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     Those who gripe about politics don’t necessarily want to see problems solved.

     They just want to talk about the problems and hope the problems will resolve themselves, with the least amount of damage to themselves and their families.

     Those of us who are Men of color have just as much right as to run for elective office as the next person. The problem is that there are few in the way of resources available to encourage men TO get involved in politics; to build and coach men in the ways of becoming a candidate and to getting involved with the political party of their choice.

     That’s why I decided to put this series of columns together. An easy political resource to encourage Men in general, and Men of color in particular to enter politics.

     Brothers, I’ll be honest. There are tons of publications aimed at women who desire elective office. These days, the woman who desires to be a housewife, support her husband, raise her children and keep a home is looked at strangely by society at large.

     Society has become feminized over the years, and this feminization has crept into the realm of politics. The political arena has become dominated by candidates who do not use logic in where they stand on the issues; they use their ‘feelings’ on the issues to guide their fundraising efforts and quest for public office. This sloppy and corrupt mindset has given us abortion on demand, sodomites (male and female homosexuals) by the score, and a relegation of God and the KJV Bible to the byways and back alleys (unless there is a ‘financial need’ by a political party).

     To show you how corrupt politics has become WITHOUT quality men in office, check out how politics has ‘pimped’ God’s church. Thanks to early voting in some states, politicians can ‘bus’ church members to the polls right after morning services--and some pastors encourage this! Democrat women on Capitol Hill have ‘stolen’ the white color scheme NORMALLY associated with holy women in the Baptist (and other) churches. Finally, politicians of both parties can ‘impersonate’ church culture and have hoodwinked many Pastors into letting them into the pulpit, into seats even their Associate Ministers can’t seem to find at certain times of the year.

     The church was ordained by God and paid for by Jesus Christ.

     It is time for politicians to stop ‘pimping’ God’s church and get back to work.
It is going to take men--REAL men to enter the political arena that they have been duped into vacating, and rein in the political craziness from the Halls of Congress, right down to their local School Board. One of this new breed could be a Man of color who may be reading my words of encouragement and challenge.

WHAT FIRED ME UP TO WRITE THIS SERIES:
      Years ago in my neck of the woods, a well-known local Black political commentator and I had a discussion about the political scene. We were on equal footing because I had been covering politics for a long time at the point of our conversation. Oh, he complained about this and that and the other. His political leanings were Democrat. Mine were--and still are--Republican. The discussions got heated. However, he knew that he was making money and had public influence and a high profile BECAUSE our county and state (for the most part) were in the throes of prosperity.

     (Let me stick a pin in, right here. Many Black public figures will often complain about the political process…but will do little to change it, because they are still getting PAID by either the party IN power, or, by connected companies to the powerful.)

     I challenged him: “Well, why don’t YOU run for public office, and work to straighten out some of the messes we see, instead of merely complaining about them?”

     He quickly moved on to talk about something else.

     There are a LOT of people like this commentator. Nothing to do but complain, and none of THEIR skin in the game…but their pockets are full, Hmm?

     Let’s be honest. Congress consistently gets low marks because of a lack of forward progress. There is a lot of ‘activity’, but this does not mean that anything is getting done. Unfortunately, this is the case in various political arenas. The American public is told that this is the best the ‘system’ can do…until the next election cycle.

EVERYBODY COMES FROM SOMEWHERE--POLITICALLY:
     As for myself, I was born and raised in a blue collar union household that was proud Democrat. However, this was the Democrat party BEFORE the lunatic fringes of feminists, environmentalists, socialists, abortionists, and open border-ists crept in unawares. In Ohio, back in the day, politics was a blood sport, and the Democrats played for keeps. However, Ohio Democrats were THINKING Democrats.

     Today’s Democrat party is NOT the party of my parents.

     To continue, Indiana Democrats were soft and lazy, back in the eighties when I arrived in the state capitol to start my career as a radio reporter. After a few years of NOT voting (after some political disappointments), I took a good look at the political landscape, and switched parties to the Republican brand, did NOT look back, and got back in touch with the voting process.

      I know that I did my parents proud.

     Today, a lot of the ‘staunch’ Black Republicans that you see before you may have started out as Democrats or even Independents. However, once a person’s party ‘leaves’ them behind, they have little choice but to move on to the next party that mirrors their views--including their spiritual views.

     That’s right, I said ‘spiritual’.

     As a Christian, and a Minister myself, I would advise a man who is interested in running for elective office of one key thing: IF he is going to get involved in politics, it is necessary that you work for a party that BEST represents your spiritual and biblical world views. That is the way it should be. You must be honest RIGHT out of the gate, and NOT stutter when you defend and explain your views.

     The ‘mainstream mess’ of today is not the same as the radio, television and newspaper entities where I cut my reporting teeth. Many of today’s reporters don’t have a clue of, nor respect for political history…even at the local level.

     It is up to Men of color to enter the political arena and ‘school’ them.

STARTING AT THE BOTTOM AND PAYING POLITICAL DUES:
     I learned local, state, and federal politics from the ground up as a working reporter. I got to see both the good and bad of the political scene. I knew how the voting polls worked, and kept updated with local and state election laws and precinct maps. I covered school board meetings, council hearings, committee meetings, the state legislature, and the federal political beat during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.

      This was only a part of the picture.

      Locally, I covered a few major politicians getting locked up for public corruption; observed how the legal system ‘shopped’ for judges in order to ensure convictions, and watched the hypocrisy of BOTH major political parties on display.

     A man who is considering a run for elective office has to know where everything is…beginning with; a) visiting and observing the activities of the body he is seeking to eventually run for, and; b) getting copies of the agenda and committee schedules to see how legislation ‘flows’. You won’t be able to intelligently talk about the elective office you are running for tomorrow, if you haven’t started studying the political landscape yesterday!

     I also had to go through the process of ‘climbing the ladder’…working in my local party to build my political resume for an eventual run for elective office. Having a recognizable name and public profile helped tremendously…but not outrageously.

     I still had to build trust, re-learn the system and pay some political dues.
Political candidates, along with volunteers are recruited by the party officials who are responsible for spotting upcoming talent. ‘Whining’ about the lack of Black men who aren’t candidates for elective office boils down to whether or not the ‘powers that be’ in their parties are actively recruiting FOR candidates and IF potential candidates have paid their political dues. No dues paid…no party support. It is just that simple.

      We’ll pick it up here, next month! Tune it in, and tear off the knob!

     Mike Ramey is a Minister, Modern Street Gangs Specialist, Political Consultant and Syndicated Columnist who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. “ Ramey‘s Guide To Elective Office For Men”, is one of a variety of columns that Ramey has in cyberspace. His address is still the same: manhoodline@yahoo.com. ©2019 Barnstorm Communications. (1)