Democratic voters by limiting their choices and undermining the democratic process within the party. Kennedy stated, "It's pretty clear that the DNC does not want a primary... They're effectively disenfranchising the Democratic voters from having any choice in who becomes president, the Democrat nominee."
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Conclusion:
The DNC's rule changes and the resulting penalties for candidates campaigning in non-compliant states were perceived by Kennedy's campaign as mechanisms that could inadvertently benefit President Biden by limiting the opportunities for challengers to compete effectively. These concerns highlighted the complexities and controversies surrounding the primary process during the 2024 election cycle.
While Shanahan may not have had the same celebrity status as Tony Robbins or Aaron Rodgers she does have a very interesting background - emerging from a childhood of poverty to become an entrepreneur-lawyer who strategically used the emerging technologies of A.I. to super-power her patent law business; and then became entangled in the world of the ultra-wealthy when she married Google Co-founder Sergey Brin. And since becoming more deeply involved in the RFK Jr campaign Nicole has shown herself to be a tremendously dynamic influence putting out regular revolutionary podcasts, doing interviews and speeches - and now, post Presidential season apparently preparing to run for the position of California's Governor.
On March 27th the campaign made its official announcement and the world got to really begin to know Nicole Shanahan.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg2PpeO-clk
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While I look forward to going into more depth about the VP selection process and exploring the lives, works and qualifications of the interesting individuals who were under consideration - for now I must leave it at this basic explanation.
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If you'd like to learn more about Nicole and her journey we've started to go in depth into her story - here - So far just the earlier half of her life has been explored - but I think that you'll find even that much to be a fascinating story.
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And if you'd like to check out my sculpture of her - as well as one of Bobby - click here!
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