You are here: Home / BM / Political Throwback: A Lesson in Political Character from Democrat Raphael Warnock vs. Republican Herschel Walker in Georgia.
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(ThyBlackMan.com) We’re five months removed from the runoff to the 2022 U.S Senate election for Georgia where Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock defended his seat from Republican challenger Herschel Walker. Now Walker was something of a mystery as a candidate. Prior to the Southern Strategy and a switch of political ideologies between the two major parties, Black citizens—or at least those who were able to vote, often at great risk and inconvenience—left the Republican Party for the Democratic Party in droves.
“The Party of Lincoln” wore off as a selling point to stay with the party over a century later and ideological shift couldn’t have happened at a worse time for conservatives as Southern Democrats were making life particularly difficult for Black people in the region—to the point some left and headed elsewhere. Playing up to the racial division and resentment towards Civil Rights Era legislation saw the Republican Party bolster its ranks with white Southern conservatives.
For context, these are 1950s-1960s white Southern conservatives. They were different but similar to the WSCs of today. It’s all about the climate of the time and part of what caused the shift of Black voters from a party we’d been aligned with for over a century—at least for those who were able to vote.
It should be noted that former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman actually apologized for the Party’s handling of Black voters in a 2005 speech to the Wisconsin NAACP. While it wasn’t exactly owning up to the Southern Strategy, it was pointing out that the Party dropped the ball on the Black vote. Also, the admission doesn’t mean much without strong efforts to correct things.
On top of that, this from a chairman who came out as gay years after that speech after years of towing the line on opposition to same-sex marriage.
The Point of the History Lesson
So, Herschel Walker was a mystery to me as he did well in the election and the runoff despite being a hard candidate to manage according to those close to his campaign. Jesus is said to have turned water into wine but his campaign team were tasked with turning dumpster juice into vodka. Both men had community work under their belts but it’s difficult to go against a reverend which is often a pillar of the community—especially the Black community.
Warnock also had experience in government. However, someone who isn’t the status quo will always have some shine to them. The problem with Walker was that his past was way too problematic. Forgiveness is something that should be practiced but the man just had too much going in his past that was troubling and should’ve eliminated him as a serious competitor on the national stage.
Some stuff was more strikes against him as a person while other stuff should’ve been strikes against him as a Southern conservative candidate and man of God—such as having financed abortions and not mentioning some of his kids. Of course, as late comedian George Carlin said about “Thou shalt not kill” in his bit about shorten the Ten Commandments: it’s negotiable—it depends on who is being killed and who’s doing the killing.
That approach was apparently taken with the paid abortions when he claimed to be a God-fearing conservative. As to not mentioning his other kids when honesty is a part of the public persona of politicians—well, that’s something else. Either it slipped his mind—which, these are your children—or he didn’t figure they were important to mention. Now, politicians are expected to perform for their constituents both in delivering on policy and to draw in people to get to the polls. Also, lying is often associated with politicians. However, at the campaign stage, a candidate can’t make mistakes and the perception of being an honest American is key.
Walker kneecapped himself on that front but it didn’t stop him! It’s similar to Roy Moore’s 2017 run for the U.S Senate out of Alabama. While no fire was found, there was a lot of smoke with the sexual misconduct allegations. Establishment Republicans saw it as the problem it was: some asked for him to drop out while others withdrew support.
Despite that, he still went 48.4% to Doug Jones’ 49.9%. With it being that close, it was pretty obvious Jones wasn’t taking the seat in 2020 especially when pitted against an Alabama college football legend in former Auburn coach and 2004 SEC Champion Tommy Tubberville.
Supporting Problematic Candidates is a Problem
Just the idea that it was that close in 2017 is a problem. While nothing came of those allegations, a candidate leaving themselves open for such severe allegations just isn’t a good look at the minimum. That goes for a candidate or any party affiliation. Another problem is supporting a candidate while smoke is billowing around them.
In the early 2010s, former U.S Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) killed his political career with sexual misconduct allegations that were proven to be true. Establishment Dems took an “OK, he’s got to go…” approach to the allegations and supported the investigation. On the flip side, the late Jerry Springer was able to get re-elected to the Cincinnati city council after resigning because of a prostitution scandal but as is the case with Walker’s close fight, charisma can carry you far.
It’s important to note that stuff against Walker weren’t to the level of Weiner’s. The former representative’s issues escalated to sex offender status while Walker’s was that of a flawed character against the principles expounded by his party. No one really wanted to associate with Weiner afterwards while interest in Walker eroded over time in part because he wasn’t campaigning as the team would’ve preferred and there were constant fastballs they had to deal with.
Now, that’s just to be expected in campaigning. However as voters, we should we should at least expect more from our candidates. As much as I can’t stand “purity tests” where you need the perfect candidate, I also can’t stand “Sure, that’s a problem and that’s a bigger problem, but…” it gives way to a win-at-any-cost approach. Looking at it, Herschel Walker shouldn’t have done as well as he did with all of the stuff that came out.
It’s one thing to back a candidate who has baggage, owns up to it, and it doesn’t impact their character in the present. However, it’s entirely different when the candidate doesn’t seem to grasp the gravity of how damaging it is to character as a politician.
What did you think of Walker’s campaign against Warnock? Should he have gone as far as he did? Were you bothered by his grasp of certain issues and hypocrisy in others? Could you see him beating Warnock in a rematch down the line now that his cards are on the table?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.
Gaming since 1989 and headbanging since 1999, James enjoys comics, RPGs, wrestling, and all things old school and retro. Check out his writing here AfroGamers and The Black Rock and Heavy Metal. You can also find him on Twitter at; metalswift and soon on Kick where he will stream mobile titles.
One can also contact this brother at; JSwift@ThyBlackMan.com.
