The frustration of being an African American that tries to participate in the political process is reaching a divisive fever pitch. One needs to look no further than the two night Democratic Presidential Debates and the days following to find out why. It reminded me of those family dinners we all hated but were forced to attend as children, full of a bunch of people in power who seemed to never listen to us because they thought they knew who we were and how we think.

Former Vice President Joe Biden reminded us of that old uncle who is stuck in his ways, hanging on to a world and an understanding that never should have been acceptable. Senator Kamala Harris was that cousin that went off to college, bought a Benz, some Google stock and always took down easy targets to sound serious without really ever saying anything.

I’m sure you’ve seen the sparring match between Biden and Harris over his willingness to work with those Democrats who rather not see Harris or any person of color sitting next to their grandchildren in class. This exchange turned out to be not a sparring match at all, but a not so surprising, calculated and telepathic knockout that Ole Unc should have been prepared for but wasn’t. Joe being Joe, was unprepared, emotionally checked out and arrogant, but we knew all of this before. Not just his juvenile preparation, but we all knew his record. Though we may not have known that Harris was bused to a white school district while having white neighbors in her community that didn’t allow their kids to play with black kids.

What we still don’t know is any of Harris’s ideas. Before you accuse me of hating on the sister or call me a Hotep, please think of two ideas that meant she came to prove she is ready to take our community and country in a new direction. Since the debate, Harris is being questioned not only on her record as AG for the State of California but for a comment she made against forced busing that just so happens to have been Biden’s reason for opposing the plan way back when. The very thing she was chiding him on in front of the nation.

If we are honest, we would also see that the honesty and respect our quiet cousin, South Indiana Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, has shown is refreshing in a time of chaos for the people of his city and African Americans around the country. He was the first to address the concerns of African Americans on a national level, and he did so before a police bullet took the life of an unarmed black man in his city. His ideas and answers were the freshest on the stage that night yet like many powerful Democrats, voters like myself are wary of those who are calling themselves our allies while being slow to respond when a dead black body lies dead at the hands of police. The Mayor did raise eyebrows with his words to a sea of potential black voters at this year’s Essence Festival, and I’m sure he is hoping that those words will make up for his homegrown issues.

Senator Bernie Sanders seemed unscathed amidst his lackluster performance during the debates. It seemed as if every single candidate has gone to Paw Paw’s School of Government. Every single candidate on both nights either agreed with him or just flat out copied his platform. It seems that it is enough for Sanders, who looked checked out most of the night while letting the children figure out who they are going to be. I’m sure he was happy to see his sister and our Aunt Senator Elizabeth Warren shine with her new Batch of “Berniisms 2.0”.

Warren was a better and prettier version of Sanders, her ideas would start off the same but then she would add a little more sauce to get our political bellies full. Warren was refreshing, knowledgeable and vibrant. She was one of the winners from a substance standpoint. She is my pick to win the nomination if she stays away from the loony, extreme left and never even indicate that she will decriminalize coming into this country illegally.

But the person that should share the winner’s ribbon with Warren is our cool cousin Texas native and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. He took down a legit liberal in Beto O’Rourke, and I’m sure he is on his way to a VP pick. He like Warren was well versed on the issues and ready for a fight and like Harris, we can’t name two new ideas that he brought with him and still, it was the same contribution to the debate as Harris.

So at the end of the day, those of us who came to be fed a plan and vision from this display of Democratic talent are still left hungry and irritated by the predictability of it all. The same drumbeat that has been defeated in one way or the other in the past. The fake Obama clones and the Hillary drones have taken a toll on us all. So much so that we accept whoever MSNBC and CNN tell us to like, we are pushing for based solely on race and gender and not their substance, their record, nor the content of their character.

The candidates are making the same mistakes of yesterday, they are assuming because we dislike the person in the white house so much that we will simply wait in long lines and vote for them without being moved by them. They think our hatred will be our guide, but it won’t. Our community has never been guided by hate, but our feet are trained to move with purpose. We are not monolithic, though we share some of the same concerns. The candidate that understands this best based on merit and fresh ideas will get our votes. Those who assume because we are black and have a fading connection with the Democratic Party, that they don’t have to carve out our specific piece of the pie with policy and not empty conversations about reparations will surely be the one at fault for giving the Presidency back to an easily beatable incumbent. We’re telling you now, don’t come blaming us.

Earnest Drone

Writer’s Note: This article is an opinion and does not directly represent the views of the editors of this publication.

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