The other evening, I went to Scripps College to hear a conversation with Van Jones, perhaps now best-known as an commentator on CNN. Jones, a Black man, has worked in the past several presidential administrations and runs an organization that places disadvantaged young people, including the formerly incarcerated, into green jobs. I was looking forward to hearing good things about Kamala Harris becoming the first female president, the first Black woman president and the first president with an Indian background.
I was disappointed, sorely disappointed.
When asked what Harris’ chances of winning the race were, Jones said that they are slipping away. At this point, Trump seems to be on a “glide path to victory.”
Oof! This wasn’t what we wanted to hear.
Jones explained that we “aren’t working” for a Harris victory. He declared that he loves and admires Harris and thinks that Trump shouldn’t win. However, as he pointed out, unlike when Obama ran, people aren’t “calling in sick to take a week off to fly to Georgia or Pennsylvania to knock on doors” for Harris. People aren’t manning the phone banks, all hands on deck. Instead, not unlike what happened when Hilary Clinton ran against Trump in 2016 (and when, early on, Jones predicted that Trump would win), people “are tweeting each other about how happy they are that Harris instead of Biden is running.” People aren’t working for a Harris win.
When asked about Black men who a leaning toward Trump or thinking of not voting, Jones said that they are not being listened to and are being taken for granted by Democrats, that we aren’t knocking on their doors. He said Black men question why they should care who wins when they haven’t gotten anything that was promised them (no voting rights law, no police reform, etc.) and pointed out that Trump funded Black colleges and released more prisoners than other recent presidents.
In answering a question from the audience about those protesting America’s role in Israel’s war on Gaza, Jones asked, “Who do they think they are?” He questioned if these students and others really know what best, when they think it’s better, worth it, to send a message and let Trump, who is Netanyahu’s buddy and doesn’t give a damn about the Gazans and might let their land become Israel’s “beachfront property,” win – while Harris consistently says that what Israel is doing in Gaza is wrong and there needs to “be an immediate ceasefire.”
These were tough words, and Jones knew it. He said that he meant to scare us – scare us into action. He said that this was the huddle in the fourth quarter when we are down by a goal. We are almost there but not quite – and that doesn’t count. He said we aren’t acting like we might well have a dictatorship.
I have to say that while I was bummed out by what Jones had to say, I wasn’t exactly surprised. After the initial flurry of excitement in the weeks after Harris became the nominee and at the convention, I’ve noticed that the excitement has lagged, if not fizzled out.
I can’t go to Pennsylvania or Detroit to knock on doors for Harris. Writing this is the least I can do.
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