When Robert Kennedy Jr. picked Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, I didn’t know anything about her other than what I could immediately look up.  I knew that Kennedy offered Dave Smith his VP slot right after debating each other on Dave’s podcast about Israel.  Perhaps anything after that would be a disappointment.

My initial assessment of Nicole Shanahan was that she is a leftwing attorney who was married to one of the founders of Google.  This was probably a correct assessment at one time, but it wasn’t fair in 2024.  She definitely comes from the left, and she will admit that, but she is not like anything leftwing by today’s standards.

I was wrong on my initial assessment.  When someone is running for political office and I get something wrong about them, it is usually because I wasn’t harsh enough.  In this case, I can finally say I was wrong because I was too harsh and not generous enough.

To be sure, Nicole Shanahan isn’t a libertarian.  There are certainly elements of political leftism that come out at times, just as with Kennedy.  For example, they like to use the word “democracy” with a little too fondness.  And maybe they are just referring to democratic mechanisms within the rule of law.

Although libertarians don’t praise democracy, it is understandable why Kennedy and Shanahan are upset and using the word, considering the so-called Democrats have done everything possible to undermine their participation in the election.  They were rigging the whole primary process against Kennedy, which is why he changed to running as an Independent.  They certainly weren’t going to include him in any debates.  The so-called Democrats also did everything they could to keep him off of state ballots.  Now that Kennedy wants to drop his name from the swing states, the Democrats are trying to keep his name on there.  You couldn’t make this stuff up.

With that said, Nicole Shanahan has been really great for the most part when I have heard her in interviews.  It seems like she is learning on the job at times.  It’s probably not something a vice presidential candidate should be doing, but it is better than not being open minded and getting things wrong.

Libertarian Tendencies

RFK Jr. spoke in front of the Libertarian National Convention in May.  His speech was very libertarian.  I was quite surprised by the depth of it.  Even if he was pandering to his audience, most politicians wouldn’t have been capable of delivering such a speech.

RFK Jr. also gave a great speech when he announced the suspension of his campaign and his support for Trump in the swing states.  It wasn’t great because of his endorsement of Trump.  It was great when he talked about censorship, American health issues, and Ukraine.  He got it all correct.

I have disagreed vehemently with Kennedy when it comes to Israel.  He has been so good on issues of foreign policy and war, yet he seemed to completely revert to the establishment position with Israel.  If he had just taken a more neutral stance since October 7, 2023, I think his campaign would have done better, and a lot more libertarians would have supported him.

With that said, Kennedy must have seen something appealing about Nicole Shanahan, besides the fact that she has a lot of money.

I have learned a lot more about her, especially with her interviews with Ron Paul and Dave Smith.  These were more like conversations, as she wasn’t just giving scripted answers and was also learning from these two libertarian giants.

She has been great on health issues, which I fully expected from the beginning.  She understands that the government has vastly interfered with pharmaceuticals and agriculture to make us sicker.  There is nothing wrong with “big pharma” and “big agriculture” by itself.  The problem is that they are big because the government is helping them and, in the process, making us less healthy.

Beyond health issues, Shanahan has been great with Kennedy on issues of censorship.  She understands that the government is trying to shut up people who want to tell the truth or just want to express an alternative opinion.  She understands the problems with trying to censor misinformation, regardless of whether it is true or not.

Surprisingly, Shanahan has said some great things about the gold standard.  This is better than you would get from most Republicans.  I believe she has actually become somewhat of a fiscal conservative, even if she doesn’t want to completely tear down the welfare state.  You can tell that Ron Paul has had influence on her and that she is quite appreciative of it.

Like Kennedy, she has also been good on most foreign policy.  She understands the nature of the military-industrial complex and the war machine.  It was interesting that on her last podcast with Dave Smith, she even said some slightly encouraging comments on Israel that seemed to express that she didn’t back the mass slaughter of the Palestinians.  If only RFK Jr. had taken this stance from the beginning.

This only touches the surface of the things she has said.  Overall, she is an opponent of the establishment.  I was also completely wrong for criticizing her for likely being out of touch with the average American.  She said in her podcast interview that anyone with over $15 million is basically untouched by inflation, but it is really hurting everybody else.  She may have a lot of money, but she is showing empathy and understanding for those who don’t.  She understands that average Americans are struggling today.

Conclusion

I got this one completely wrong at the beginning.  Nicole Shanahan gets a high-grade mark for liberty in 2024.  She is more libertarian than some self-identified libertarians.  I am happy I was wrong on this one.  She is a great person to have on our side.  She has changed positions on political issues a lot from just 4 years ago.

I hope she continues to use her resources to spread the message of liberty.  I hope she continues to consult those who are already strong libertarians.  If she runs for president one day, I will consider supporting her.