Topic: Rfk

Carl Oglesby theorizes that the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK were "gunplay" resulting from the intense conflict between Yankee and Cowboy power factions. The 1960 election of Kennedy was viewed by the Cowboy/Nixonian faction as a "Yankee theft" involving the Chicago political machine. The subsequent violence of the decade is framed as a series of power moves and counter-moves to control the direction of the American government.

Glenn Ford of the Black Agenda Report provides a critical analysis of the Kennedy family's relationship with the Civil Rights Movement. Ford argues that the Democrats' lock on the Black vote was not "magic" but a result of political calculation. He asserts that JFK and RFK were not quintessential liberals but saw the movement as a nuisance, only intervening when it became a political necessity to distance the party from the "Dixiecrats."

Glenn Ford explains that the FBI's surveillance and character assassination campaign against Martin Luther King Jr. began under Robert Kennedy's watch as Attorney General. The hosts discuss how the March on Washington was viewed by the Kennedys as a "managed protest" to contain radicalism. They also compare photographer Griffith J. Davis to Gordon Parks, suggesting both may have had government ties while documenting civil rights leaders.

The hosts discuss the Washington Redskins' decision to change their team name. Moe suggests owner Dan Snyder used social pressure as a "smokescreen" to facilitate moving the team to a new stadium in D.C. They debate whether Native American groups were truly offended, noting that some tribes supported the "warrior" imagery while others were politically influenced.