By Guy Page

All 300 tickets for tonight’s Ethan Allen Institute’s dinner featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have been sold, EAI President Myers Mermel confirmed today.

Kennedy’s talk at the Doubletree in South Burlington tonight is billed as part of the EAI’s General Stark Lectures. The son of the former U.S. Attorney General and 1968 presidential candidate bearing the same name will speak on the topic “Climate, Markets, and Economic Fairness.”

Gen. John Stark of New Hampshire was one of the Revolutionary War heros of the Battle of Bennington, which as a precursor to the Battle of Saratoga was an early indicator of American willingness and ability to stand up in a pitched battle against the British Army and their Hessian allies. He famously told his troops before the battle, “They are ours, or tonight Molly Stark sleeps a widow.”

“Mr. Kennedy is a prolific and best-selling author, a nationally-syndicated radio host, and a frequent television commentator,” an EAI statement said. “He has been a traditional skeptic of government power–much like Thomas Jefferson was in his time.

“The Ethan Allen Institute is pleased to give Mr. Kennedy a platform in the state to speak. We are especially interested to learn more about his views on free market and economically fair solutions to climate issues,” the EAI said. “Our concern this past legislative session in Montpelier was that the Affordable Heat Act was not market based and would punish our middle and low income population. We hope we can find new avenues to explore within structured climate solutions based upon Mr. Kennedy’s perspective and insights on the energy issue.”

For those who can’t attend tonight, the Vermont Daily Chronicle will publish an interview with Mr. Kennedy, scheduled to be held before the dinner this evening. Also, Megyn Kelly of Sirius Radio conducted a challenging, in-depth four hour interview with Kennedy, available at YouTube link above. 

Kennedy is often labeled an ‘anti-vaxer.’ The longtime advocacy lawyer says he’s against unsafe vaccines, not all vaccines. “I spent 35 years trying to get mercury out of the fish. That doesn’t make me anti-fish.”