RFK Jr. and Marianne Williamson may be anti-establishment — but they're no progressives: columnist

Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., fringe figures who are challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic party nomination, are being taken seriously by some in progressive circles, but they're no progressives MSNBC columnist Noah Berlatsky writes.

Berlatsky notes that both candidates are appealing to an American progressive movement that has an anti-establishment tradition.

But not all anti-establishment figures are progressive, Berlatsky writes, noting that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson often expressed anti-establishment views.

Carlson was the subject of a glowing feature in the progressive journal, The American Prosect, which lauded the right-wing cable host.

“Carlson’s insistent distrust of his powerful guests acts as a solvent to authority, frequently making larger-than-life figures of the political establishment defend arguments they otherwise treat as self-evident,” co-authors Lee Harris and Luke Goldstein wrote.

Berlatsky argues that anti-establishment figures are making gullible "marks" out of some perhaps well intentioned but uninformed progressives.

“Some people on the left (and not just on the left) love anti-establishment branding whether it’s deployed by Carlson, or by self-help author and current presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, or by her fellow Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer (We could even include billionaire blusterer Elon Musk on that list),” Berlatsky writes.

“Railing against the squares or against the ruling class sounds cool and edgy. And people who are committed to change, or at least very frustrated with the status quo, like many on the left, can mistake cool and edgy for actual liberatory politics.”

Williamson and Kennedy both hold or have recently held views that are anathema to the stated values of most progressives.

Williamson has referred to “clinical depression” as a “scam” and expressed support for the anti-vaccine movement, Berlatsky notes.

Kennedy continues to be a vocal advocate for the anti-vaccine movement.

“Everyone wants to self-righteously fight the man,” Berlatsky writes.

“But if everyone wants to fight the man, is performatively fighting the man really that contrarian?

"Boosting anyone who says they don’t like Joe Biden isn’t a substitute for left politics. Actual change requires solidarity, long-term commitment and a willingness to center people who aren’t millionaires with national platforms. If you find yourself praising Marianne Williamson or Robert F. Kennedy this election cycle, you aren’t a leftist. You’re a mark."