Warren Smith, chair of the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee, offered a similar take to contextualize the farmer’s market dust-up. Generally speaking, Smith said, disagreement about whom to nominate for president would be normal, but “this is kind of a different thing, because RFK Jr. has staked out a position that is on the fringes of the party.”
At least some local Democrats are also on his side. Roger Quon, another member of the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee, argued that the group should “be seen as a place for all Democrats”—including Stoppenbach and Kennedy. “We can disagree with [Kennedy] on one or many points, but that’s the essence of democracy,” he said.
“I simply park where people come by,” he said. “I guess there may have been some people not happy with having a Kennedy appearance at the market.” Stoppenbach said he was attracted to Kennedy because of their shared belief that the war in Ukraine could have been resolved diplomatically and their skepticism about the safety of coronavirus vaccines. “We asked him to move some other place so that people wouldn't be confused, which he didn't want to do,” he recalled. Distressed, the Biden supporters put up a poster that read, “We do not support RFK.