RFK Jr. has a distinct appeal when it comes to young male voters

Ilyse Hogue and Natalia Mehlman Petrzela wrote for MSNBC on the connection between RFK Jr.'s rise and the political and cultural dislocation of young men

This appetite for self-efficacy and purpose animates Kennedy's broader attractiveness as the embodiment of a sort of American dream that young men feel is increasingly elusive, and thus even more enticing. Kennedy has prestigious degrees, a meaningful career, a mansion in Beverly Hills and a mountain house, a bunch of dogs and a blended family including a glamorous, accomplished wife who stands behind him and his most quixotic ambitions. Of course, his membership in one of the nation’s most influential political clans has been integral to these achievements, but the fact remains: Despite a past heroin addiction and notorious womanizing, he was still able to do it all. His run is emblematic of masculine success, including — especially — second chances.

Economic and cultural circumstances have converged to make this kind of life feel impossible. Men have declining prospects in education, in the workplace and in marriage. Combined with student loan burdens and rising interest rates, these factors place homeownership and the broader breadwinner ideal, once a hallmark of male achievement, effectively out of reach.

“The central fulcrum of the American dream was that if you worked hard and you played by the rules, you could finance a home, you could raise a family, you could take a summer vacation, and you could put something aside for your retirement on one job,” Kennedy said to a Nebraska crowd late last year. “There is nobody in (the younger) generation who believes that that promise applies to them.” Progressive and Democratic labor, housing and health care policies are focused on remedying precisely these inequalities, but a vocal strand of the left’s cultural messaging — decrying “toxic masculinity,” dismissing any talk of “a crisis of masculinity” as overwrought, or even declaring “men are trash” — only serves to scold young men for these aspirations, and to make the liberal left seem impervious to their ambitions and anxieties.