Re: “The many ways Kennedy is already undermining vaccines” (April 13, Nation):
The most telling part of this article was the quote by Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Cassidy complained that Kennedy was “pissing away money” by spending taxpayer dollars to reexamine the oft studied and discredited claim that vaccines cause autism.
Cassidy’s crocodile tears are the perfect example of the duplicity and indeed cowardice of Republican politicians. Cassidy, a physician, was instrumental in getting Kennedy confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, although he surely knew about Kennedy’s crackpot theories and anti-vaccine rants. The Republican senator failed to honor his oath as a physician and in fact failed the American public when he embraced a toxic mixture of self-deception and sycophancy toward President Donald Trump in order to guarantee Kennedy’s nomination.
Cassidy’s support of an unqualified and dangerous candidate like Kennedy is emblematic of today’s Republican politicians and their penchant for Faustian bargains, in order to please the self-annointed stable genius.
Larry Wechsler, Edmonds