The Party That Left Its President

I recently finished a political assignment in Florida for the gubernatorial race. And even before the midterm election results were punched, dried, or mailed, political talking heads began calling the Republican Party a Congressional party which means the majority of the country would vote for them in the House and the Senate. It is naïve analysis and a blatant disregard to the trickery of gerrymandering.

The racist lines used to draw the new Congressional districts after the 2010 census have as much to do with the new composition of the House as does any other factor in the recent election and that includes the candidates themselves. So many politicos described this election as a mandate on President Obama’s policies. This election was not a repudiation of the President. The fact that the Democrats chose to run their races as if they were in a different party than Mr. Obama has a great deal to do with this Republican “wave”.

It does not make sense that Democrats thought they could run away from the first Black President who, mind you,  was elected with more than 90 percent of the black vote, an historic majority of women votes, an overwhelming majority of the youth vote, and a convincing majority of the Latino vote and expect these populations to rush to the polls to vote. The Democrats’ behavior was disrespectful to the President, and it is indicative of the mindset that has edged the country further right. This way of thinking allows the Republicans to control the narrative and prevents Democrats from showing they will stand up for their beliefs. Before this election I heard pundits say the GOP might be in trouble if they did not include Blacks and other minorities. Well, to that I say, the Democrats had better become a party that shows up for its base on days other than the ones where they have scheduled campaign commercials, or they will become extinct.

When the Democratic Party fields candidates who refuse to admit they voted for the President, they are assembling a losing team, period. This President is the greatest motivator of the Black, youth, women, and Latino vote in the history of this country, and the Democrats spat in his face by running elections and not enlisting the only Black ham in the history of this country to be elected President (and he did it twice).

I am so tired of David Gergen, Candy Crowley, and John King telling Black folk this President is responsible for the Democratic Party’s poor showing in this election. Why aren’t we, as Black people, screaming about this falsehood. These lies are the reason two-thirds of the voting population stayed home. Is there really a mandate when only 33 percent of the electorate calls for it? I’m blacker and smarter than that.

We need a real presence in the media, or we will continue to be blamed for this type of political setback. If Black people are going to continue to donate their votes to the Democratic Party, then we need to demand more accountability and loyalty to the candidates who look and support our community. In a year when so many Black men were murdered by police officers, not one candidate made it “their” issue. Somebody, please tell me where do we go from here?