Aug 21, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike De Sisti-USA TODAY
After celebrating Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), out Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) continues to defend the former presidential candidate.
Kennedy has no background in medical science and is known for his wacky, anti-scientific approach to health, which includes opposition to vaccines and sunscreen, health interventions that have saved millions of lives. Kennedy himself has a history of poor health, which included a parasitic brain worm that resulted in “mental fogginess and memory loss.”
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Yet Polis seems to think he has the potential to improve American health.
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“We’ve seen a lot of Cabinet appointments that are very dangerous and threatening to the country from the incoming president, but I always try to look at the glass as half full,” he recently told CNN, adding that Kennedy “said some false and outright dangerous claims about vaccines and vaccines that have saved millions of lives” but, “at the same time, we have to remember the last time Trump was president, he appointed a pharmaceutical lobbyist as the head of this agency, literally the fox guarding the hen house.”
“I truly believe that RFK is not beholden to big pharma,” Polis continued. “I think he’s an independent voice, and I think he’s somebody who means what he says when he cares about reducing chronic disease through better nutrition… If he focuses on that he can do some good for public health.”
Polis emphasized that he “would strongly oppose” any anti-vaccination efforts from Kennedy, but also said he thinks Kennedy won’t try to end vaccination because that’s what Kennedy said recently.
Yet, Kennedy has been a prominent voice in the anti-vaccine movement, which is based on pseudoscience and uses misinformation to spread the belief that vaccines don’t prevent disease. He is a member and the chair of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization that claims that autism, ADHD, food allergies, cancer, and autoimmune disease are caused by vaccines.
Kennedy and Children’s Health Defense spread misinformation in 2018 in Samoa that led to a decline in the vaccination rate, which was followed by an outbreak of measles in which 57,000 people were infected and 83 people – including children – died.
Folks on social media have expressed shock and disappointment at the Democratic governor’s views, accusing Polis of sucking up to the MAGA party.
Is this what passes for a Democrat in Colorado. Good lord
Remember that every single Republican appointee for the Supreme Court said before confirmation that Roe was settled law. After confirmation, Roe (settled law) was overturned the first chance these justices had. Why believe any appointee of the Republicans?
Polis is a classic “mugwump.” He tries to straddle the political divide by playing to both sides simultaneously. The classic definition: “with his mug on one side of the fence and his wump on the other.”
Polis has been on the hot seat in CO. He just showed how weak in character he is to the Dems who voted for him just to appease the crackpot maga protesters.
In November, Polis wrote on X that he was “excited” by Kennedy’s nomination.
“He helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA. I hope he leans into personal choice on vaccines rather than bans (which I think are terrible, just like mandates) but what I’m most optimistic about is taking on big pharma and the corporate ag oligopoly to improve our health.”
Polis cited what he believes is Kennedy’s support for capping prescription drug prices and reducing the use of pesticides in agriculture in his post.
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