Project Logic Ga

At this crossroad in American presidential history, the Black community must actively consider all options and alternatives to save our investment in this great nation.  If not for South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, Joe Biden wouldn’t have won the Democratic nomination and the White House over President Trump.  Black South Carolina Senator Tim Scott will likely get my vote for president in the Republican primary in Georgia and I’m hurt that former S.C. governor Nikki Haley (brown person) allow Trump to sully her path to the Oval Office.

My logic starts with sayings and identity.

“We have no permanent friends or permanent enemies…just permanent interests.”  Blacks must be flexible in the political arena because conditions and situations are constantly changing and your friend today could be an opponent tomorrow.

“Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”  Like your stock market portfolio, we shouldn’t invest all our capital in one party or person because defeat for them is doom for us.

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”   Vocal voters select and elect leaders and public policy reflects their desires more than the population in general.  At times, the Democratic Party’s agenda is designed toward seeking the votes of non-voting members of our community over the interests of Blacks who vote without prodding.  On the Republican side, the most vocal extremes overshadow the more sensible people near the center who aren’t as angry.

“When your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.”  I chose this one over “there is more than one way to skin a cat” but both concern inflexibility because too many Black people think government is the answer to every issue in their lives and too many White Southerners think codifying the Bible into public policy is the answer to everything. 

“Not a hill I want to die on.”  In war, politics and life, you pick your battles.  Sometimes you go all in and sometimes you live to fight another day.  You can win a battle but ultimately lose the war.  President Obama had to cut ties with Reverend Jeremaih Wright to save his presidential bid and Dr. Martin Luther King painfully cut out of the civil rights movement those who had socialist activities in their past.  I think the extreme element in the Democrat Party insist on agenda items or planks in the platform that alienate some rural voters and you can’t win Georgia without us.

About identity, shall we have an exercise.  Put these factors in order of importance to you:

Nationality

Race/Color

Political Party

Gender

Religious Affiliation

American Region

For me personally, the order is Race/Color, Nationality, American Region, Religious Affiliation, Political Party, Gender.  I’m a Black man Southerner who is a Methodist and a Democrat.   I know some Democrats who put their gender high on this list because being a woman is an important part of who they are.  Some of my Republican friends have a mixture of Religious Affiliation and Political Party at the top of their list and elbow themselves around in the political arena with secondary regard for the Constitution in my opinion.

As we approach this presidential election year, I can’t count on infrequent voters in Georgia to ensure a quality president.  Some of the Democrat side welcome the nomination of President Trump again by the Republicans because they see him as an easier opponent.  I think they are playing with fire.  I want two opponents on the ballot in November 2024 who both could serve the nation well if elected.

Another saying is “talk the talk and walk the walk” and I have a proven record in presidential primary voting. In Georgia, we can select the Democrat or Republican ballot in primaries. I’m a Moderate Democrat who has voted in the Republican presidential primary often in the last two decades because the Democrat candidate was clear by the time Georgia’s primary rolled around so why not put my vote to good use.  My GOP selections included John McCain, Mitt Romney and John Kasich. 

The American Region item above is about being a southerner and my friends and I joke that President Carter and President Clinton are more familiar with our American experience than our beloved brother and favorite president Obama.  It’s not because Obama is Black but because he is an amazing leader and a good person.  Was he familiar with our community before he married Michelle from the southside?  She is the Democrats best hope at keeping the Oval but stop dreaming.

In Georgia senatorial contests, I will admit that I voted for Republicans Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson because Saxby is from south Georgia and Senator Isakson was a bridge builder.

Few people actually read my blog post but let me put an option in writing for the record.  Senator Tim Scott could win enough Black southern votes to take the White House and I’m fully prepared to work toward serving him Georgia in the presidential primary on a platter.  I would breathe a sigh of relief to know that a Biden-Scott match rids the nation of the guy in the red baseball cap.  Don’t get it twisted: I wouldn’t vote for Scott in the primary because he is Black.  This gentleman is a current U.S. Senator with a smooth temperament and knowledgeable on public policy.  He is presidential material.