CHARLES TOWN, W.V. – Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said this week it was fitting he chose Martinsburg, West Virginia, for his first trip to promote the “MAHA” agenda, saying his iconic political family has a unique history in the Mountain State.
Kennedy recalled former New York Democratic Gov. Al Smith – in whose honor a famous annual Catholic Archdiocese-affiliated dinner is held in New York City – and how he incidentally forced the country to reckon with anti-Catholic biases.
Despite being a popular governor in New York who preceded President Franklin Roosevelt in Albany, Kennedy noted Smith’s foray into the presidential enviornment led to political strife and “a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan” in elements of the South.
Smith misplaced to Republican President Herbert Hoover “catastrophically,” Kennedy stated – as Smith had solely received Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 5 Deep South states and running-mate Sen. Joseph Robinson’s Arkansas.
RFK JR BACKS WV PUSH FOR SNAP WAIVERS, WORK MANDATES UNDER ‘MAHA’
“And people all felt, the pundits all felt, that America would never elect a Catholic president,” Kennedy stated.
So when John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960, his nephew recalled, the Massachusetts Democrat knew he needed to win West Virginia – the state with a then-record-low 2% Catholic inhabitants, and the place a lot of the anti-Smith vote within the area throughout the 1928 cycle got here from.
“It was critical for my uncle’s campaign that he win this state to show the country that a Catholic could win the presidency,” Kennedy stated.
“He came down in West Virginia, and his objective was to shake the hands of every person in West Virginia. And I think he came very close.”
“And my parents came down; my uncle, my aunts – luckily we have a lot of Kennedys” – he interjected to viewers laughter – “and they spent time really getting to know the people of West Virginia and understanding the issues in the state and problems and those things stayed with them throughout his presidency and on Election Day.”
JFK finally beat Republican Richard Nixon by seven factors within the Mountain State, thought of a significant upset.
“He always believed that he would not be president if he had not won this state – and he never forgot that relationship; that bond that he had for the people of this state.”
Kennedy stated that previous to turning into HHS secretary, a lot of his anti-pollution work took him to West Virginia, notably coal nation within the southern a part of the state.
Now, he stated, his new position permits him to proceed combating a special sort of air pollution and “giving people a chance to live healthier lives.”
On the occasion, he and Gov. Patrick Morrisey unveiled a first-in-the-nation coverage banning meals dyes and sure preservatives at school lunches, with a statewide sundown in 2028.
Morrisey additionally signed a doc looking for a waiver from Kennedy’s workplace to ban SNAP meals stamps from getting used to purchase soda, and instituting work necessities for eligibility.
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Gov. Al Smith attends the World Sequence on the Polo Grounds, New York, on Oct. 4, 1922. (Paul Thompson/FPG/Getty Photos)
“Today we’re here to focus on making West Virginia healthy,” Morrisey informed reporters after Kennedy’s speech.
He went on to unveil an “order” of kinds implementing the “Mountaineer Mile,” and added the MAHA (Make America Wholesome Once more) motion formally started in West Virginia that afternoon.
West Virginia is first in weight problems charges, with the close by District of Columbia thought of 51st and subsequently the healthiest by that metric. Morrisey stated he and Kennedy need to change that.
“We’re cleaning up our foods, promoting exercise, and putting the ‘Nutrition’ back into SNAP,” the governor stated.
He additionally instituted the Mountaineer Mile initiative – urging each Mountaineer to stroll a minimum of one mile every day.
To that finish, Morrisey posted photographs on social media of the sundown view from his personal Mountaineer Miles walked close to his dwelling within the evenings since.
