January 29, 2025 • 42 mins
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance seeking confirmation to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. RFK Jr. was hammered with questions about his past skepticism about vaccines, abortion rights, and linking school shootings to antidepressants, among other things. RFK Jr. told senators that he is not anti-vaccine or anti-industry, and that he believes “vaccines play a critical role in healthcare.”
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nice eyes. I'm going Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All right, back to the poems, we go, got Warren
checking in here to We're talking again. We're keeping our
eye on this horrific story out of Washington, d C. Tonight,
but we are also talking about the Robert Kennedy testimony
in front of the Senate today.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Thanks, yeah, thank you.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I just remember when the vaccine first came out, all
these Democrat senators in Congress, people saying, oh, they had
a lot of questions about the vaccine and all discussion.
All Kennedy is doing is asking very tough questions, very
(00:46):
uncomfortable questions.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I think, I think it's an interesting part. Remember the uh,
the Trump administration. People forget the timing of this. The
Trump administration was in office when COVID hit yes, and they.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Put up the vaccine. They like lightning speed.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, they called it warp speed is what they called it.
And I remember in December of twenty twenty, then President
elect Biden and Vice President elect Harris I think were hesitant.
I think they finally did accept the vaccine, but they
were hesitant.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
They were very hesitant, and they were very this and that.
But also I think that the decorum in Washington, DC
is just trash. I mean, it's all they're acting like children.
They're acting like children, and they're acting very very unprofessional.
(01:49):
I mean, if this was a court of law, that
would be badgering in the judge would tell the prosecution
to back off or the whoever.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Absolute Q. Yeah, it was. It was over. It was
over the top, and then you had people who were cheering.
I couldn't figure out. I watched it a little bit
of it, actually quite a bit of it. This morning.
I was in the gym and I was watching it,
and there was some outbursts and people the room was cleared.
I couldn't tell if they were his supporters or his critics,
(02:22):
or maybe.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
A combination of both, maybe a combination of both. But
it's just the fact that, you know, I mean, this
happened anytime that confirmation has happened. I mean, I mean,
if it's if it's a Republican, you know, questioning a Democrat,
you know, de badgering, if it's a Democrat, you know,
towards a Republican, de badgering. I mean, it's just like it.
(02:46):
The world watches us and we look, we look chilly.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah, and then there was some questioning from I want
I want you to react to this Senator Whitehouse at
named US senator from Rhode Island who apparently was was
Kennedy's roommate when they both were at the University of
Virginia law school. What a small world, What a small world?
(03:14):
He goes after Kennedy, and again this, I guess is
a question, but it goes for a minute in six seconds.
If you get a chance for Rob, please play cut
number twenty six. This Senator Sheldon Whitehouse questioning or at
least talking to Robert F. Kennedy Junior Cut twenty six.
Rob was Kennedy.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
I only have five minutes with you, so and I've
got a lot of experience with CMS. So you're just
going to have to listen.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Two things.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
One, if you want to move from advocacy to public responsibility,
Americans are going to need to hear a clear and
trustworthy recantation of what you have said on vaccinations, including
(04:09):
a promise from you never to say vaccines aren't medically
safe when they in fact are, and making indisputably clear
that you support mandatory vaccinations against diseases where that will
keep people safe you're in that hole pretty deep. We've
(04:35):
just had a measles case in Rhode Island, the first
since twenty thirteen.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And frankly, you frighten people.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
That's a good question, Senator white House. I wonder how
long you took it to write that question.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
What a what a jerk?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
What a jerk? I only have five minutes to ask
my question, So let me let me attack you personally
and tell you you frighten people. And by the way,
is it possible you think Warren that measles outbreak could
have come from people coming across the border illegally to Rhoe.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Is Yeah, that was that was My first thought is like,
you know it's coming over the border, because like I'm
in California. You know there's there are diseases that are
coming back from people coming over the border.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think, I think, I think there's a spate of
tuberculosis cases as a matter of fact, in California. We
have a California caller coming up. She may be able
to provide some insight on that. Yeah, but it's just
I listen, this is this shows how much so how
incestuous this is. So you have you have Robert F. Kennedy.
(05:47):
His cousin, Caroline Kennedy, is calling him a predator and
in effect a drug a former drug addict who has
enabled other members of the family. That's what she's saying, essentially,
mean mm hmm, it's I.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Mean, I don't I don't understand the Kennedy dynamic and
why they're attacking each other and all stuff like that.
And I don't know enough about RFK. I mean, I
know that he's asking very uncomfortable questions and and he
wants to go after what's in our food, the chemicals
and the food.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Which which I think is legitimate concerns.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
But now outside of that, I really, I really don't
know anything. So I don't know if I would do
an up or down on him, you know, like confirming
them or not confirming them. I don't know enough information
on him.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I got to I got to play two cuts of
Caroline Kennedy for you because I want you to respond.
Cut twenty seven A rock Caroline Kennedy basically accusing Kennedy
Robert Kennedy UH, who had been admitted at a former addict,
basically saying that he led others, including family members, down
(07:02):
the road to tradition. Cut twenty seven A Caroline Kenny
that was a.
Speaker 6 (07:06):
Long time ago, and people can change. Through his own
strength and the many second chances he was given by
people who felt sorry for the boy who lost his father,
Bobby was able to pull himself out of illness and disease.
I admire the discipline that took and the continuing commitment
it requires. But siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down
(07:30):
the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness, and death,
while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie and cheat
his way through life.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And then this is one where she's absolutely inconsistent. Now
she's a smart woman. Okay, she talks. I want you to.
She says she will not try to speak for her father, who,
of course, who was President Kennedy, but she's certain he,
his father, uncle, Bobby, and Teddy would be disgusted. So
(08:04):
she says, I'm not going to speak for my father,
but I'm going to tell you he and his brother,
his two brothers, will be disgusted. How can you possibly
articulate that sentence? Here we go, Cut twenty eight eight.
Speaker 7 (08:16):
Caroline Kennedy, unlike Bobby, I try not to speak for
my father, but I am certain that he and my
uncle Bobby, who gave their lives in public service to
our country, and my.
Speaker 6 (08:28):
Uncle Teddy, who devoted his long sentate career to the
cause of improving health care, would be disgusted.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
I mean, it's it's almost like it's almost like they
are mad that you know he's working for the enemy.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Well, I think that is a big part of it.
And matter of fact, I will prove your statement right here.
Here's cut twenty eight. Rob. This proves what Warren just said.
Fit cut twenty eight.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
We are a close family, and none of that is
easy to say. It also wasn't easy to remain silent
last year when Bobby expropriated my father's image and distorted
President Kennedy's legacy to advance his own failed presidential campaign,
and then groveled to Donald Trump for a job Bobby
(09:19):
continues to grant stand off my father's assassination and that
of his own father. It's incomprehensible to me that someone
who is willing to exploit their own painful family tragedies
for publicity would be put in charge of America's life
and death situations.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
He groveled to Trump.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
I hurt it right in the head, you know, because
you know, they just you know, Democrats don't know how
to act right now because because of what Trump is doing,
all the things that he's doing right maybe he's going
a little bit too fast. It's like they you know,
they're putting you know, Democrats have to play defense right now,
(10:06):
and rather than Republicans constantly right now, we're on the.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Democrats have not compoted themselves. Well, I don't know. My
sense is that he will hold the Republican votes. I hope,
I hope that he focuses on safety and safety in
the food chain and safety in terms of the chemicals
that are used. Want great, great call. Thanks for participating today.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Thank you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Thank you. Six seven, two, five four ten thirty six
one seven nine three one ten thirty. We're talking about
the Robert F. Kennedy hearing today in front of the Senate.
I know that there's a big story going on in
Washington tonight. We're trying to follow that for you. We
will have a special report at the bottom of the
hour on this plane crash in Washington, d C. Tonight.
(10:56):
Apparently a collision between a jet flying in from Wichita,
Kansas to Washington with about sixty people and a crew
on board and looks like a military helicopter. Just I
don't understand how something like that could happen with all
(11:17):
the communications we have. Maybe maybe we have to just
cut back on some of the flights going in and
out of airports. I don't know. This is it's frightening,
a frightening. Back on Night Side right after this.
Speaker 8 (11:29):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
nights Side Studios. I'm Dombity Bzy News Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Back we go. We're gonna go to Lola in San Diego. Lola,
I know you follow this stuff pretty closely. What's going
on out in San Diego?
Speaker 4 (11:45):
Oh, well, we're freezing here. First of all, he's like
fifty one in the daytime. No, no, this is not good.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Oh we'll take fifty one and seven days a week.
Don't trust me that I understand.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
I understand that, but not here.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
But I gotcha.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
You know, there's a lot going on. And I called
because I told you I was going to vote for
Robert F. Kennedy if he ran for president, And after
hearing him today, I listened to the hearing because I
wanted to hear with my own ears what he was saying,
what he wasn't saying, so not to get on Senator
(12:25):
Warren's you know side. She was asking him because this
is what he's doing. He recommends these lawyers for families
that want to sue for the vaccines. So he's just
a spokesperson for you know, those lawyers. Because lawyers, and
(12:48):
from what I understand, you cannot solicit clients. They have
to come to you.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So's that's changed. Have you seen any of the TV
ads lately for lawyer yours? Well, yes, I have, Morgan,
if you've been if you've been injured in an accident, yeah,
so that has sort of changed a little bit. And
whether or not, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
I think that's different Dan, that's a car accident. But
I'm not an expert.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
But well, I'm just telling you it's not because you
have you have people out there, lawyers of all sorts,
you know, taught lawyers, you have lawyers out there, uh,
you know, family planners, estate planners. But the point is
that that that is kind of that's kind of changed
a little bit. I don't know what Kennedy does, uh,
(13:36):
in terms of funneling. My only clients. I don't know
what Kennedy does. If if let us say, someone calls
me and says to me, G, I've been injured in
an accident, can you give me some advice? I generally
will say to them, why don't you call the Massachusetts
you know bar Association. But if someone calls me with
(13:59):
with a situation, I have referred cases to other lawyers.
The only difference is I don't take it. I've never
taken a referral fee because I felt that you got
people are calling me is because the normal lawyer and
I happen to have a position of public trust. So
I have referred people exactly to compy lawyers. Okay, but
(14:22):
I and lawyers have sometimes said to me, do you
want a referral No, no, I'm not don't want a
referral fee. I mean because it's my name and my
integrity are worth more than a five thousand dollars or
a ten thousand dollars referral fee.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
So are you saying that are you saying that's that's
my understanding that they brought it up in the hearing
today that he gets a kickback and then if they
win the case, he gets another kickback.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Well, unless they win a case like that. It sounds
to me like you're talking about a a practice against uh,
you know, pharmaceutical company.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Okay, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
The only way that anyone recovers anything, the lawyer who
takes the case will take the case on what's called
the contingent fee basis, then the tin on the state
that they're in, they will It's often capped at thirty
three whatever it is, whether it's in state court, federal court,
et cetera, and exactly. But he shouldn't be he shouldn't
(15:28):
be getting a referral fee.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
I'm just I'm just repeating what I heard at the
confirmation today. That's what I heard getting the hearing.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Said he wouldn't get ten percent. And then on top
of that, because if if they don't prevail, there's no
ten percent. There's it's it's.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Like, oh, I understand if they don't win the case.
But this is I'm just repeating what I heard that
he gets a cut for every referral he sends to them,
and then if they win, he gets another cut. No,
he's not.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I heard some of that questioning today. I don't know
the truth.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Of it, and I don't know either, I said.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I'm just looking. Let me ask you, is there an outbreak?
I thought I heard tonight that there's an outbreak of
tuberculosis in California.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Well, I'm I'm on the San Diego TB County by
the numbers, and they only have up to twenty twenty three,
and I'm trying to make the screen bigger.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
And oh, that's okay, no problem. I thought it was
a news story misheard.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I don't know. I just I looked while I was
waiting to talk to you, and I don't see any statistics.
But first of all, San Diego is a border city
and people live in Mexico. Americans live in Mexico and
they cross the border every day and work here. Yeah,
(16:54):
so it showed central and South count south out of
San Diego, the city. Maybe it is, Oh, it is
the county, so the southern part of the county which
touches Tijuana, and then and then the east east San Diego.
(17:15):
So that's the poorer sections East San Diego, and you
get the border, and people are traveling, so whether they're
an American or a Mexican, that's legal, it doesn't matter.
They're carrying TV.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Going I mistaken the outbreak is in Kansas. It's not
in California. That's my problem. In Canada, I'm mistaken. It
says it says this is a c AND report from yesterday.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Two dead, dozen sickened in Kansas tuberculosis outbreak.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
So that's well, I don't so there's no crop picking
right now in Kansas. So you know that my workers.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Who knows?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Again, I don't know. Well, I just know it's cross.
I raised it.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
I only raised it because you were from San Diego
and I thought I heard it and I thought it
was sanding. It's not. It's as a Friday. There have
been at least sixty seven people treated for confirmed active
TV infections in the outbreak, and there have been seventy
nine confirmed latent cases in which TV is detected in
the body. But it's not causing disease and making people sick.
(18:29):
So that's a lot of people for k.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
Thought there's transient people involved.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
It's to me, we can speculate and we don't know.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Well yeah, right, well speculating because most people.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Well I I hear him do this to you, loll
about it. But we've hit it. We've hit a lot
here and I gotta I gotta get one more call.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
In before this this It's okay.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
I just I'm not for him because because you've.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Made that clear, yes would be a no vote, all
right if senator from California would be no?
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Right?
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Good night? Can I can? I let me go to
Vincent in Cambridge? Vincent lost you there? You're back right ahead? Vincent?
Dan Dan?
Speaker 9 (19:12):
How are you? Did I listened to your show all
the time. I never call him and I go way
back with w b Z Dan. Did you I listened
to the hearing today and did you catch the end
of that hearing of what was said by mister Crapple
the chairman.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Uh, he's a Republican senator who's the chair of the
committee from Idaho. I think it's crapo is how he's
the names go ahead. I did not hear.
Speaker 9 (19:36):
Exactly what he can you before the show ends?
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Can you play that?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
H I don't have that clip. I think I heard
him say or heard him say, well, thank you much,
mister Kennedy. You did a good job or something like that.
Is that what you're referring to?
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (19:53):
But he h yeah, but it's supporter Kennedy.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
You know.
Speaker 9 (19:58):
I don't. I can't stay for Bata.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Paraphrase it for me, Vincent, I do not have that
that sound bite. I do not have any sound bite
from Crapo.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Go ahead, Okay, I wouldn't be able to do that.
Speaker 9 (20:11):
Dan, That's okay.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Well, was it supportive of Kennedy? Was it critical?
Speaker 9 (20:16):
He's a republicanisicated background, you know, as far as finances
and so forth, and you know you had a clean
bill of healthy, you.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Know, okay, So so the Republican chair of the committee,
it's the finance committee, uh, suggested that Kennedy had a
clean bill of health from a financial perspective, is what
you're absolutely you know?
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Okay, Well that was important at the end, you know.
Speaker 9 (20:38):
So anyways, okay, Dan, that's okay.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Vincent, this is your first time? Is this your first
time calling?
Speaker 9 (20:44):
I called a long time ago, but I I listened
all the time.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
He tells me, how long ago was it that you called?
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Oh Dan, it had to be eight years ago?
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Maybe, okay, Well do me, yeah, called back before eight
years Because so I like hearing from different people, different voices.
I love my regular callers, but I also love to
hear folks like yourself who are listeners, and you made
a very interesting point tonight that I was unaware of
and that contributes much more to the conversation than than
(21:17):
you could possibly imagine. Thanks Vincent, I appreciate it for that.
Speaker 9 (21:20):
I don't have a TV and I just listen to
the radio.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
You're good man. I think that's a that's a good
way to go through life, trust.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Me, in that than what they did.
Speaker 9 (21:29):
I went to Boston State, I was in the National God,
good night.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
All right, sir, have a great night. Good night, Okay,
thank you for everything. All right. Where we are now
taking an ABC News special report on this horrific crash
between a helicopter and a plane at Reagan National Lamport
is the ABC.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
New It's Nights with Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Thank you, Dan Watkins. As we continue to do two
things simultaneously, we're trying to honitor what's going on in Washington.
You heard the ABC News special report, and we will
try to keep you posted throughout the night here on
wb Z. At the same time, we were talking in
the last hour or so about the nomination today and
(22:19):
the committee, the Finance Committee of the Senate questioning of
Robert F. Kennedy Junior who is the nominee of President Trump.
And what I'd like to do is like to continue
to talk about that. If obviously it was a it
was a very fiery nomination today. I mean, the Democrats
(22:43):
really seemed to be incensed at the nomination of Kennedy.
They actually treated Kennedy today, I thought, more unfairly than
some of the other Republican Trump nominees, including the Defense secretary,
who ended up with a very close vote of fifty
(23:06):
to fifty and the tie was broken by JD. Van
So what I'd like to do is just keep the
phone lines going here and tell me, as they say.
There's nothing that I'm going to be able to tell
you about Washington. We're relying on ABC News and I'm
monitoring some television screens as well just to get a
sense of it, but pretty much it's all talking heads
(23:27):
at this point. I've been able to pick up that
really no one knows for sure. The longer you go here,
the less likely that you're going to have survivors. So
there's not much I can talk about on that, but
I would love to hear from you on what Robert F.
Kennedy Junior indoor today. He was ripped by Democrats, including
(23:53):
Senator Warren from Massachusetts and Senator Sanders from Vermont. It
wasn't a typical hearing where questions are asked. He was
asked several yes or no questions, specifically without being allowed
to even begin an answer, and is being told to
(24:13):
want a yes or no answer. And he was trying
to say, look, they were quoting comments that were made
to him or comments that were attributed to him, and
he disagreed, and he said that look, some context matters,
and they wanted no part of that. It's apparent to
me that all the Democrats in the Senate are going
(24:33):
to vote against him. They seem to have a uniform
position in that regard. If all the Republicans or all
but two or some of the Republicans vote against him,
he'll be narrowly confirmed. Like the defense pick, the defense
nominee Pete Hegsath. Most of the Republicans. Marco Rubio was
(24:56):
confirmed unanimously. Now he has the advantage of being the
United States Senate, but he was confirmed, I believe was
ninety nine to nothing. There have been other lesser known
Senate or rather cabinet nominees and who have been confirmed by,
you know, a fairly interesting number seventy to thirty. So
(25:21):
you knew that the thirty were Democrats. But there were
some Democrats who as strayed from the party allegiance and
voted for these these nominees, even even though obviously they
probably weren't happy about it, but they felt that they
were within the realm of normalcy, if you will. So
my question to you is real simple. If you were
(25:42):
a United States senator or how would you want your
United States senator vote on Robert F. Kennedy's nomination. I
think there are some things that he has said during
about particularly about vaccines, which calling to question his judgment,
But what he was trying to do to say was
you have to understand the context of the remarks. I
(26:05):
think that the fact that Donald Trump has offered to
reinstate all members of the US military who were dismissed
from the military in the time of COVID in twenty
twenty and twenty twenty one for not accepting a vaccine,
that all of those people would be reinstated to their
(26:28):
military positions if they wanted, and they would receive their
back pay. At the same time, Trump is offering literally
a buyout divertually every federal employee, giving them eight months
of I guess you call it a severance pay. So
(26:50):
there is just so much going on, and so they
say tonight the topic that is probably first and for
most of most people's minds is this, this horrific crash
just literally over Reagan National Airports. So, if you'd like
(27:11):
to talk about Kennedy, if you watched any of it tonight,
if you watch the network news cast reports. I didn't
get a chance to see them. I watched a lot
of the questioning today. The Kennedy family obviously feels very
deeply about Robert Kennedy. Matter of fact, Jack Schlosberg, who
(27:34):
is the grandson of President Kennedy in this cut, Rob,
this is number thirteen B that I'd like you to play,
in which he's making fun of Kennedy RFK Junior's speech impediment.
This is not particularly kind, but it's indicative of the
(27:56):
depth of disagreement that exists within the Kennedy family. Cut
six thirteen B, please Rob, everybody.
Speaker 10 (28:04):
I I'm trying to figure out the right president to
get Donald tru Trump for the inauguration. So I found
a really rare animal and killed it, and I'm going
to give it to him.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
That's Jack Slosburg, grandson of Robert Kennedy, the son of
Caroline Kennedy, who herself ripped Kennedy by calling him a predator. So, uh,
feel free jump on board six one thirty six ninety
(28:41):
if you why do you think? My question really is
why do you think? And again, obviously, Donald Trump, I
think made a deal with Bobby Kennedy when Kennedy stepped
away from the race, which seemed to be a good,
smart deal political, that he would give him a position
(29:03):
uh in his administration. I didn't think that he would
give him a position as high up as Health and
Human Services secretary. So I wonder why maybe maybe Trump
actually share some of the beliefs that Kennedy has about
the size of HHS and the demands and the requirements
(29:25):
that ahh ands puts on people. Maybe they're concerned about
just the amount of people that work within the agency.
It's difficult to see. I mean, politics make strange bedfellows.
That would be the way I would look at it.
So let me do this. We're going to take a
quick break six one seven two thirty six one seven
(29:45):
nine three one, ten thirty. I know many of your
attention is on what is transpiring and outside of Washington,
d C. Tonight. A plane crash that is just a
horrific story, uh so unnecessary. A plane landing at Reagan
Airport barently being impacted by a military helicopter, black Hawk
(30:10):
helicopter that obviously was I believe on some sort of
a simple training mission. But why you would have a
training mission that close to a landing pattern strikes me
as irresponsible. So feel free. I got wide open line
six one, seven ten thirty, six seven, nine thirty. We'll
(30:31):
be back right after this one Nightside.
Speaker 8 (30:33):
Now back to Dan Ray Mine from the window World
night Side Studios on WBZ the news radio.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Stuff. Not to pay attention to this plane crashdown in Washington.
We'll try to keep you abreast of what's going on.
In the meantime. Let me go to Kennon Waltham. Ken
appreciate you calling in, sir. What's your comment tonight? I
assume it's on the Robert F. Kennedy cabinet hearing it is.
Speaker 11 (30:58):
Yeah, I did watch or heard a lot of parts
of it. You know what's kind of interesting. Mike penns
actually posted a video on X Today encouraging Republicans to
vote now and used Donald Trump's scathing comments on Robert
Kennedy and what a disaster he would be as president,
(31:20):
worse than Biden. He said, the country would go, you know,
down the tubes and immediately, and I think you really
hit on right before the break. I mean, it just
seems like, you know, if Kennedy could have made a
deal with Biden or Harris when Harris took over, you know,
(31:41):
he would have gone with the Democrats. I mean, RFK
was saying the same thing about Trump. You know, he
wanted nothing to do with him, he'd never run on
the ticket with him. But I think, you know, they
came to an agreement, and I think these are this
is one of these areas where I don't think Trump
really cares.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
About the way forward.
Speaker 11 (32:02):
He just wanted Kennedy support and he got it so well.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
I mean, it's interesting in the politics does make strange bedfellows.
I mean, there were there have been in the past
candidates who didn't like each other who ended up together.
John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson apparently did not like one another,
but at the end of the day, they came together
(32:30):
in nineteen sixty to win their their race. Ronald Reagan
was actually trying to get Gerald Ford to accept his
role as a vice president in nineteen eighty. Ford forward
had none of it, and then Reagan at some point
apparently had to pick a vice president, and out of desperation,
(32:53):
he picked George Bush. That worked out okay for Reagan.
It also worked out okay for Bush. So I don't know.
I mean, I think that Trump likes some of these
these candidates who are disruptors and who are going to
commit and shake things up. And so maybe maybe Trump
(33:15):
has come to see something in Kennedy that's similar to him.
I don't know. I just am surprised that he would
that Kennedy would put himself through this. He knew, he
had to know it was going to be a rough
out he take. Do you feel the Democratic senators helped themselves?
Can or no?
Speaker 11 (33:34):
Well, well it's a bit Warren definitely not. I mean,
she's she has a terrible uh disposition as far as
she asked some questions. I do think, you know, Bernie Sanders,
I think was kind of right down the middle.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
You know, there was I just I just.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Thought with Sanders, I don't know. I don't mean to
dirupt you, but I thought, with Sandrews showing the pictures
on the screen of the little baby onesies, I'm sure
all of us know what a onesie is. That's for
a child or six months or a year, and you
get it for your for your nephew or your niece,
and oh, everybody's thrilled about it. And normally it's you know,
(34:17):
I'm you know, I'm mummy's favorite, or I'm daddy's favorite,
or some little cute thing. And of course there were
a couple of anti vax slogans on these that were
being sold by this company that Kennedy founded, but he
was out of the picture and Sanders, somehow's your United
States senator asking Kennedy, a Cabinet nominee, about whether they
(34:39):
support the message on onesies.
Speaker 11 (34:42):
You know what I heard it. I didn't see it,
so maybe if I had seen it, i'd react a little.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Oh yeah, you see the picture Sanders is pointing to.
They had pictures up on a screen, and it's like
and all you saw was the little the onesie and
you couldn't see the the statement, and I think it
was like, no, vacs, no no problem or something like that.
It was, you know, it was sort of thing that
but that any group, an organization would would produce hats
(35:13):
and T shirts and that's that sort of stuff. But
I don't think anyone I.
Speaker 11 (35:18):
Think, yeah, I want to remind you. I don't know
if you remember with Georgia W. Bush, there was a
lot of you know, he should be able to a
lot of Republicans were saying he should get the people
he wants and that kind of thing. And I remember
hearing that a lot until he nominated Harriet Meyers to
be the Supreme Court justice, and then the Republicans went nuts.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Oh absolutely, yeah, absolutely. She was like a White House
counsel uh and had had really no experience much beyond that.
And clearly, I mean it's yeah, it was one of
the worst nominations to the Supreme Court in history. The
(36:01):
day we threw her day pretty quickly.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
Right.
Speaker 11 (36:04):
What I think happened today though, is you know ten
there were two issues. I think the Democrats were really
harping on where Kennedy was, you know, giving more of
a moderate abortion stance, and also he was saying he
was pro vaccine and that just sounded like he was
saying that so that the Republicans wouldn't go crazy right
on his nomination. And that's what I think the Democrats
(36:27):
were really poking on to try to show Kennedy's insincerity
or or I don't you know, so I think that's that.
And that was you know, some some of the senators
did better than others on on quizzing him on that.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, I was in, I was in and out. I
was in the gym and I was watching, and I
know that Senator Widen from Oregon is the chair of
the committee, not the chair of the committee, he's the
minority member leader of the committee. And uh, and he
just started off and he set the tone and it
was it wasn't it. Normally with these Senate hearings, there's
(37:09):
a great deal of respectful conversation, but this was. This
was tough. I think it was tougher than probably the
mayors of Boston, Chicago, and Denver are likely to face on.
That's that's gonna be no walk in the park either.
But I suspect though it'll be a little more respectful.
There was not a lot of respect towards r FK
(37:31):
Junior tonight. That's for sure, Ken, I appreciate you taking
the time to call. I assume if you're a US
senator from Massachusetts, you're not voting for Robert Kennedy as
Secretary for Health and Human Services. They got lost them here, Yeah,
we lost them, so I can okay, Okay. So I'm
(37:56):
just monitoring here what's going on in Washington, and I'm
flipping news channels. Uh, it appears to me, and I'm
not listening to the audio, but it appears to me
that there's not much hope for many survivors. I would
think at this point, Uh, the boats that are in
the water are much more on a recovery mission than
(38:21):
on a rescue mission. This plane went down now, well
it's getting close to three hours ago. So if there
are people in the water, I don't know how they
could have survived. I think one of the network was
saying that it was thirty six degrees in the water,
and it's it's such such a waste. Why they would
(38:43):
be a helicopter military or otherwise flying near Reagan International
Reagan National Airport at a time when planes are being
uh you know, are in landing and they're they're on
approach to lan and I'll tell you at night, it's
(39:04):
more difficult, even though everybody has, you know, instrument panels
and theoretically everyone's watching to make sure that it is safe.
I will I will confess that every time I'm on
an airplane, I no matter what time of day, no
matter And I've flown in snowstorms and flown in rainstorms,
as any of you who travel have done. Did a
(39:26):
lot more in the days of as a TV reporter
than I do now. But every time that plane lifts
off from the ground, you realize the miracle of flight,
and is a miracle that that plane, which weighs however
many thousand pounds, is able to somehow get airborne and
stay airborne, to go from location A to Location B
(39:48):
and to land safely is just extraordinary. It's you know,
I know we cover and I've often told people we
cover plane crashes, but it's understandable to me why planes
crash that, you know, whether it's in a situation with
(40:08):
an icing problem, as they think that the planes now
have become a little bit more aware of that, and
they don't ice they d ice planes, They just don't
de ice them once and let them sit at the
gate and they can't get off the ground. But it's
so horrible to think that these people are flying into Washington,
(40:29):
d C. They feel safe. And from what I can
see tonight, what they're saying is that the plane might
have somehow not seen the helicopter. The helicopter didn't see
the plane. How that could happen is stretches the imagination. Anyway,
very very sad, sad story in Washington. And as they say,
(40:50):
I think it's going to be much more of a
covery than a rescue mission, and particularly as time goes
out and we get towards midnight. So I'm done for
the night again. And I think that a lot of
people were distracted. I want to thank my guest at
nine o'clock, Professor John ebo Ebel of Boston College. We
(41:10):
talked about earthquakes for about an hour and we have
some really interesting calls. Want to thank everyone who called
in on the Bobbie Kennedy Senate confirmation hearing today. I
guess there's another one tomorrow which will probably be just
as feisty. We'll talk about other subjects tomorrow night. As
I say, I just wish that if you're going to
(41:32):
bed tonight, say a prayer for the people who are
on that plane and say a prayer for their families
who are going to probably have to deal with a
tough reality in the next next day or so. Rob Brooks,
thank you very much. Kind of a discombobulated night, but
that's the least of our problems. And I want to
thank Maridam, thank the people who did call. I will
be on night Side postgame briefly right after the midnight news.
(41:56):
My name is Dan Ray. This is the Nightside. Our dogs,
all cats, oh pets go to him and that's pell
Charlie Raves were passed a long time ago, fifteen years
ago in February. That's why your pets were our past.
They loved you, you loved them, and I do believe
you'll see them again. See tomorrow night, everyone,
It's nice eyes. I'm going Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All right, back to the poems, we go, got Warren
checking in here to We're talking again. We're keeping our
eye on this horrific story out of Washington, d C. Tonight,
but we are also talking about the Robert Kennedy testimony
in front of the Senate today.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Thanks, yeah, thank you.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I just remember when the vaccine first came out, all
these Democrat senators in Congress, people saying, oh, they had
a lot of questions about the vaccine and all discussion.
All Kennedy is doing is asking very tough questions, very
(00:46):
uncomfortable questions.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I think, I think it's an interesting part. Remember the uh,
the Trump administration. People forget the timing of this. The
Trump administration was in office when COVID hit yes, and they.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Put up the vaccine. They like lightning speed.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, they called it warp speed is what they called it.
And I remember in December of twenty twenty, then President
elect Biden and Vice President elect Harris I think were hesitant.
I think they finally did accept the vaccine, but they
were hesitant.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
They were very hesitant, and they were very this and that.
But also I think that the decorum in Washington, DC
is just trash. I mean, it's all they're acting like children.
They're acting like children, and they're acting very very unprofessional.
(01:49):
I mean, if this was a court of law, that
would be badgering in the judge would tell the prosecution
to back off or the whoever.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Absolute Q. Yeah, it was. It was over. It was
over the top, and then you had people who were cheering.
I couldn't figure out. I watched it a little bit
of it, actually quite a bit of it. This morning.
I was in the gym and I was watching it,
and there was some outbursts and people the room was cleared.
I couldn't tell if they were his supporters or his critics,
(02:22):
or maybe.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
A combination of both, maybe a combination of both. But
it's just the fact that, you know, I mean, this
happened anytime that confirmation has happened. I mean, I mean,
if it's if it's a Republican, you know, questioning a Democrat,
you know, de badgering, if it's a Democrat, you know,
towards a Republican, de badgering. I mean, it's just like it.
(02:46):
The world watches us and we look, we look chilly.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah, and then there was some questioning from I want
I want you to react to this Senator Whitehouse at
named US senator from Rhode Island who apparently was was
Kennedy's roommate when they both were at the University of
Virginia law school. What a small world, What a small world?
(03:14):
He goes after Kennedy, and again this, I guess is
a question, but it goes for a minute in six seconds.
If you get a chance for Rob, please play cut
number twenty six. This Senator Sheldon Whitehouse questioning or at
least talking to Robert F. Kennedy Junior Cut twenty six.
Rob was Kennedy.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
I only have five minutes with you, so and I've
got a lot of experience with CMS. So you're just
going to have to listen.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Two things.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
One, if you want to move from advocacy to public responsibility,
Americans are going to need to hear a clear and
trustworthy recantation of what you have said on vaccinations, including
(04:09):
a promise from you never to say vaccines aren't medically
safe when they in fact are, and making indisputably clear
that you support mandatory vaccinations against diseases where that will
keep people safe you're in that hole pretty deep. We've
(04:35):
just had a measles case in Rhode Island, the first
since twenty thirteen.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And frankly, you frighten people.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
That's a good question, Senator white House. I wonder how
long you took it to write that question.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
What a what a jerk?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
What a jerk? I only have five minutes to ask
my question, So let me let me attack you personally
and tell you you frighten people. And by the way,
is it possible you think Warren that measles outbreak could
have come from people coming across the border illegally to Rhoe.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Is Yeah, that was that was My first thought is like,
you know it's coming over the border, because like I'm
in California. You know there's there are diseases that are
coming back from people coming over the border.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think, I think, I think there's a spate of
tuberculosis cases as a matter of fact, in California. We
have a California caller coming up. She may be able
to provide some insight on that. Yeah, but it's just
I listen, this is this shows how much so how
incestuous this is. So you have you have Robert F. Kennedy.
(05:47):
His cousin, Caroline Kennedy, is calling him a predator and
in effect a drug a former drug addict who has
enabled other members of the family. That's what she's saying, essentially,
mean mm hmm, it's I.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Mean, I don't I don't understand the Kennedy dynamic and
why they're attacking each other and all stuff like that.
And I don't know enough about RFK. I mean, I
know that he's asking very uncomfortable questions and and he
wants to go after what's in our food, the chemicals
and the food.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Which which I think is legitimate concerns.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
But now outside of that, I really, I really don't
know anything. So I don't know if I would do
an up or down on him, you know, like confirming
them or not confirming them. I don't know enough information
on him.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I got to I got to play two cuts of
Caroline Kennedy for you because I want you to respond.
Cut twenty seven A rock Caroline Kennedy basically accusing Kennedy
Robert Kennedy UH, who had been admitted at a former addict,
basically saying that he led others, including family members, down
(07:02):
the road to tradition. Cut twenty seven A Caroline Kenny
that was a.
Speaker 6 (07:06):
Long time ago, and people can change. Through his own
strength and the many second chances he was given by
people who felt sorry for the boy who lost his father,
Bobby was able to pull himself out of illness and disease.
I admire the discipline that took and the continuing commitment
it requires. But siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down
(07:30):
the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness, and death,
while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie and cheat
his way through life.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And then this is one where she's absolutely inconsistent. Now
she's a smart woman. Okay, she talks. I want you to.
She says she will not try to speak for her father, who,
of course, who was President Kennedy, but she's certain he,
his father, uncle, Bobby, and Teddy would be disgusted. So
(08:04):
she says, I'm not going to speak for my father,
but I'm going to tell you he and his brother,
his two brothers, will be disgusted. How can you possibly
articulate that sentence? Here we go, Cut twenty eight eight.
Speaker 7 (08:16):
Caroline Kennedy, unlike Bobby, I try not to speak for
my father, but I am certain that he and my
uncle Bobby, who gave their lives in public service to
our country, and my.
Speaker 6 (08:28):
Uncle Teddy, who devoted his long sentate career to the
cause of improving health care, would be disgusted.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
I mean, it's it's almost like it's almost like they
are mad that you know he's working for the enemy.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Well, I think that is a big part of it.
And matter of fact, I will prove your statement right here.
Here's cut twenty eight. Rob. This proves what Warren just said.
Fit cut twenty eight.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
We are a close family, and none of that is
easy to say. It also wasn't easy to remain silent
last year when Bobby expropriated my father's image and distorted
President Kennedy's legacy to advance his own failed presidential campaign,
and then groveled to Donald Trump for a job Bobby
(09:19):
continues to grant stand off my father's assassination and that
of his own father. It's incomprehensible to me that someone
who is willing to exploit their own painful family tragedies
for publicity would be put in charge of America's life
and death situations.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
He groveled to Trump.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
I hurt it right in the head, you know, because
you know, they just you know, Democrats don't know how
to act right now because because of what Trump is doing,
all the things that he's doing right maybe he's going
a little bit too fast. It's like they you know,
they're putting you know, Democrats have to play defense right now,
(10:06):
and rather than Republicans constantly right now, we're on the.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Democrats have not compoted themselves. Well, I don't know. My
sense is that he will hold the Republican votes. I hope,
I hope that he focuses on safety and safety in
the food chain and safety in terms of the chemicals
that are used. Want great, great call. Thanks for participating today.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Thank you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Thank you. Six seven, two, five four ten thirty six
one seven nine three one ten thirty. We're talking about
the Robert F. Kennedy hearing today in front of the Senate.
I know that there's a big story going on in
Washington tonight. We're trying to follow that for you. We
will have a special report at the bottom of the
hour on this plane crash in Washington, d C. Tonight.
(10:56):
Apparently a collision between a jet flying in from Wichita,
Kansas to Washington with about sixty people and a crew
on board and looks like a military helicopter. Just I
don't understand how something like that could happen with all
(11:17):
the communications we have. Maybe maybe we have to just
cut back on some of the flights going in and
out of airports. I don't know. This is it's frightening,
a frightening. Back on Night Side right after this.
Speaker 8 (11:29):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
nights Side Studios. I'm Dombity Bzy News Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Back we go. We're gonna go to Lola in San Diego. Lola,
I know you follow this stuff pretty closely. What's going
on out in San Diego?
Speaker 4 (11:45):
Oh, well, we're freezing here. First of all, he's like
fifty one in the daytime. No, no, this is not good.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Oh we'll take fifty one and seven days a week.
Don't trust me that I understand.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
I understand that, but not here.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
But I gotcha.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
You know, there's a lot going on. And I called
because I told you I was going to vote for
Robert F. Kennedy if he ran for president, And after
hearing him today, I listened to the hearing because I
wanted to hear with my own ears what he was saying,
what he wasn't saying, so not to get on Senator
(12:25):
Warren's you know side. She was asking him because this
is what he's doing. He recommends these lawyers for families
that want to sue for the vaccines. So he's just
a spokesperson for you know, those lawyers. Because lawyers, and
(12:48):
from what I understand, you cannot solicit clients. They have
to come to you.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So's that's changed. Have you seen any of the TV
ads lately for lawyer yours? Well, yes, I have, Morgan,
if you've been if you've been injured in an accident, yeah,
so that has sort of changed a little bit. And
whether or not, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
I think that's different Dan, that's a car accident. But
I'm not an expert.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
But well, I'm just telling you it's not because you
have you have people out there, lawyers of all sorts,
you know, taught lawyers, you have lawyers out there, uh,
you know, family planners, estate planners. But the point is
that that that is kind of that's kind of changed
a little bit. I don't know what Kennedy does, uh,
(13:36):
in terms of funneling. My only clients. I don't know
what Kennedy does. If if let us say, someone calls
me and says to me, G, I've been injured in
an accident, can you give me some advice? I generally
will say to them, why don't you call the Massachusetts
you know bar Association. But if someone calls me with
(13:59):
with a situation, I have referred cases to other lawyers.
The only difference is I don't take it. I've never
taken a referral fee because I felt that you got
people are calling me is because the normal lawyer and
I happen to have a position of public trust. So
I have referred people exactly to compy lawyers. Okay, but
(14:22):
I and lawyers have sometimes said to me, do you
want a referral No, no, I'm not don't want a
referral fee. I mean because it's my name and my
integrity are worth more than a five thousand dollars or
a ten thousand dollars referral fee.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
So are you saying that are you saying that's that's
my understanding that they brought it up in the hearing
today that he gets a kickback and then if they
win the case, he gets another kickback.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Well, unless they win a case like that. It sounds
to me like you're talking about a a practice against uh,
you know, pharmaceutical company.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Okay, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
The only way that anyone recovers anything, the lawyer who
takes the case will take the case on what's called
the contingent fee basis, then the tin on the state
that they're in, they will It's often capped at thirty
three whatever it is, whether it's in state court, federal court,
et cetera, and exactly. But he shouldn't be he shouldn't
(15:28):
be getting a referral fee.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
I'm just I'm just repeating what I heard at the
confirmation today. That's what I heard getting the hearing.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Said he wouldn't get ten percent. And then on top
of that, because if if they don't prevail, there's no
ten percent. There's it's it's.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Like, oh, I understand if they don't win the case.
But this is I'm just repeating what I heard that
he gets a cut for every referral he sends to them,
and then if they win, he gets another cut. No,
he's not.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I heard some of that questioning today. I don't know
the truth.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Of it, and I don't know either, I said.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I'm just looking. Let me ask you, is there an outbreak?
I thought I heard tonight that there's an outbreak of
tuberculosis in California.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Well, I'm I'm on the San Diego TB County by
the numbers, and they only have up to twenty twenty three,
and I'm trying to make the screen bigger.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
And oh, that's okay, no problem. I thought it was
a news story misheard.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I don't know. I just I looked while I was
waiting to talk to you, and I don't see any statistics.
But first of all, San Diego is a border city
and people live in Mexico. Americans live in Mexico and
they cross the border every day and work here. Yeah,
(16:54):
so it showed central and South count south out of
San Diego, the city. Maybe it is, Oh, it is
the county, so the southern part of the county which
touches Tijuana, and then and then the east east San Diego.
(17:15):
So that's the poorer sections East San Diego, and you
get the border, and people are traveling, so whether they're
an American or a Mexican, that's legal, it doesn't matter.
They're carrying TV.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Going I mistaken the outbreak is in Kansas. It's not
in California. That's my problem. In Canada, I'm mistaken. It
says it says this is a c AND report from yesterday.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Two dead, dozen sickened in Kansas tuberculosis outbreak.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
So that's well, I don't so there's no crop picking
right now in Kansas. So you know that my workers.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Who knows?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Again, I don't know. Well, I just know it's cross.
I raised it.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
I only raised it because you were from San Diego
and I thought I heard it and I thought it
was sanding. It's not. It's as a Friday. There have
been at least sixty seven people treated for confirmed active
TV infections in the outbreak, and there have been seventy
nine confirmed latent cases in which TV is detected in
the body. But it's not causing disease and making people sick.
(18:29):
So that's a lot of people for k.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
Thought there's transient people involved.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
It's to me, we can speculate and we don't know.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Well yeah, right, well speculating because most people.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Well I I hear him do this to you, loll
about it. But we've hit it. We've hit a lot
here and I gotta I gotta get one more call.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
In before this this It's okay.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
I just I'm not for him because because you've.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Made that clear, yes would be a no vote, all
right if senator from California would be no?
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Right?
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Good night? Can I can? I let me go to
Vincent in Cambridge? Vincent lost you there? You're back right ahead? Vincent?
Dan Dan?
Speaker 9 (19:12):
How are you? Did I listened to your show all
the time. I never call him and I go way
back with w b Z Dan. Did you I listened
to the hearing today and did you catch the end
of that hearing of what was said by mister Crapple
the chairman.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Uh, he's a Republican senator who's the chair of the
committee from Idaho. I think it's crapo is how he's
the names go ahead. I did not hear.
Speaker 9 (19:36):
Exactly what he can you before the show ends?
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Can you play that?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
H I don't have that clip. I think I heard
him say or heard him say, well, thank you much,
mister Kennedy. You did a good job or something like that.
Is that what you're referring to?
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (19:53):
But he h yeah, but it's supporter Kennedy.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
You know.
Speaker 9 (19:58):
I don't. I can't stay for Bata.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Paraphrase it for me, Vincent, I do not have that
that sound bite. I do not have any sound bite
from Crapo.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Go ahead, Okay, I wouldn't be able to do that.
Speaker 9 (20:11):
Dan, That's okay.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Well, was it supportive of Kennedy? Was it critical?
Speaker 9 (20:16):
He's a republicanisicated background, you know, as far as finances
and so forth, and you know you had a clean
bill of healthy, you.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Know, okay, So so the Republican chair of the committee,
it's the finance committee, uh, suggested that Kennedy had a
clean bill of health from a financial perspective, is what
you're absolutely you know?
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Okay, Well that was important at the end, you know.
Speaker 9 (20:38):
So anyways, okay, Dan, that's okay.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Vincent, this is your first time? Is this your first
time calling?
Speaker 9 (20:44):
I called a long time ago, but I I listened
all the time.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
He tells me, how long ago was it that you called?
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Oh Dan, it had to be eight years ago?
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Maybe, okay, Well do me, yeah, called back before eight
years Because so I like hearing from different people, different voices.
I love my regular callers, but I also love to
hear folks like yourself who are listeners, and you made
a very interesting point tonight that I was unaware of
and that contributes much more to the conversation than than
(21:17):
you could possibly imagine. Thanks Vincent, I appreciate it for that.
Speaker 9 (21:20):
I don't have a TV and I just listen to
the radio.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
You're good man. I think that's a that's a good
way to go through life, trust.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Me, in that than what they did.
Speaker 9 (21:29):
I went to Boston State, I was in the National God,
good night.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
All right, sir, have a great night. Good night, Okay,
thank you for everything. All right. Where we are now
taking an ABC News special report on this horrific crash
between a helicopter and a plane at Reagan National Lamport
is the ABC.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
New It's Nights with Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Thank you, Dan Watkins. As we continue to do two
things simultaneously, we're trying to honitor what's going on in Washington.
You heard the ABC News special report, and we will
try to keep you posted throughout the night here on
wb Z. At the same time, we were talking in
the last hour or so about the nomination today and
(22:19):
the committee, the Finance Committee of the Senate questioning of
Robert F. Kennedy Junior who is the nominee of President Trump.
And what I'd like to do is like to continue
to talk about that. If obviously it was a it
was a very fiery nomination today. I mean, the Democrats
(22:43):
really seemed to be incensed at the nomination of Kennedy.
They actually treated Kennedy today, I thought, more unfairly than
some of the other Republican Trump nominees, including the Defense secretary,
who ended up with a very close vote of fifty
(23:06):
to fifty and the tie was broken by JD. Van
So what I'd like to do is just keep the
phone lines going here and tell me, as they say.
There's nothing that I'm going to be able to tell
you about Washington. We're relying on ABC News and I'm
monitoring some television screens as well just to get a
sense of it, but pretty much it's all talking heads
(23:27):
at this point. I've been able to pick up that
really no one knows for sure. The longer you go here,
the less likely that you're going to have survivors. So
there's not much I can talk about on that, but
I would love to hear from you on what Robert F.
Kennedy Junior indoor today. He was ripped by Democrats, including
(23:53):
Senator Warren from Massachusetts and Senator Sanders from Vermont. It
wasn't a typical hearing where questions are asked. He was
asked several yes or no questions, specifically without being allowed
to even begin an answer, and is being told to
(24:13):
want a yes or no answer. And he was trying
to say, look, they were quoting comments that were made
to him or comments that were attributed to him, and
he disagreed, and he said that look, some context matters,
and they wanted no part of that. It's apparent to
me that all the Democrats in the Senate are going
(24:33):
to vote against him. They seem to have a uniform
position in that regard. If all the Republicans or all
but two or some of the Republicans vote against him,
he'll be narrowly confirmed. Like the defense pick, the defense
nominee Pete Hegsath. Most of the Republicans. Marco Rubio was
(24:56):
confirmed unanimously. Now he has the advantage of being the
United States Senate, but he was confirmed, I believe was
ninety nine to nothing. There have been other lesser known
Senate or rather cabinet nominees and who have been confirmed by,
you know, a fairly interesting number seventy to thirty. So
(25:21):
you knew that the thirty were Democrats. But there were
some Democrats who as strayed from the party allegiance and
voted for these these nominees, even even though obviously they
probably weren't happy about it, but they felt that they
were within the realm of normalcy, if you will. So
my question to you is real simple. If you were
(25:42):
a United States senator or how would you want your
United States senator vote on Robert F. Kennedy's nomination. I
think there are some things that he has said during
about particularly about vaccines, which calling to question his judgment,
But what he was trying to do to say was
you have to understand the context of the remarks. I
(26:05):
think that the fact that Donald Trump has offered to
reinstate all members of the US military who were dismissed
from the military in the time of COVID in twenty
twenty and twenty twenty one for not accepting a vaccine,
that all of those people would be reinstated to their
(26:28):
military positions if they wanted, and they would receive their
back pay. At the same time, Trump is offering literally
a buyout divertually every federal employee, giving them eight months
of I guess you call it a severance pay. So
(26:50):
there is just so much going on, and so they
say tonight the topic that is probably first and for
most of most people's minds is this, this horrific crash
just literally over Reagan National Airports. So, if you'd like
(27:11):
to talk about Kennedy, if you watched any of it tonight,
if you watch the network news cast reports. I didn't
get a chance to see them. I watched a lot
of the questioning today. The Kennedy family obviously feels very
deeply about Robert Kennedy. Matter of fact, Jack Schlosberg, who
(27:34):
is the grandson of President Kennedy in this cut, Rob,
this is number thirteen B that I'd like you to play,
in which he's making fun of Kennedy RFK Junior's speech impediment.
This is not particularly kind, but it's indicative of the
(27:56):
depth of disagreement that exists within the Kennedy family. Cut
six thirteen B, please Rob, everybody.
Speaker 10 (28:04):
I I'm trying to figure out the right president to
get Donald tru Trump for the inauguration. So I found
a really rare animal and killed it, and I'm going
to give it to him.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
That's Jack Slosburg, grandson of Robert Kennedy, the son of
Caroline Kennedy, who herself ripped Kennedy by calling him a predator. So, uh,
feel free jump on board six one thirty six ninety
(28:41):
if you why do you think? My question really is
why do you think? And again, obviously, Donald Trump, I
think made a deal with Bobby Kennedy when Kennedy stepped
away from the race, which seemed to be a good,
smart deal political, that he would give him a position
(29:03):
uh in his administration. I didn't think that he would
give him a position as high up as Health and
Human Services secretary. So I wonder why maybe maybe Trump
actually share some of the beliefs that Kennedy has about
the size of HHS and the demands and the requirements
(29:25):
that ahh ands puts on people. Maybe they're concerned about
just the amount of people that work within the agency.
It's difficult to see. I mean, politics make strange bedfellows.
That would be the way I would look at it.
So let me do this. We're going to take a
quick break six one seven two thirty six one seven
(29:45):
nine three one, ten thirty. I know many of your
attention is on what is transpiring and outside of Washington,
d C. Tonight. A plane crash that is just a
horrific story, uh so unnecessary. A plane landing at Reagan
Airport barently being impacted by a military helicopter, black Hawk
(30:10):
helicopter that obviously was I believe on some sort of
a simple training mission. But why you would have a
training mission that close to a landing pattern strikes me
as irresponsible. So feel free. I got wide open line
six one, seven ten thirty, six seven, nine thirty. We'll
(30:31):
be back right after this one Nightside.
Speaker 8 (30:33):
Now back to Dan Ray Mine from the window World
night Side Studios on WBZ the news radio.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Stuff. Not to pay attention to this plane crashdown in Washington.
We'll try to keep you abreast of what's going on.
In the meantime. Let me go to Kennon Waltham. Ken
appreciate you calling in, sir. What's your comment tonight? I
assume it's on the Robert F. Kennedy cabinet hearing it is.
Speaker 11 (30:58):
Yeah, I did watch or heard a lot of parts
of it. You know what's kind of interesting. Mike penns
actually posted a video on X Today encouraging Republicans to
vote now and used Donald Trump's scathing comments on Robert
Kennedy and what a disaster he would be as president,
(31:20):
worse than Biden. He said, the country would go, you know,
down the tubes and immediately, and I think you really
hit on right before the break. I mean, it just
seems like, you know, if Kennedy could have made a
deal with Biden or Harris when Harris took over, you know,
(31:41):
he would have gone with the Democrats. I mean, RFK
was saying the same thing about Trump. You know, he
wanted nothing to do with him, he'd never run on
the ticket with him. But I think, you know, they
came to an agreement, and I think these are this
is one of these areas where I don't think Trump
really cares.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
About the way forward.
Speaker 11 (32:02):
He just wanted Kennedy support and he got it so well.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
I mean, it's interesting in the politics does make strange bedfellows.
I mean, there were there have been in the past
candidates who didn't like each other who ended up together.
John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson apparently did not like one another,
but at the end of the day, they came together
(32:30):
in nineteen sixty to win their their race. Ronald Reagan
was actually trying to get Gerald Ford to accept his
role as a vice president in nineteen eighty. Ford forward
had none of it, and then Reagan at some point
apparently had to pick a vice president, and out of desperation,
(32:53):
he picked George Bush. That worked out okay for Reagan.
It also worked out okay for Bush. So I don't know.
I mean, I think that Trump likes some of these
these candidates who are disruptors and who are going to
commit and shake things up. And so maybe maybe Trump
(33:15):
has come to see something in Kennedy that's similar to him.
I don't know. I just am surprised that he would
that Kennedy would put himself through this. He knew, he
had to know it was going to be a rough
out he take. Do you feel the Democratic senators helped themselves?
Can or no?
Speaker 11 (33:34):
Well, well it's a bit Warren definitely not. I mean,
she's she has a terrible uh disposition as far as
she asked some questions. I do think, you know, Bernie Sanders,
I think was kind of right down the middle.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
You know, there was I just I just.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Thought with Sanders, I don't know. I don't mean to
dirupt you, but I thought, with Sandrews showing the pictures
on the screen of the little baby onesies, I'm sure
all of us know what a onesie is. That's for
a child or six months or a year, and you
get it for your for your nephew or your niece,
and oh, everybody's thrilled about it. And normally it's you know,
(34:17):
I'm you know, I'm mummy's favorite, or I'm daddy's favorite,
or some little cute thing. And of course there were
a couple of anti vax slogans on these that were
being sold by this company that Kennedy founded, but he
was out of the picture and Sanders, somehow's your United
States senator asking Kennedy, a Cabinet nominee, about whether they
(34:39):
support the message on onesies.
Speaker 11 (34:42):
You know what I heard it. I didn't see it,
so maybe if I had seen it, i'd react a little.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Oh yeah, you see the picture Sanders is pointing to.
They had pictures up on a screen, and it's like
and all you saw was the little the onesie and
you couldn't see the the statement, and I think it
was like, no, vacs, no no problem or something like that.
It was, you know, it was sort of thing that
but that any group, an organization would would produce hats
(35:13):
and T shirts and that's that sort of stuff. But
I don't think anyone I.
Speaker 11 (35:18):
Think, yeah, I want to remind you. I don't know
if you remember with Georgia W. Bush, there was a
lot of you know, he should be able to a
lot of Republicans were saying he should get the people
he wants and that kind of thing. And I remember
hearing that a lot until he nominated Harriet Meyers to
be the Supreme Court justice, and then the Republicans went nuts.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Oh absolutely, yeah, absolutely. She was like a White House
counsel uh and had had really no experience much beyond that.
And clearly, I mean it's yeah, it was one of
the worst nominations to the Supreme Court in history. The
(36:01):
day we threw her day pretty quickly.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
Right.
Speaker 11 (36:04):
What I think happened today though, is you know ten
there were two issues. I think the Democrats were really
harping on where Kennedy was, you know, giving more of
a moderate abortion stance, and also he was saying he
was pro vaccine and that just sounded like he was
saying that so that the Republicans wouldn't go crazy right
on his nomination. And that's what I think the Democrats
(36:27):
were really poking on to try to show Kennedy's insincerity
or or I don't you know, so I think that's that.
And that was you know, some some of the senators
did better than others on on quizzing him on that.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, I was in, I was in and out. I
was in the gym and I was watching, and I
know that Senator Widen from Oregon is the chair of
the committee, not the chair of the committee, he's the
minority member leader of the committee. And uh, and he
just started off and he set the tone and it
was it wasn't it. Normally with these Senate hearings, there's
(37:09):
a great deal of respectful conversation, but this was. This
was tough. I think it was tougher than probably the
mayors of Boston, Chicago, and Denver are likely to face on.
That's that's gonna be no walk in the park either.
But I suspect though it'll be a little more respectful.
There was not a lot of respect towards r FK
(37:31):
Junior tonight. That's for sure, Ken, I appreciate you taking
the time to call. I assume if you're a US
senator from Massachusetts, you're not voting for Robert Kennedy as
Secretary for Health and Human Services. They got lost them here, Yeah,
we lost them, so I can okay, Okay. So I'm
(37:56):
just monitoring here what's going on in Washington, and I'm
flipping news channels. Uh, it appears to me, and I'm
not listening to the audio, but it appears to me
that there's not much hope for many survivors. I would
think at this point, Uh, the boats that are in
the water are much more on a recovery mission than
(38:21):
on a rescue mission. This plane went down now, well
it's getting close to three hours ago. So if there
are people in the water, I don't know how they
could have survived. I think one of the network was
saying that it was thirty six degrees in the water,
and it's it's such such a waste. Why they would
(38:43):
be a helicopter military or otherwise flying near Reagan International
Reagan National Airport at a time when planes are being
uh you know, are in landing and they're they're on
approach to lan and I'll tell you at night, it's
(39:04):
more difficult, even though everybody has, you know, instrument panels
and theoretically everyone's watching to make sure that it is safe.
I will I will confess that every time I'm on
an airplane, I no matter what time of day, no
matter And I've flown in snowstorms and flown in rainstorms,
as any of you who travel have done. Did a
(39:26):
lot more in the days of as a TV reporter
than I do now. But every time that plane lifts
off from the ground, you realize the miracle of flight,
and is a miracle that that plane, which weighs however
many thousand pounds, is able to somehow get airborne and
stay airborne, to go from location A to Location B
(39:48):
and to land safely is just extraordinary. It's you know,
I know we cover and I've often told people we
cover plane crashes, but it's understandable to me why planes
crash that, you know, whether it's in a situation with
(40:08):
an icing problem, as they think that the planes now
have become a little bit more aware of that, and
they don't ice they d ice planes, They just don't
de ice them once and let them sit at the
gate and they can't get off the ground. But it's
so horrible to think that these people are flying into Washington,
(40:29):
d C. They feel safe. And from what I can
see tonight, what they're saying is that the plane might
have somehow not seen the helicopter. The helicopter didn't see
the plane. How that could happen is stretches the imagination. Anyway,
very very sad, sad story in Washington. And as they say,
(40:50):
I think it's going to be much more of a
covery than a rescue mission, and particularly as time goes
out and we get towards midnight. So I'm done for
the night again. And I think that a lot of
people were distracted. I want to thank my guest at
nine o'clock, Professor John ebo Ebel of Boston College. We
(41:10):
talked about earthquakes for about an hour and we have
some really interesting calls. Want to thank everyone who called
in on the Bobbie Kennedy Senate confirmation hearing today. I
guess there's another one tomorrow which will probably be just
as feisty. We'll talk about other subjects tomorrow night. As
I say, I just wish that if you're going to
(41:32):
bed tonight, say a prayer for the people who are
on that plane and say a prayer for their families
who are going to probably have to deal with a
tough reality in the next next day or so. Rob Brooks,
thank you very much. Kind of a discombobulated night, but
that's the least of our problems. And I want to
thank Maridam, thank the people who did call. I will
be on night Side postgame briefly right after the midnight news.
(41:56):
My name is Dan Ray. This is the Nightside. Our dogs,
all cats, oh pets go to him and that's pell
Charlie Raves were passed a long time ago, fifteen years
ago in February. That's why your pets were our past.
They loved you, you loved them, and I do believe
you'll see them again. See tomorrow night, everyone,
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