Since the passing of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, the hot topic had been would Gov. Gavin Newsom fulfill his commitment to appoint a Black woman to fill her seat.
Now we all know that the governor was praying like hell that Senator Feinstein would have been able to serve out her term and let the people in her district decide if that seat would go to a Black woman, which would get him off the hot seat and having to fulfil that pledge.
Well, Gavin Newsom made a move as slick as the way he wears his hair. When Sen. Feinstein passed, Newsom appointed our dear sister, Laphonza Butler, to the seat. Just so we are clear, this is in no way an attempt to throw shade on Sen. Butler, but it is to illuminate the similarities between politics and street culture — they call it politics, I call it bait and switch.
Most of us hoped that the seat would go to Congresswoman Barbara Lee after Gov. Newsom pledged that he would appoint a Black woman if Feinstein’s seat became open. Unfortunately, when Senator Feinstein passed away, most of us just knew that the Black woman Gavin was talking about was surely going to be Congresswoman Barbara Lee, right? Wrong!
Here’s where the street move comes into play (remember what I said – they call it politics, I call it street culture – Republicans Red, Democrats Blue, both fighting over turf, power, and control, it seems we know another gang with similar colors, culture, and aspirations, but you know me, I digress) by appointing Laphonza, a Black woman, he was able to check that box, and by her consenting not to run for reelection after her term was up, it took the pressure off him.
What pressure, Tony? I’m so glad you ask. Check this out, by appointing Laphonza a Black woman as a temporary placeholder, he somewhat fulfilled his promise (street move). Now if Barbara Lee is unsuccessful in her bid for the Senate seat, “Oh well, it wasn’t on me.”
So when Gavin makes his move to run for president, and you can bet he’s going to run the next time around, he will have a greater appeal to moderate white folks and not seem as if he’s overly pro-Black, and when he runs for president, most of us will only be mad and hold our nose when we vote for him because we know that the alternative will be worse (a Pimp move).
Before you negroes use this as your excuse not to vote, that’s not the direction I’m going, so pump your brakes. Martin Luther King said, “So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote, I do not possess myself.”
Malcom X said, “A ballot is like a bullet. You don’t throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket.” I want to possess myself and Black people we have a target within our reach, Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
Now, please don’t let money make you tap out and assume that it’s a foregone conclusion that the seat is out of our reach and Barbara can’t win just because other candidates have more money. And, by the way, this same reasoning applies no matter who you’re supporting. You see I don’t suffer from historical amnesia; I remember when Meg Whitman ran for governor in 2010, and she spent $144 million of her own money, more than any other self-funded political candidate in U.S. history. Guess what—she lost!
Do you remember back in 2014 when George McKenna won the vacant seat on the Los Angeles Unified School Board? McKenna was outspent by 3 to 1, and he was also able to overcome tremendous support given to his opponent that came from a major political action committee affiliated with charter schools.
Let me bring it closer to home for you. You do know that less than a year ago, Mayor Karen Bass ran against billionaire Rick Caruso for Mayor. Some would say that Caruso had more money than God, somewhere around $5.3 Billion, and this guy spent $104 million of his own money to Mayor Bass’ (you noticed I said Mayor Bass, not Mayor Caruso) $9,060,958.59. How did they overcome money? It’s because we, the community, heard Martin and Malcom in our spirit and we as a people recognized and realized that we possess ourselves, have purpose, have power and we had a target, and together we hit it!
So, please don’t tell me that money is the meaning and measure of all things—contrary to the 11th commandment added by the prosperity gospel, I’m sure you’ve heard it, where it says, “Seek ye first money, and all other things will be added unto you.”
We saw the move by the governor, now let’s show him the move of the people and let’s remind him of this day when he starts measuring draperies hoping to move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
If we believe in Barbara Lee, vote for her!
