I used to love political
campaigns, regardless of the role I played -
and I’ve played a lot of roles. Whether a
canvasser, campaign manager, strategist, communication person, transportation
coordinator, candidate proxy or whatever, I
took my unpaid job seriously because it’s all
about advancing a Black political agenda to
either consolidate power or to get to
governance. My enthusiasm has been waning in
recent years. What I call the ‘shot across the
bow’ with the alleged attack on presidential
candidate trump definitely took my gusto level
down a few notches.
There
are some, maybe even more than some, who
believe the missed shot at 130 yards from an
unsecured building, intentionally left outside
the perimeter set up by the Secret Service,
was a political hoax. Many security questions
remain unanswered for now. However, the image
of trump, emerging from a huddled circle of
protective agents with a blood trickle down
his cheek and a defiant fist raised, will live
forever. It’s the kind of photo opp you would
almost die for (pun intended).
The
conspiracy theories abound. The MAGA folks
went into the Republican National Convention
with a crazed fervor and have seized the
political momentum once again.
My
opinion is that regardless if the
assassination attempt was set up or not, I
will have to dig deep inside for some
ancestral inspiration in order to cross the
finish line on November 5. We know that it
absolutely will not be the end of the journey.
Here
are two issues which are zapping my energy and
testing my patience:
For
months now, I have been discussing and
debating with people who want to stand down in
the presidential election. It has been
followed with a challenge that if you allow
trump to ascend the throne, then you must have
a formidable strategy of resistance to save
the masses of working people from the
slobbering jaws of fascism. This election is
not happening in a vacuum. It is happening in
an orchestrated environment designed for the
Democratic electorate to drink the Kool-Aid.
The drink will either provoke feelings of
disillusionment or apathy, and thereby
accelerate the consolidation of the extremist
right.
In
a situation similar to the congressional
election between Jamaal Bowman and George
Latimer, Cori Bush (MO D-1) is facing an
opponent financed by pro-Israel groups. Bush
made history to take down the Clay dynasty to
become the first Black, female to represent
the first Congressional District in Missouri.
Her opponent? Wesley Bell. He was elected as
the first Black St. Louis County Prosecutor in
the aftermath of the Ferguson Uprising. These
contentious races expose the divisions within
the Democratic Party, particularly around
Palestinian liberation. It also highlights the
lack of party leadership to unite its
constituents around a national agenda. The
racial justice movement is working overtime to
re-elect Cori Bush. Even if we don’t believe
the polls - which has her 20+ points behind
Bell - we see Bell’s back-to-back TV ads and
the avalanche of slick campaign literature
coming into voters’ homes. A Democratic defeat
locally and nationally will be a devastating
setback on many levels.
The
apparent attempt on trump’s life by a young
Republican, can only fuel the volatile
rhetoric spewed by trump and ultimately
escalate into political violence. It’s the
kind of violence that we’ve seen justified by
the false narrative that both sides are guilty
of fanning the political flames. The body
count does not corroborate this nonsense.
Think about abortion clinics being bombed, the
doctors who were murdered. Think about the
attacks on Muslims. Think about the anti-gay
contempt, especially directed at trans people,
which often turns into physical violence.
Think January 6.
I’m
confident that I will get out of this
political malaise and be hyper-focused on
organizing with purpose and integrity. The
question is, will this country pull itself out
of the swamp of white pathology that excites
and engages the most backward sectors into
believing they are headed in a righteous
direction.
