WS Chronicle

James B. Ewers Jr.

Guest Columnist

The political posturing and back and forth will come to a screeching halt on Tuesday, Nov. 8. We can all agree – Democrats, Republicans and Independents – that this has been the most vicious and mean-spirited presidential campaign in modern day history.

New attack ads and unreasonable strategies were coming from one candidate’s camp almost on an hourly basis. It is my opinion that the Republican Party has only themselves to blame for this political farce of a campaign that they have represented.

Republicans in Congress spent the past eight years blaming President Barack Obama for everything from the weather to the economy. They had a constant mantra of “no.” No to healthcare, no to women’s rights and no to education. These were only of a few of them!

full dialogues with President Obama, the Republican Party used “no” as their everyday response. President Obama used many approaches to try and establish a relationship with them but nothing worked.

I will use three adjectives and they are smart, black and male. Barack Obama fits all these categories. While they will never, ever admit it, many Republicans, not all Republicans, just could not take it.

Their privilege, their pride and their self-perceived power could not understand how a black man could become the most powerful person in the world.

Even some in our communities were against President Obama not because of his policies and proposals but because of his race. Unfortunately, too many African-Americans suffer from a crabs-in-the-barrel mindset. We simply do not want to see other African-Americans succeed. Sad.

So now for many months, the Republican Party has had as their presidential nominee a man who gloats about not paying taxes, a man who demeans women and a man who questions the fundamental integrity of the voting process in this country. These are just a few of the truisms associated with the Republican presidential candidate.

Shame on the Republican Party. They should be thoroughly embarrassed. For example, the state of North Carolina has become the laughing stock of the country because its Republican governing body passed HB 2 into law. They want to legislate what bathroom its citizens can use. So if you are a Republican in my home state of North Carolina and you supported this law, then shame on you.

I am unbridled in my enthusiasm for what will happen on the night of Nov. 8. Somewhere between 10 p.m. and mid-night, television stations across America will announce that Hillary Clinton will become the next president of the United States of America. I can hear Martha Reeves and The Vandellas singing now, “They’ll be dancing in the streets.”

A few weeks ago, as President Obama talked about the Republican nominee’s credentials, some people began to boo. The President’s appropriate response was, “Don’t boo, vote.”

We must as rational thinkers and reasonable people vote in record numbers on Nov. 8 to ensure the victory for Hillary Clinton. We will be making history with each of our votes.

I am excited and I know you are. Get your snacks ready, invite your friends over because on Nov. 8, we will see Hillary Clinton become the first woman to become President of The United States of America.

James B. Ewers  Jr. Ed.D. is a former tennis champion at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem and played college tennis at Johnson C. Smith University, where he was all-conference for four years. He is a retired college administrator.  He can be reached at ewers.jr56@yahoo.com.