The Gantt Report: By Lucius Gantt
Once upon a time, there was an American television show called “Have Gun, Will Travel”. It was about a gringo gunslinger named Paladin that went from town to town in the Wild West helping people solve problems that a gunslinger could solve.
In my mind, Paladin was more than a gunslinger, he was a Wild West mercenary because Paladin got paid to do the wild thing!
Today, we have political Paladins. Too many elected officials consider personal political and financial benefits instead of thinking how they can better serve the country, state or the citizens and district residents that voted for them.
If some politicians have to choose between doing what you suggest and doing what their political bosses or leaders say do, they will do what bosses told them to do. If choosing between how you want legislation crafted and how lobbyists tell them how to write bills and ordinances, they will do what the lobbyists say they should do. If your politician has to choose between doing what you want and doing what campaign contributors want, guess what choices they will always make.
I always say, “follow the money”!
Laws that benefit military industrial complexes, laws that benefit banks, insurers, energy and transportation companies and construction companies and developers will always get taken care of before police reform is passed, and way before voting rights, equal rights and justice is even thought about.
Instead of asking how can I better serve my constituents and my consumers, the political questions are how can I stay in office, how can I keep my political title, how can I raise more campaign cash.
Let’s stay on campaign cash for a minute.
Any candidate seeking election to any national office and most statewide offices in any state will have millions of dollars in campaign cash.
You can tell how a candidate will be in office by watching what he does during his campaign. If a candidate’s campaign decision makers are all white on the campaign trail, decision makers in the elected official’s office will be white too, for instance.
I recommend that candidates don’t fall for the money okey doke! Candidates will always be told “do what I tell you to do and hire who I tell you to hire”.
If you ask your parents, your brothers and sisters, your friends and your neighbors to give you contributions to hire Amy and Bubba because Black people are inferior, incompetent, unworthy or unwelcome on your campaign team, I can’t support you.
If you are in politics for the money, the title, the benefits or the prestige instead of being a public servant, I can’t vote for you.
I really don’t have a problem with political Paladins that get paid to do the wild thing. If that’s who your elected official is or if that’s who you are just tell the voters the truth!
Sellouts come in all races, creeds and colors.
