The Gantt Report
By Lucius Gantt
I need to tell you I’m writing this edition of The Gantt Report with a heavy heart. American citizens are celebrating or mourning the unexpected results of the Presidential election.
I don’t want to write a column like this, but I call myself a truth-teller and a truth-teller writes and talks about the truth whether he or she wants to or not.
It’s no secret that most Black Americans get their political news and information via social media. Podcasters and “influencers” on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and other sites oftentimes frame our political perspectives.
Blacks who occasionally watch network and local news shows believe Blacks in media are political experts, but I don’t. I believe you are what you are, and you do what you do. Michael Jordan was a great NBA basketball player. He is not a great player today, he’s now a good businessman.
I have been described as a world-class journalist and I have been paid by candidates and parties of all political persuasions in my career to generate votes and deliver election victories.
I love my media brothers and sisters but oftentimes their political perspectives are lacking and possibly misguided.
Now, let’s get to the point. Vice President Kamala Harris is a great elected official and was a good Presidential candidate, but Kamala has not been a successful political operative since President Joe Biden gave Harris an unprecedented opportunity.
It’s not Kamala’s fault that she is not a political campaign expert. She didn’t have to accept Biden’s campaign team or Biden’s endorsement, but she did and at first, she broke money raising and other election time records.
As the election campaign went on, only The Gantt Report opined about what would come to bear.
Remember the term “MAGA Democrats”. I said there were Democratic men and women, who would never vote to put another Black person in the Oval Office again.
Kamala’s multi-million-dollar white men and women’s advice caused her to get fewer votes from white female and white male Democrats than Obama, Hillary, or Biden.
Biden’s team was loyal to Biden. Obama team members, hired by Kamala later, similarly were fonder of Barack.
TGR said Kamala should have had team members who would have her back, be loyal to her, and advise Kamala when political impostors were taking her campaign money and leading her astray.
You see, Kamala emphasized “joy”, “good work” “opportunity” and seats at “the table”.
There is a little joy, and a lot of good work in Black communities, but there were little or no serious opportunities for decision-making or purchasing decisions for Blacks on her campaign team. There were zero seats at “the table” for experienced and successful Black political professionals.
When I met David Axelrod, a “famous” Democratic consultant, he was trying to get work on Doug Jamerson’s statewide campaign in Florida. There have been qualified Black professionals who sat at campaign tables.
When was the last time more white women voted for a Republican than a Democrat for President? I don’t know. Perhaps it was when George Bush ran after an attack on the World Trade Center.
Don’t get me wrong, the Harris campaign did some very good things, but many things were done at the wrong time.
Correct political timing is crucial. You can’t throw “hush money” at Black people in October when GOTV efforts should have been planned months before early voting started because many in the Democratic base vote early. The heralded GOTV plan was seriously flawed and incorrectly unplanned.
I write a lot about money and politics because where you find one, you will find the other.
Kamala had to fight money spent by foreign assets to spread false social media posts. She had to deal with Musk and other billionaires who spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help Trump.
Kamala had to be ladylike, and Presidential, so to speak, but she also needed strong voices that would respond to strong attacks on her intelligence and her morality. The Vice President could have hired someone to punch back for her. Such a person could have been paid by sources other than the Kamala campaign.
Finally, only The Gantt Report will say what beloved Black media voices would not say and what people of African descent know all around the world, over a third of American voters are racists who believe the color of a person’s skin is more important than the viability of a person’s political proposals.
In politics, business, religion, education, and other areas, we need to depend mainly on ourselves.
Sexism exists but sexism is not the reason Kamala lost. For the first time, two Black women won US Senate seats. Black women won races on all political levels.
Politics is war and war is politics. People seeking to become the Commander in Chief should have soldiers and warriors!
Political candidates must meet voters where they are. Democratic consultants are reluctant to do that. They shy away from barrios and ghettos. The idea that women and Blacks will always vote Democratic is ridiculous and should be discredited. All votes are earned.
The idea that all Black political professionals are inferior should also be abandoned.
I know how hard it is to get votes. But the Democratic Party must expand the Democratic consultant base to include Americans of all races, creeds, and colors.
I hope Kamala stays in the political arena. I hope the media members who pretend to be political experts will disappear!