RFK jr unfairly treated?

You might remember me complaining there wasn’t a transcript generated for the recent RFK jr hearing regarding recent changes and firings within HHS. Finally I discovered the thing to do is to go to youtube and search under C-Span. This will have closed caption which helps alot, especially with Kennedy, although that CC will have uncorrected mistakes.

I have long suspected that RFK is not being treated fairly by the media, or in fact by about anybody Left or Right. Not being particularly interested in him previous to his current position, and actually assuming I wouldn’t agree much with him, I have come around to now sympathizing with him. I recognized something was up early on, after all he set up scores to be settled by attacking the Dems for his treatment when he was running for President, and I think he successfully really skewered them over it. Then the measles outbreak happened in Texas and the skewering reversed, some of it justified I think, including how his previous activity has encouraged anti-vaxers. However, it struck me as very odd that we never got to hear what he had to say about it… I dismissed the idea that he had nothing to say.*

So I was additionally frustrated over the way this hearing had been covered and really glad to be able to hear for myself what he had to say this time. It was an eye-opening experience for me. The congresspeople are able to sit there and ‘go off’ and showboat as much as they please, and do not have to allow the invitee to defend himself at all. If he does, and they didn’t ask him to, they can ask for “their time back”. In order to not look ridiculously unfair, they can demand short answers, sometimes a ‘yes or no’. Of course, no invitee with half a brain is going to allow that, and winds up trying to answer anyway by speaking over them. This the media loves, especially when the invitee is someone they are supposed to make look bad, and the coverage you will see will be mostly this.

If it were possible in politics for bygones to be bygones, I have to believe some of the Dems would have said that they despise most Trump appointees but make an exception in his case. Almost all the things he is trying to do should make them want to give him a chance. As for me, I am not so far from center that I too am interested in seeing him get some things done … like all this childhood obesity. Instead, the grudge is alive and well and the Dems would all love to see him resign as they frequently demand in this hearing.

I listened to the whole thing and am going on a bit too much because I have wound up putting some time into this. I have included below the spots of time you might take a listen to in the provided link, without having to do so for the whole thing. I especially encourage you to listen to what he has to say at 2 hrs 24 minutes as it is a rare instance of getting to hear him defend himself and explain his vaccine stance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2IEnZ2MtKw

notation starts off in minutes and seconds and later becomes hrs, minutes, seconds

17:00 it’s reasonable to skip everything up till here

19:46 interrupted here by a protestor who declares “you are killing millions of people" [etc] or somesuch

21:00 RFK gets another chance to talk and makes good points here

33:30 here Sen. Wyden makes the mistake of letting RFK defend himself, which as I remember never happens again with a Dem

43:30 Sen Cornyn let’s him speak, makes good points

47:00 RFK makes controversial comments on how Covid was mishandled,

55:00 another chance to talk and makes good points

*notation changes* ……… 1:49 means one hr and 49 minutes

1:49. RFK here does not come across well, can’t answer big beaut bill questions, evasive maybe due to questions being “trap” type

1:59 interesting, to me at least, questions and answers about incredible numbers of children given drugs to treat things like ADHD

1:60 senator warren’s accusations about vaccines being denied to people. She means how some states won’t do them for free for everybody now that he has declared they are not recommended for everybody. I do think this was a case of unintended consequences, an RFK mistake, but we don’t really get to hear him explain other that what he can blurt out over her objections.

2:06 Bernie Sanders similar showboating, he’s not as bad as Warren

2:24 RFK’s best moments as he’s given time to really lay out his defense on his vaccine positions

3:00 long covid good questions and answers

* he also tries in this hearing to do that but is not allowed to

I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]

He's a clown
Hiring the worst qualified person ever for HHS secretary should be criminal
More Americans will die because of him
Trump complains about DEI then hires a complete clown that dismisses science and embraces conspiracy BS
sad

I don't have any sympathy for him. He expected adulation for being a Kennedy and for being a Democrat, What he individually neither earned nor deserved it. I have no sympathy for him over his treatment then or now. Him and his ignorance makes him the author of his own misfortune.

Quote:

Organizations that have filed a lawsuit against Kennedy and the HHS

In July 2025, several organizations filed a lawsuit against Kennedy and the HHS over the "unlawful, unilateral vaccine changes".
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Stated that Kennedy's decisions were "founded in fear and not evidence".
American College of Physicians (ACP)
American Public Health Association (APHA)
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM)

Organizations that have called for Kennedy's resignation

In September 2025, more than 20 organizations, including those below, issued a joint statement demanding Kennedy's resignation to "restore the integrity, credibility and science-driven mission of HHS".
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA): Accused Kennedy of undermining science, spreading misinformation, and putting the health of Americans at risk.
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: Signed the joint statement calling for Kennedy's resignation.
American Association of Immunologists: Signed the joint statement calling for Kennedy's resignation.
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
American Academy of HIV Medicine

Other organizations voicing strong opposition

American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP): Has publicly broken with the administration's new vaccine guidelines.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Has publicly broken with the administration's new vaccine guidelines.
American Medical Association (AMA): Voiced concern over Kennedy’s actions regarding the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an advisory panel of primary care experts.

Quote: rxwine

[all these organizations like AAP reflexively suing HHS etc]

this helps convince me RFK is on to something

Like I say, I am suspicious that so many people and organizations, yes, reflexively even, are opposed to Kennedy

You can't leave out right of center. The WSJ opinion pages say his background is Injury Law and that is what he is all about, buddying up with all those people

Quote: GenoDRPh

I don't have any sympathy for him. He expected adulation for being a Kennedy and for being a Democrat, What he individually neither earned nor deserved it. I have no sympathy for him over his treatment then or now. Him and his ignorance makes him the author of his own misfortune.

Well said for a Jacobin position

as for adulation for being a Dem, maybe a Dem of old. Like his uncle the President. Now *that* kind of Dem is a thing of the past sure enough

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: rxwine

[all these organizations like AAP reflexively suing HHS etc]

this helps convince me RFK is on to something

JFK clearly has more sound medical knowledge and successes than all those organizations combined.

Quote: rxwine

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: rxwine

[all these organizations like AAP reflexively suing HHS etc]

this helps convince me RFK is on to something

JFK clearly has more sound medical knowledge and successes than all those organizations combined.

RFK is right to say, generally speaking, they have failed us completely in many areas ... meanwhile making sure they succeed in one area: making lots of money

the AMA for example has been criticized for at least as far back as the 70s for not accrediting more medical schools so we would have enough doctors. There have always been plenty of eager, qualified students. The solution has been to import doctors from other countries, which frankly the public doesn't like. More importantly, the solution is failing and lack of doctors in rural areas has reached crisis proportions. This has negatively affected me personally.

Now why would an association of doctors like it when there aren't enough of them? I'm afraid the public, the informed public anyway, has always known the reason. Do I have to spell it out? Do I also have to point out how formidably strong these groups are, enough to get their own way in spite of what is best for the country?

The AMA and this vast host of other very powerful organizations who are used to getting their own way don't like our new guy with new ideas? I am not unhappy he is challenging the AMAs reign, you can be sure. Well , RFK might soon find out just how powerful they can be, especially when they can join up with Dems angry with RFK over his actions in the election. Meanwhile RXwine and others will be cheering on these powerful groups as they railroad him.

Probably our resident Dems applaud having no transcript and are angry at C-Span for preserving the video so people can see for themselves what an ambush this hearing was ... and will refuse to watch any of what was suggested

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: rxwine

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: rxwine

[all these organizations like AAP reflexively suing HHS etc]

this helps convince me RFK is on to something

JFK clearly has more sound medical knowledge and successes than all those organizations combined.

RFK is right to say, generally speaking, they have failed us completely in many areas ... meanwhile making sure they succeed in one area: making lots of money

the AMA for example has been criticized for at least as far back as the 70s for not accrediting more medical schools so we would have enough doctors. There have always been plenty of eager, qualified students. The solution has been to import doctors from other countries, which frankly the public doesn't like. More importantly, the solution is failing and lack of doctors in rural areas has reached crisis proportions. This has negatively affected me personally.

15- 20% that get into medical schools washout without graduating. Why would having more schools help that? Lower standards is what you mean.