In the Washington Monthly today, Steve Kettmann, a journalist with a long history covering steroids in sports and the ghostwriter of Jose Canseco’s memoir, makes a convincing case that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a steroid user.
That is relevant information to know about a presidential candidate. As Kettmann argues, “You don’t want roid rage to be an issue if, say, China invades Taiwan.”
Kettmann’s article comes on the heels of The New York Times report that Kennedy admitted “I have cognitive problems,” in a 2012 deposition during divorce proceedings, as a result of mercury poisoning and a dead worm in his brain.
As faithful newsletter readers know, I have argued Kennedy does not yet deserve inclusion in polls, because “including independent or third-party candidates with embryonic campaigns in polls sends a falsely legitimizing message to voters that such candidates are of similar stature and viability to the major party candidates.”
Only when such candidates are clearly on track to be on most state ballots and available to be selected by most voters—like Ross Perot was at this point in 1992, with an explosive signature-gathering effort well underway—should their national support be gauged.
Of course, Kennedy is being included in some polls these days. And recent news developments about Kennedy—and others I will share below—won’t necessarily affect those numbers.
But the revelations further raise the question of whether Kennedy will secure ballot access in most states and whether he merits mention in future national polling.
But first, here’s what’s leading the Washington Monthly website:
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Before Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Brain Worm, There Was the Steroid Question: Steve Kettmann makes the case that Kennedy is juicing. Click here for the full story.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Bowed But Not Broken: Contributing Writer Margaret Carlson analyzes the Georgian’s failed attempt to oust the Speaker of the House. Click here for the full story.
Day 12 of the Hush Money Trial: What Would Jail Be Like for Trump?: Contributing Editor Jonathan Alter, reporting from the courtroom, explores what would happen if Donald Trump violates one too many gag orders. Click here for the full story.
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My argument has always been that candidates should have “proved they are poised to be on the ballot in most of the country” to merit inclusion in polls. For benchmarks, we can use Perot’s successful 50-state effort in 1992, which hit 25 states by July and 40 by September.
CNN reported on May 8 that Kennedy is only officially on the ballot in five states so far. The Kennedy campaign website classifies seven others as “petitioning completed.” They appear to be states with either low signature thresholds or states where he circumvented the need for signature gathering by snagging a ballot line from a pre-existing party.
Kennedy has time to boost those numbers, but other reports about the inner-workings of his campaign do not instill confidence he has assembled a team capable of completing the job.
Most devastating is last week’s Wall Street Journal investigation about all sorts of strange and unsettling behavior on the Kennedy campaign, including a former staffer concluding the campaign is full of “grifters and opportunists,” a director of messaging who decamped to Costa Rica for five weeks and called some of Kennedy’s ideas “actually repugnant,” and a female ballot access director who found her contract terminated after expressing discomfort with her male supervisor because three years ago he was accused of sexual harassment.
On top of that, a paid consultant to the signature gathering effort was arrested two weeks ago for assault and criminal obstruction of breathing.
Again, Kennedy still has time. But we are far from the point at where we are obligated to call this anything more than a two-person presidential race.
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Best,
Bill Scher, Washington Monthly politics editor
