Simple but Not Easy Fight RFK Jr. Not MAHA Jake Auchincloss Sep 9 RFK Jr. is dismantling the childhood vaccine schedule. This should surprise no one: RFK Jr. rejects the germ theory of disease. His mindset is dogmatic, not scientific. He knows the answer before he asks the question. Last week, the same Republican Senators who voted to confirm the Secretary were shocked—shocked!—that RFK Jr. is doing exactly what he campaigned on. The president's former FDA commissioner now forecasts whooping cough will double next year. Every sick child should haunt the conscience of these senatorial sycophants. Yes, but. Make America Healthy Again has struck a nerve. Chronic disease is a problem. Obesity is a problem. Corporate capture is a problem. MAHA's leaders have no solutions, only conspiracy and grift. But they are asking questions to which Americans want answers. In typical Democratic fashion, we have answered using jargon: “social determinants of health.” RFK Jr. lifted weights with his shirt off on TikTok. Democrats need to hit back and point the way forward. Call out the corruption of the MAHA court. And show how we can actually help make America healthier. The corruption is not just RFK Jr. and his vaccine litigation. It's also top administration staffers like Calley Means and Brad Smith. I've been hammering them all for months. I spoke to Bloomberg about my efforts to defend science and hold RFK Jr. accountable. Here are excerpts: "Auchincloss has used his perch to lodge aggressive criticism of Kennedy, trotting out foam display boards with elaborate charts showing Kennedy advisers’ ties to the business world and slamming Kennedy’s advisers as ‘bros’ with views ‘based in conspiracy and quackery.’ In a chamber where speeches often get monotonous and bogged down in jargon, Auchincloss’ animation and willingness to punch back stand out. Auchincloss has also raised alarms about Kennedy advisers’ financial interests in wellness companies… And he’s criticized FDA Commissioner Marty Makary for announcing on Bloomberg TV a plan to speed up drug reviews if pharmaceutical companies meet a set of vague criteria… Auchincloss called the initiative a ‘horrible idea.’ ‘It now makes fear or favor from the FDA commissioner the arbiter of what’s safe and effective,’ he said.” Even as we hit back, Democrats must also point the way forward on public health. We should emphasize cures, community health, and corporate capture. Cures: at least 15 million Americans will have Alzheimer's by 2050. Each patient requires three caregivers, on average. The emotional and economic toll is staggering. Democrats should make curing Alzheimer's Disease the nation's flagship scientific project. In formation around this flagship should be a fleet of related science policies. For example: Doubling national R&D investment to 6% of gross domestic product Tackling diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and renal failure holistically across health programs Reforming the National Institutes of Health to reduce bureaucracy and experiment with how to fund science Restoring the Food & Drug Administration's credibility and competence after the purges and politics under RFK Jr. Building out a national clinical trials infrastructure On a panel with Abundance co-author Derek Thompson, I make the case for rallying the nation to cure Alzheimer’s Disease. Community health: Primary and preventative care keep people out of emergency rooms. It improves health and lowers costs. Community health centers are cost-effective clinics that offer this care. They provide check-ups, screenings, vaccinations, counseling, pharmacy, and more. Here in Massachusetts, the Community Care Cooperative knits together these community health centers. The Cooperative is not an insurance company. It's a lean layer of administration. Primary care, unlike emergency and specialty medical care, is not well-suited to insurance. Insurance is meant for events that are rare, unpredictable, and expensive. Primary care should be none of those things. Democrats should turbocharge the Cooperative model of primary care delivery. Stop routing primary-care dollars through a labyrinth of insurance and hospital interests. Start directly funding more doctors and nurses working at community health centers. Cooperatives, not corporations, should coordinate them. Democrats' goal should be reaching one in three Americans with these clinics, up from one in 10 today. The outcome: wait times and out-of-pocket costs will go down for all of us. Corporate capture: There already exists a federal fund to support community health centers. Section 330 grants go right to clinics, no insurance intermediaries. Those funds need to be radically increased to reach one in three Americans. The ultra-processed food companies and the soda industry should pay for it. Taxing their advertising, which induces both children and adults to consume the sugars and other chemicals that lead to chronic disease, improves community health at both ends. It reduces the supply of unhealthy foods and sodas and increases the provision of primary care. Big Food and Big Beverage will riot. Indeed, RFK Jr. has already backed down because of their pushback. Democrats should marshal the evidence, appeal to the public, and win the fight.