Over the years, BlackWomenViews founder and political analyst Reecie Colbert has ruffled quite a few feathers with her audacious takes on cultural happenings. She has appeared on MSNBCβs Symone Sandersβ showΒ as well as the Clay Cane Show. Perhaps she is best known as a regular commentator on Roland Martin Unfiltered, where she expresses herself with equal parts intelligence and bravado.
Her new digital book, βLong and Short Of It Guide To The 2022 Midterms: The Radical Republicans,β is (as Colbert describes) a βquick and dirty readβ that profiles 20 GOP candidates with racist, sexist and regressive ideologies. Colbert tells The Root about how the Republican party is the most dangerous its ever been.
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βWeβre always focused on the Democrats and βthe Democrats ainβt doing this, the Democrats ainβt doing that, the Democrats didnβt cancel my student debt.β We need to recognize the Republicansβ will to either obstruct progress or to enact their agenda and itβs a very regressive agenda. These people do not have a plan to make society betterβthey only have a plan to deconstruct it. They only want to disenfranchise and marginalize...thatβs their only plan.β
From Texas Governor Gregg Abbott to U.S. Senate Candidates Herschel Walker (Georgia) and J.D. Vance (Ohio), Colbert explains that hatred remains one of the core principles of the GOP. βJ.D. Vance is running the most vile campaign, hands down...like heβs explicitly appealing to racists. He says: βDo you hate Mexicans? Are you racist?β Like thatβs an actual line from a commercial. His campaign is all about white grievanceβheβs a Kyle Rittenhouse supporter.β
Colbert also called out the βinsidious and sinisterβ nature of Florida governor Ron DeSantis (who is behind the βStop WOKE Act and βDonβt Say Gayβ bill) as well as the hypocrisy of Herschel Walker. βI try to give a lot of grace to Black people, especially in the political space. If youβre a Republican, Iβm just gonna leave you alone. Iβm not really going to drag you the way I would drag a Liz Chaney or a Ron DeSantis.
βBut Herschel is remarkably unserious and when he does speak, itβs just complete gibberishβand he does not care about Black people. He said βI apologize to the Black community because they donβt have Black fathersβ and he himself has been an absentee dad...like, come on. Heβs just performing for white audiences.β
Colbert ultimately wants her book to be used as a tool to educate the masses. βIβve whittled down hours and hours of research into a really digestible book so you can ingest information about these candidates and understand whatβs happening around the country. I want people to feel empowered, I want them to feel informed.β
She also wants folksβspecifically Black peopleβto recognize their political and social capital. βI just want us to really recognize that the stakes are high. I know they were high before I wrote this book, but after writing it, I want everyone to see that we have a real chance to change the trajectory of this country.β
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