After days of liberals patting themselves on the back for thanking black women who came out in force to vote against Roy Moore in the Alabama senate race, Teen Vogue is striking back on the party’s blatant use of black voters during campaign seasons.
In an op-ed by writer and Black Lives Matter activist Phillip Henry, he wrote that “naturally, in an election attracting this much media attention, with such strategic benefit to Democrats on the national level, organizations made a huge effort to mobilize black voters in Alabama in an attempt to lead Jones across the finish line.”
He then called them out for using black voters as a “resource” that they only “care to tap into” during elections.
“Their voices go unheard as social and economic policies cripple their chances of a successful economic future. But when an election like the one we just witnessed comes along and national Democratic organizations sweep in to mobilize, it becomes the job of the black electorate to tip the scales, lest they be scapegoated as the reason for a Democratic defeat,” Henry wrote.
He added that communities of color in red states are “essentially obligated to vote Democratic in every election, if merely out of desperation” due to “oppressive policies” and that “black voters deserve better than having to choose between being actively disenfranchised and being ignored.”
Following Doug Jones’ win, the Rapid City Journal reported that “the political arm of House Democrats began a new effort Wednesday to register African-American voters in dozens of battleground districts, convinced the results of Tuesday’s special Senate election victory in Alabama prove the party has a golden opportunity to expand its advantage with a loyal voting base.”
The effort will consist of purchasing Facebook ads in 42 districts, including battlegrounds such as Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District and Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, that will be targeted at African-American voters — primarily women.
It seems as though Henry may just be screaming at the sky on this one, as the Democratic Party continues to treat people of color as loyal pawns in their game of identity politics.
