What The First RFK Can Teach Democrats

Lessons from his 1968 Campaign

I previously wrote about the parallels between the 1968 and 2024 Presidential campaigns when incumbent Presidents dropped out, only for their Vice President to go on to lose. One of the saddest ironies is there were RFKs in both campaigns.

1968 saw the father run his own campaign for President only for it to be tragically cut short through assassination. 2024 saw his son and namesake run as an independent candidate, only for him to end it and back Trump.

Unfortunately, some voters now are mainly familiar with the son, and have never learned the story of the father. Yet RFK’s 1968 campaign still inspires and provides lessons for today’s Democratic party looking to rebuild.

The Anti-Establishment Establishment Candidate 

RFK came from a wealthy family, was brother to a President, a former Attorney General, and a Senator. In many ways, he was as establishment as you could get for a Presidential candidate.

And yet his campaign was explicitly anti-establishment in that he initially challenged the incumbent President, LBJ. When he dropped out, LBJ’s Vice President Hubert Humphrey became the establishment giant RFK was attempting to slay.

Along the way he also had to fight the progressive candidate who first jumped into the race, Eugene McCarthy. In this way, RFK was challenging both the left and right of his party. 

But it was less of an ideological struggle, and more about who truly represented the Democratic party and ultimately America. RFK positioned himself as the candidate who could unite all people and bring together a divided country.

A Candidate Who Felt Pain

RFK had the rare quality of being able to bring people together of different backgrounds. He was the candidate of both Black Americans in the cities and working class Whites in rural areas. He inspired Hispanics by talking about his Catholic faith, and at the same time, idealistic young voters disillusioned by Vietnam. 

His main gift was empathy, understanding the suffering of others, and connecting with voters personally. He did not always have these skills, but the assassination of his brother had opened up something in him. Ultimately, he felt people’s pain and they understood he had suffered his own personal tragedy.

He often talked about the deprivation and poverty on Indian reservations, even though his aides told him they only made up a small number of voters. He would bring up the suffering he saw in Eastern Kentucky and the Mississippi delta, despite the lack of political power these areas held.

A Vision of a United America 

At its core, RFK ran to replace the hatred and division in America with love and unity. 1968 saw America tearing itself apart and RFK felt compelled to do his part in bring it back together. 

This was on display just days after he entered the race when MLK was assassinated. RFK had been scheduled to hold a campaign rally in Indianapolis ahead of the primary there.

Most in the diverse crowd had not heard about what happened and it was up to RFK to tell them. After he made the announcement, there was a collective scream as the audience attempted to understand what he had told them.

RFK went on to give a brief speech urging unity while quoting Greek poetry. He summarized the feelings many felt: 

“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be White or they be Black.”

Many cities across America that night saw riots, but Indianapolis was quiet. It would be one of the greatest moments in RFK’s short campaign. He would go on to win the Indiana primary and the California one after that, only to be shot dead during the victory speech in Los Angeles. 

What RFK Can Teach Democrats Today

RFK’s campaign had the ability to be anti-establishment, empathetic, and unifying all at once. Today’s Democratic Party can learn and apply all these lessons as they go forward.

Democrats have increasingly become the party of the middle class with their base in the suburbs. This has made it easier to paint it as the party of the establishment. Neither party does well when it is viewed that way, and just as RFK worked to challenge the powerful, Democrats today must not be afraid to do so.

In that vein, Democrats must once again be perceived as feeling the pain of working people. Many of the policies are there like supporting healthcare and public education, but the message is not getting across. The focus must once again be on kitchen table issues, but also speaking of the poverty that still exists. The solutions Trump offers may be unrealistic, but he tapped into real anger at the conditions that exist in too many places in America.

Finally, Democrats must show they care about Americans of all backgrounds. Fair or not, many perceive Democrats as only fighting for certain people. Yet poverty in rural America is just as bad as poverty in the cities. For example, Fentanyl has ravaged many communities and Democrats do not always talk about the damage it has caused. It does not matter where suffering is happening in America, Democrats must be willing to talk about it. 

American Survived 1968

In the final analysis, America survived difficult times before. It survived a Civil War and World Wars. And it also survived 1968. 

The year began with the Tet offensive in Vietnam and soldiers dying everyday. It saw the assassination of MLK and riots across America. Then came the assassination of RFK, followed by violence at the Democratic National Convention culminating with the election of Richard Nixon. 

Americans got through those times and eventually came out the other side. As painful a period as it was, it also saw progress of civil rights and even landing a man on the moon.

Democrats must reckon with what comes ahead, and should remember the words of RFK that helped calm a crowd in Indianapolis after MLK’s death:  

“Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."