Democrats are one of our two major parties focused on winning control of and managing the government. They are a big tent party, and sadly that makes legislating and governing almost unmanageable. I can imagine that I have wondered (like you may have) why Democrats are not responding to my preferred issue. I happen to be a Black, moderate, atheist, straight, cis male. I prioritize voting rights, economic inequality, equitable access to education, environmental justice, and human rights (LGBTQ, Migrant Rights, Women’s Health). Like many Democrats, I have higher and lower policy priorities. How much overlap do I have with…

Democrats recently flipped Michigan back into the blue column and should now look to 2022. They have a chance at breaking Republican control over the legislature (Republicans have held it the Senate since 92, and controlled the House all but nine years in that same time). So what makes me think they can take it? Democrats have shown they can win the popular vote share of the house votes (2018 results popular vote 52.13% to 47.40% 2020 49.60 v 49.86 closer but still approximately 13,676 vote difference). Democrats recently defended the Senate seat of Gary Peters (winning by 92,335 or…

Listening to Biden’s speech on exiting Afghanistan, I was optimistic. His speech was centered around our need to set goals that are clear and achievable. Biden went on to say that does not just apply to Afghanistan. He wants to move away from nation-building and using military force to do so. He laid out how he believes it will make us stronger and safer at home. I believe this. Not only does it allow for investments elsewhere, but it also does not build ill will from other nations. …

Dear Congressman
I am constituent messaging you about your coming vote and negotiation over the human infrastructure bill. I’m overall happy with the framework. I was thrilled to see investments in education (universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds, child care for working families, tuition-free community college, funding for historically black colleges and universities, and an expansion of the Pell Grant for higher education) and childcare. I was happy to see immigration reform by way of the judicial committee. I was glad to see investment in dealing with climate change (forest management, carbon reduction, energy production, along with drought and fire…

I recently read The Anatomy of Racial Inequality by Glenn Loury, I am a long-time listener and follower of his. I find Loury to be one of the few Black conservatives honestly interested in helping the Black community. When I say help I don’t mean he has a casual interest. He has had on his show several nonprofits focused on developing the Black community and leveled fair criticism of BLM, and other Black advocacy groups. But his book, The Anatomy Racial Inequality, brought it home for me. The most important parts of the book include his discussion on why racial…

The failure of the Black Equality movement was the failure of leadership to articulate a vision and plan to address racial inequality. Is the Black Lives Matter movement facing the same crisis? We have seen what was once a scrappy diffuse group take the place of legacy civil rights groups like the NAACP, Rainbow Push Coalition, UNCF, and so on after several high-profile police killings. In doing so they have taken on one of the most polarizing issues in American politics, criminal justice reform. Criminal justice is an issue that has plagued our community (I say this as a Black…

Workers’ share of GDP is at an all-time low. Despite this, the Washington consensus is wages are causing inflation. That isn’t true. Workers don’t cause inflation capitalists choose to pass on the cost to the consumer by way of price hikes. This isn’t said often but the workers’ share of GDP is 43%, squeezed down from the 50% figure they once got at the start of tracking. That was the pre-Reagan era before the Fed focused on keeping inflation low, at the cost of employment and wage gains. Also before union-busting became the norm so much so that it’s in…

Reform, not Defund

“‘Our people’ have functioned in this country for nearly a century as political weapons, the trump card up the enemies’ sleeve; anything promised Negroes at election time is also a threat leveled at the opposition; in the struggle for mastery the Negro is the pawn.” — James Baldwin

We are already seeing the effects of the criminal justice reform system’s politicization. Black Americans asked for less predatory policing and safer neighborhoods, and in response politicians transformed the issue into a larger culture war rather than address the legitimate concerns of impacted communities. I admit the calls for…