Black Star News Editorial
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
The Democratic Party has once again failed America. Because of this, Donald Trump, a convicted felon, and twice impeached president, will once again shockingly enter the White House.
While Trump’s presidential victory was stunning, it wasn’t completely surprising to us. On our Black Star News show, on New York’s WBAI 99.5 FM Radio, Dr. James McIntosh, the co-founder of CEMOTAP, and co-host of the ‘Mind Field’ WBAI Radio program, told us months ago he thought Trump would win back the presidency. Dr. McIntosh had previously predicted Trump would win in 2016.
Trump’s victory makes this clear: the American empire is declining.
Where was the wave of American women to stop the man who helped kill abortion rights? Where were the angry hordes of women to elect Vice-President Kamala Harris as the nation’s first female president? The election poll numbers are not fully completely in yet. Still, it seems white women (as they did in 2016) once again chose their skin color over their gender.
Consider this: Arizona, Missouri, Montana and Nevada all had ballot measures to strengthen abortion rights that were successful. Yet, all these states voted for Trump. So, the same women voted for abortion rights, and Trump? Moreover, the red states of Ohio and Kansas, which previously voted in measures to protect abortion rights, also voted for Trump. Think about the irony here.
Ultimately however, Democrats must look into the mirror to find the reason for their abysmal failure. Vice-President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, and the rest of the Democratic Party leadership, lost this race with their bungling. They failed to address the critical economic concerns troubling most demographic groups in America—while sending millions to fund the war in Ukraine, and to kill Palestinian civilians.
Will the misleaders in the Democratic Party do the necessary soul-searching after this horrendous loss? Not likely. The blame game has apparently already started, with some folks talking about the impact of “protest votes,” a clear inference to those who refused to support the Democrats because of Gaza.
Although the Democratic Party failures will likely lead us down a dark path for the next four years, and perhaps beyond, we must be honest about the fact that they deserve to lose.
The Democratic Party, for decades now, has pretended to be a more moral party than the GOP. But that pretense all went up in smoke after a year of bombs and bullets continued to rain down death on Palestinian civilians. We’ve always heard all kinds of glowing grandstanding rhetoric about respecting the “rule of law,” and the like. But President Biden (who should’ve removed himself from the race long ago) and the Democratic Party, defend the serial mass murdering maniac prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he slaughters innocent civilians in Gaza, and now in Lebanon.
Biden also remained silent when it was clear his White House’s stand on Gaza was hurting Harris’ chance to win. Harris compounded this by silencing Palestinian voices during the Democratic National Convention—and made little attempt to reach out to Muslim voters, including those whose families and friends were being blasted to smithereens in Gaza.
Appallingly, the Democratic Party gave their blessings to the AIPAC political extortion PAC to attack the real progressives in the party, particularly those who denounced the ongoing genocide of Palestinians. Hillary Clinton shamefully endorsed the successful challenge that removed Rep. Jamaal Bowman, of the Bronx, where upwards of $25 million was spent in that campaign. A similar scenario played out in Missouri, where Rep. Cori Bush was also removed.
But here is an important irony: the progressive Democrats who survived these big money attacks, and, or, who spoke out forcefully against Netanyahu’s serial killings, were the Democrats who won their seats easily.
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar won her race with 79.4 percent of the vote. Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib won 69.4 percent of the vote. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got 68.9 percent of the vote. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren received 59.9 percent of the vote. And Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won 63.3 percent of the vote.
What is the message here? True progressivism, which speaks honestly about all issues, including the economic inequality that is strangling America, is the only successful way forward for the Democratic Party?
Democratic voters must hold the Democratic Party’s corporate leadership accountable for their continued failures—and their attacks on the progressive voices in the party. How do we do that? For one thing, we must now remove (with primary challenges) some of the backward misleaders who have train-wrecked the party’s possibilities that could have become realities.
Many, because of Trump’s victory, including some Black people, are now drowning in the depths of despair. On that, we say this: that posture is not one any person, particularly Black people, should exhibit. We are fighters. Black people have always had to fight for everything in America. Therefore, our message here is simply this: aluta continua.
In 2024, American voters obviously believe Trump will bring economic prosperity. More Black, and Latino, voters apparently also voted for Trump believing this. We, at the Black Star News, are extremely skeptical this faith in Trump will bear fruit—especially, for Black Americans.
However, we won’t be upset if Trump proves us wrong. Still, we won’t hold our breath.
