First, a little about the author. I have followed national politics since I was in single digits. I counted out electoral votes as they were reported in the 1964 election, and I understood the coded language that Richard Nixon used in 1968. I have followed (and of course, voted in) every national election in my adult lifetime. I have written checks, made phone calls, knocked on doors, and traveled to a distant state to canvass for a Democratic candidate. I know more than most people know about national politics, and that’s not bragging; it’s just a statement of fact.
I currently work with an all-volunteer Democratic fund-raising organization, and my mission is to get more people of color involved in national electoral politics. I work my butt off, and I am often discouraged by how much people complain in contrast to how little they know and do. If I’ve already made enemies, that’s fine. It won’t be the first time.
I defend Democrats, and I’m happy and proud to do it. People complain about politics because of something “they’ve heard of,” but don’t know, and they disparage politicians without participating in the political process at all. When people complain to me about Trump’s presidency and all of the horrible things that have happened to blacks, I tell them, perhaps rudely, “If you didn’t vote in 2016, then shut up.”
Read, and understand me.
Yes, unfortunately, a conservative element has been attempting to overturn Roe for decades. They’ve been harassing and murdering workers, committing vandalism, and all the rest for years. That’s not a secret. Now, let me give my however.
In 2008, every black person in America, and they mama, went out to vote for Barack Obama. Hurray. Figuring that we’d got the job done, we stayed home in 2010, and Democrats lost the House. Since legislation originates in the House, minus the majority, Democrats could pass almost nothing. You recall how Republicans blocked everything, including funds to repair the Capitol dome when chunks of it were falling in the street. We can’t blame Democrats for that. In fact, why do we focus on the Democrats when it’s the Republicans who are always doing the wrong thing? Why don’t we challenge them?
Onward to 2012. Once again, blacks hied themselves to the polls (but in lesser numbers than 2008) and Obama got a second term. Again, we repeated what we did in 2010, and we stayed home in 2014. We lost the Senate and gave Mitch McConnell control over our lives. With a minority in both Houses, there was nothing the Democrats could do, including having a hearing for Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. We had one hope. 2016.
As I said to one of our mutual respondents, too many people stayed home in 2016. The black turnout that had overwhelmed the vote in 2008 and 2012 was absent. We “weren’t enthused” about Hillary Clinton. I don’t care. I’m not enthused about exercise, but I know what happens to me if I don’t do it. Sanders supporters decided to stay home and “teach the Democrats a lesson.” The problem with “teaching the Democrats a lesson,” is that Dems end up with the lesson, but Republicans end up with the win. (Gosh, didn’t that also happen in 2000?) So, we weren’t smart. We weren’t forward looking. We didn’t practice our ounce of prevention, and now we need a ton of cure.
“They were impotent and feckless in the past. And they are impotent and feckless in the present.”
That’s a nice, general, condemnatory statement, but you have not supplied an example, or examples, to prove your assertion. What you have done is name calling.
“And even knowing the damage that these conservative justices can do to countless others rulings protected by the 14th amendment, the Democrats will still do nothing.”
Well, if we had turned out in 2016, rather than being “unenthusiastic” and “wanting to teach lessons,” then we would have prevented having the three additional conservative justices we have now. Please, say exactly what the “something” is you want the Democrats to do. If you know something that they don’t, I’m sure they’d be more than happy to be informed so that they could be less impotent and feckless.
Now, no offense to you, and I genuinely mean no offense to you, but your essay is a series of complaints. We’ve already agreed that there’s nothing Biden can do to expand the Supreme Court. Perhaps we’ve agreed that he has more jobs than erasing student debt. While not doing all of the things that people complain about, he has managed to get more people vaccinated AND give folks COVID relief checks, pass the Build Back Better Act, which Republicans pared away as much as they could, have record job growth, expand access to affordable health care, and repair the international fabric that Trump had ripped up and stomped on. He did that with the help of a Democrat House and Senate, but people only recall “what you’ve done for them lately.”
I don’t recall Biden saying that, fundamentally, “things will not change.” I do remember him saying that he wanted to be like FDR, and he has certainly attempted to re-build the economy and expand social programs.
Yes, I get angry, concerned, offended, and a lot more things when I hear people tell other blacks that they should “ignore” the Democratic Party, which “takes them for granted.” All we need to know is what Republicans have done to us and not for us. Is it Democratic legislatures who are attempting to curtail voting rights? Is it Democrats who refuse to raise the minimum wage? No.
I’m black. The Democrats don’t always please me, but I also understand that they have more than one constituency to please. They have always had to walk the fine line of attending to the needs of blacks and the poor (not that they are equivalent) while still attempting to appeal to the middle-of-the-road white voters who are the ones that turn out. I’m not expecting the Dems to target some programs mostly to the black population, because you know those aren’t gonna fly. Some of the programs that benefit “everybody” also benefit us. White Americans are racist, and they’ve had an existential crisis ever since Obama became President. They depend on the Republicans to turn the clock back, which is the main reason we have to keep Democrats in power. We’re not subservient to them—we strengthen one another. The more power we give to them, the more they have. We can’t be apathetic or dismissive, because, unfortunately, too many of us will read “The Democrats need to do better” as “I get to stay home.” We can’t do that. We just hurt ourselves.
I’m sorry I dissed you. I was also brought up “better than that.” My response, however, it NOT the reason we're divided.
Our other respondent does not want to view the four-minute video I’m sharing. It’s a powerful message. We all have something to learn from it.
