In the spirit of girl power, Sen. Amy Klobuchar did not allow her gender or the fear of feminists get in the way of her unapologetic efforts to take on Democratic front-runner Elizabeth Warren. Still, as the female candidates came out strong on the debate stage, black people remained alienated from the discussion.
As I sat on my couch, unenthused about another Democratic debate, I was pleasantly surprised to see Klobuchar armed with political darts for Warren. I’m not opposed to Warren, but I’ve been waiting to see someone point out the flaws in Warren’s solutions to everything. I’ve been wondering if those attacks would come from a woman, especially since the historic 2018 midterm election seemed to spread a spirit of sisterhood on Capitol Hill.
In the year of the woman, any visual of catfights on a national stage would be a political no-no. But clearly Klobuchar was unbothered. She questioned Warren’s vision and her policies, offering Warren a reality check on all of her perfectly imperfect plans.
But truth be told, I think the candidates need a reality check on the mindset of real voters — or maybe just voters that look like me.
As a registered independent who has voted for Republican governors and Democrat presidents, I found myself slightly annoyed with the debate.
Maybe it was my glass of sauvignon blanc that resulted in my vexation, or maybe it was the colorful cliches: Sen. Cory Booker reminding everyone, again, that he still lives in the “hood,” Andrew Yang offering $1,000 a month as an economic breakthrough for middle-class people, Joe Biden’s claims of being the only one who has ever done anything in life, the discussion of breaking up big tech companies, who is best friends with Republicans, and questions about which Democratic candidate would nominate Supreme Court justices that would protect Roe v. Wade — yes, that was really a question at the debate.
As a black woman, I often feel excluded from these debates. But come Sunday morning many of those on the debate stage will be in the first pew of a Baptist church discussing the maternal death rate of black women, criminal justice reform, and economic inequality in the black community. Churchgoers and ushers, dressed in all white, will nod in agreement.
But while the issues of black America are shared from the pulpit, these issues barely make it to the debate stage or receive the commitment of a four-hour town hall. Instead, our issues are wrapped up in 10-second soundbites in discussions on climate change, immigration, and prison reform (okay, maybe we do get a little more time on prison reform).
The problem with moderators consistently ignoring the status of and issues that affect black Americans is that the rest of the country ignores these injustices as well, resulting in a dismissive attitude towards police killings, environmental racism, and economic disparities that have resulted in high crime and poor education in marginalized communities. It took 90 minutes before any candidate mentioned Atatiana Jefferson, who was senselessly shot and killed by Fort Worth Police Officer Aaron Dean, who has since resigned and been charged with murder.
I am not inspired by any of the candidates at this point. Maybe because there are just too many candidates right now, or maybe because they aren’t or haven’t been given the opportunity to speak in-depth on issues in communities of color.
Members of Blexit may think I’m going through some sort of awakening and willing to leave what they call a blue plantation for a red one — the truth is I have been “woke,” and most importantly I have been free, which is why I am an independent. However, despite my reservations and frustrations with the Democratic candidates and their oblivious attitude towards black America, I am not compelled by talks of historically low rates of unemployment for black Americans to jump on the Trump train — that’s not enough to erase the insulting rhetoric coming from the Oval Office.
I am still waiting on that spark from a Democratic candidate that lights my torch for 2020. If not, I will sadly head to the polls, voting by default, just as I grudgingly did in 2016.
Rochelle Ritchie (@RochelleRitchie) is a former congressional press secretary for House Democrats, and a political commentator frequently featured on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC.
