What was once a popular movement dedicated to the betterment of the country is now a ridiculous excuse for a political party, dominated by the extremist radicals who make up their base of support. The Democrats have shown their hand many times before this, but they have done what The Fonz did when he donned a leather jacket and water skis: They jumped the shark. They have become so ridiculous that they are no longer recognizable.
Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and many others in the Democratic leadership donned a Kente cloth scarf and kneeled for a photo-op in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. This is pandering on the deepest level. First, this was mere days after Pelosi ripped President Trump for his own photo-op of holding a Bible outside St. John’s Church, which was set ablaze the previous night. While chastising Trump for using the Bible as a prop, she pulls out a Bible and uses it as a prop. Governor Andrew Cuomo also decided to get in on the action and lambast Trump for using a Bible as a prop, which he did while (you guessed it) using a Bible as a prop.
Second, the Kente cloth that the Democrats used for this is not generic African garb. It has historical significance. If Pelosi had donned a talis, t’filin, and yarmulke to plead for Jewish votes, she would have shown the same callous disregard towards Judaism as she did toward African history. Those who forgive the act because she was directed to do so by the Congressional Black Caucus should recall Pelosi’s own admonishments that President Trump isn’t leading. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are the leaders of the Democratic Party in Congress; leading from behind, as former President Barack Obama did, leaves you looking like a fool.
Finally, the kneeling itself has become a symbol of remorse for the sins of America. The kneel was popularized by Colin Kaepernick when he knelt during the National Anthem, seemingly to protest police brutality. The statistics have never lined up with the Left’s narrative that there are systemic issues in American policing (as opposed to some incredibly sad and indefensible stories, such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor). The 900,000 members of law enforcement’s 375 million interactions in 2019 have yielded 250 black people shot and killed by police, nine of whom were considered “unarmed.” With those numbers, these cases can be examined on their own merits, and not as part of a larger “systemic” problem. However, Kaepernick decided – to the Left’s cheers and delights – to disrespect the National Anthem and the American Flag, both symbols of unity. Four years later, the action was mimicked by Democratic leadership.
The Democrats have lost all grip on how to lead and govern, that the calls to “Defund the Police” have now encompassed the nation. The Minneapolis City Council voted to disband their police department. New York and Los Angeles have already made moves to cut police funding. Seattle abandoned one police precinct, which led to an anarchist group taking over six city blocks, which they called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ. What has happened since then has been the greatest display of incompetent governance in recent memory.
When the precinct was abandoned on the orders of Mayor Jenny Durkan, anarchists immediately set up barriers, armed themselves, and started bullying residents into submission. The irony is so thick you’d need a chainsaw to slice through it. The same people who say America doesn’t need a wall on its southern border have built a wall. The same people who say the Second Amendment is obsolete have armed themselves. The same people who say that Stop and Frisk was a racist policy are stopping and frisking anyone who wishes to go past the “You are now leaving the USA” sign.
These people have their list of demands, and it is not limited to defunding Seattle police. They want the police abolished. They want all juveniles in detention to be freed, regardless of crime. They demand that all people of color in prison be retried, regardless of crime. They demand free college, free healthcare, free housing, citizenship for illegal aliens, and a whole host of other demands, each more ridiculous than the last. They do this while demanding supplies, because they ran out of food. Mayor Durkan is referring to this as a “block party” that could lead to a “Summer of Love.” She is complying with the anarchists and lecturing President Trump that this is how Democracy works.
This is not how Democracy works. Yes, there have been armed standoffs with the Federal government before, most recently the Bundy standoff in 2014. The main difference between the two is that Bundy had a specific grievance and goal, which he conveyed to the government. These anarchists are demanding a complete burning down and restructuring of the entire society, and the Left is kowtowing to it. That’s not Democracy; that’s mob justice.
This is the issue with many leftist organizations. They have a simple message with a lot of baggage. Black lives do matter, but why does Black Lives Matter care more about the Israeli conflict with Palestinians than they do with the people being shot and killed in Chicago? Police brutality is awful, and maybe policing needs to be reformed so they are no longer required to deal with issues of mental health or social work, but why is their demand the abolition of all law enforcement? If the BDS movement was named “Peace in the Middle East,” or something similarly vague with the same anti-Semitism at its core, they would have an even larger following in the Democratic Party than they do now.
Which means that the Democrats are no longer attempting any meaningful solutions, only meaningless, sham pandering that will be forgotten the moment a ballot is cast and the votes are tallied. There’s a reason why the Black Lives Matter movement is having its first heyday since 2016. They are being used to jazz up the Democratic base to vote the Democrats into power once more, and then they’ll be forgotten again. The lies are the same, and the people are no longer believing it. So the Democrats are trying harder and harder to pander, and they have finally jumped the shark.
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Moshe Hill is a political analyst who has written for The Daily Wire, the Queens Jewish Link, The Jewish Link of New Jersey and JNS.org. He is regularly featured on ‘The Josh M Show’ podcast. Subscribe to aHillwithaview.com for more content from Moshe Hill. Like him on Facebook at facebook.com/ahillwithaview and follow him on Twitter @TheMoHill.