A Look into Larry Elder's background -

Progressive Democrats throughout the nation are watching California in this recall election in disbelief. In contrast, conservative Republicans outside of California are delighted to see a very conservative African American candidate who can become a governor. California, the land of Nixon and Reagan, is finally waking up, these conservatives contend.

Democrats are perplexed and concerned. President Biden and other national Democratic leaders are urgently being asked to come to California to rescue the embattled California Governor.

In this interview Elder gave to the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board, he is deliberate and thoughtful on his policy proposals. He does not hold back either and calls out some of the reporters in the panel for asking silly questions.

Larry Elder is tapping into Calfornians’ anger and frustration as to how California is decaying by the minute under Democratic leadership.  But his conservative background and his positions on social and fiscal issues do not scream electoral viability in the blue state of California, experts argue.

Pundits, who argue that ruthless conservatives policies have no place here in California, forget that in the 1990s, California voters approved Proposition 187 that would deny rights to immigrants and their children.  In addition, California Prop. 209 ended affirmative action, incarcerated minorities with Prop. 184, “three strikes and you’re out” policies.  Moreover, in 2003, people in California recalled a democratic governor and installed a Republican movie star as their governor.

“We would rather be ignored than patronized.” used to be a slogan used by African Americans when they joined the Republican Party.  Many young African Americans with conservative leanings say they no longer want to be ignored and have gotten active and deeply involved in the Republican Party.

Larry Elder might benefit from the current excitement in the conservative movement in this country. In the last three years, there has been an onslaught of conservative new faces on television. Many of them are young African Americans attacking liberal policies and defending the capitalist economic system.

Candace Owens, a young African American woman, is a regular on many conservative talk shows.  Owens and other young black conservatives are bluntly asking blacks to leave the democratic party.  They have dubbed this thing “Blexit,” meaning “Black exit.”  Conservative groups are investing heavily in organizing “Black Leadership Summits,” structuring very young conservative black minds.

Contributing to this effort, we saw black rappers, Kanye West, 50 Cent, and Lil Wayne publicly supporting Trump in the last year’s presidential election. There were also reports that veteran rapper Ice Cube was enthusiastically working with Trump to promote a contract for African Americans.

Larry Elder, motivated by Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, joined the conservative movement. He lives in Los Angeles and utterly rejects the prevailing wisdom of Los Angeles, a bastion of liberalism.

Elder, 69, claims to be a Libertarian on some social issues.  Yes, he smokes marijuana and hangs out with Snoop Dogg.  At least, that is what his former fiance alleges.  He also has a compelling life story. According to his website, he was born and raised here in Los Angeles. He graduated from Crenshaw High, Brown University, and got his JD from Michigan Law School in 1977. In addition, he has done work in television, radio, and film. He attributed his success to his working-class parents, who worked hard to ensure he had a good education. His supporters see him as the American dream writ large.

Conservatives African Americans have different views and understanding of the challenges facing African Americans in this country. Larry Elder added his voice to the chorus of other conservative African Americans [Shelby Steele, Armstrong, Condoleezza Rice, and Supreme Court Justice Clarance Thomas] to denounce liberal policies for African Americans. They all argue at the top of their lungs that “personal choices and responsibilities” are the key to success. Elder dismisses claims that this country is racist.  He vehemently argues young blacks use racism as an excuse to escape responsibilities.

Black conservatives mentioned above do not only embrace capitalism, but they also utterly reject black nationalism and separatism.

There has always been this chasm of disagreement among Black intellectuals about how best to lift and liberate African Americans from racism among society’s institutions. Looking back to history, we would see Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois energetically engaging in this debate. These two black intellectuals and leaders ignited the civil rights movement, historians argue. Both thinkers had the same goals, “socioeconomic equality for Blacks in America.” Nonetheless, they had different approaches as to how to achieve such goals. Dubois wanted active and militant participation from blacks in challenging racism in this country. He believed that blacks could only be liberated if racism were eradicated from American society. Only then the black struggle would end, and prosperity will come, Dubois thought.

On the other hand, Booker T. Washington made a case for acceptance of the brutal system in place that oppressed African Americans. Booker T. Washington argued that if African Americans work hard and build wealth, eventually they would be respected by the racist whites.

Booker T. Washington reasoned that if blacks have nothing to offer in the marketplace, they reinforce the prevailing view about them not being productive. However, If they bring something to the table, the whites capitalists will have no choice but to embrace them as equals. Many blacks challenged his approach, and many accused him of selling out.

In less than a month, voters will vote on this recall election.  There are twice as many registered Democrats in California. If registered democrats stay home, Elder’s chance to win on September 14 will significantly increase. It has been reported that Governor Newsom has $40 million to spend.  He will make sure that Democrats do not stay home. Voters will soon be bombarded with ads, calls, and aggressive door knockers showing up at your door demanding your ballot. Labor unions already activated their soldiers, and they have started knocking on doors and calling democratic voters.

This recall election, pundits argue, is a vivid display of conservatives “owning the libs.” Even if conservatives do not succeed in this election, they managed to weaken the progressive movement. And, of course, there is nothing better for conservatives than seeing a conservative “brother” relentlessly attacking the foundation of progressives/liberals’ policies.

Thank you for reading.,

Chamba Sanchez

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Photo Credit: The picture was a screenshot from Mr. Elder’s Twitter account

Sources consulted.
Bond, Paul. “Here Are the Young, Diverse Conservative Stars Progressives Need to Fear.”  Newsweek.com 4 Sept. 2020.
Dawson, LJ. “Inside the Summit for Trump-Loving Young Black Conservatives.” Politico Magazine 6 October 2019. Dortch, Jessica.  “The Great Debate: Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois.”  Afro.com  13 August 2020.
Elder, Larry. “Democrats and the “She” Vote.” Capitalism Magazine 5 May 2000.
LA Ganga, Maria, L.  “In Race for White House, the ‘Cult of Condi’ Plays Growing Role.”  Los Angeles Times 28 May 2000.
Russakoff, Dale.  “Lessons of Might and Right”  The Washington Post 9 Sept. 2001.
Skelton, George. “Column: Does Larry Elder have a path to the governor’s office? Maybe, if Democrats don’t turn out.” Los Angeles Times 15 July 2021.
Fitzgerald, Trent. “Rappers Showing Support for President Trump in 2020.” XXL.com 3 November 2020.
White, Jeremy B. “Republican rivals attack recall frontrunner Larry Elder in California debate.” Politico.com 17 August 2021.