Broadly read in theology, philosophy, and political science, Professor West is a vibrant and visible scholar who has made numerous forays into entertainment, talk shows, political campaigns, and various movements. West sees himself as a public intellectual in the tradition of Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois, two men who worked tirelessly as leaders to inspire African Americans and as gadflies to push American political leaders to walk the straight path on racial issues.

West is an incisive critic and powerful speaker but his audience in the United States is rather limited—granted he has recently tried to reach out broadly through the People’s Party. 

I have never met West in person, but we have several friends in common and he was so kind as to send me a thoughtful note of thanks when I mailed him a copy of my book “Fear No Evil.” He clearly cares deeply about common people and has played a leadership role in many movements, granted that he is not inclined towards administrative tasks and strategic planning. 

WhenWest states that he is a “jazz man in world politics, and the jazz man is always about improvisation, always about compassion, always about style, and always about a smile,” however, concerns arise thatWest, a man accustomed to being treated with respect as a tenured professor at Harvard and Princeton, might lack the stamina, the patience, and the tenacity required for what will be, without any doubt, a grueling, brutal and potentially dangerous campaign for the office of the president, one that will be held in a fractured nation shaken daily by the subterranean battles between factions of the military, intelligence and Homeland Security. 

Or, at the least, we can say that the campaign will be grueling, brutal and potentially dangerous if he is a serious candidate.

We do not have that much to go on concerning West as a politician because this idea only emerged last month.

The video that launched his campaign features him dressed up like Frederick Douglass delivering a witty and creative improvisational monologue wherein he places himself solidly in the civil rights movement and movements for social equality over the last forty years. 

He concludes the video with the following words: 

“Do we have what it takes? We shall see. But some of us are going to go down fighting; go down swinging—with style and a smile. Accenting the best in you and trying to tease out the best in me.” 

Much as I appreciate his fine writing, future failure in the election seems to be baked into this diffident battle cry. West gives the impression that the best we can hope for is to organize a few marches and to take a stand for our beliefs before the movement is crushed beneath the apparatus driven by the corporations, as were the campaigns of Jesse Jackson, and Bernie Sanders (both of whom West worked with closely). 

One has to wonder whether West lacks the necessary confidence for a grueling campaign after decades of disappointments. Is he ready to take serious risks, to work day and night with us to create a better world?

His website does not offer any way to join his movement other than to collect ballot access signatures, host an event, reach out to others about his candidacy, or become a “social media ambassador.” 

In other words, there is no way for you as a citizen to give him your ideas and suggestions via an active group, nor is there any local organization that you can turn to that is involved in making long-term plans to address injustice in American society.

Inviting people to join a movement, but then offering no real means of participation, is pretty much in line with the approach of the Democratic Party since the 1970s. It was this unwillingness of the Democratic Party to support movements—which were threatening to its corporate clients—that doomed the campaigns of Jesse Jackson and Bernie Sanders, campaigns where West learned about presidential politics. 

Later, West threw himself into the campaign of Barack Obama and he continued his support of Obama even after it became clear that Obama’s election was a sordid deal in which Americans were given their first African American president and in return the massive theft of money from the Federal Reserve, the militarization and privatization of the federal government, and the crimes of 9.11 and the Iraq War were swept under the carpet. A farcical campaign of “change” was used to keep the same financial players in control of economic policy. 

Although we must give West credit for eventually breaking with Obama, he could not stay away from that political party of the damned. He went on to serve as advisor to Bernie Sanders in his bid for the nomination in 2016 and did so again in 2020.  

West had the good sense to finally back Jill Stein of the Green Party in 2016 when Sanders immediately endorsed Hillary Clinton after taking mountains of nickels and dimes from working people to pay for his commercials in swing states. 

But when things turned more dangerous in 2020, West had no problem backing Biden for president and justifying that act as “anti-fascist.” 

In short, West cannot manage to distance himself from the tar baby Democratic Party even as that party lurches to the right. For a man who is inclined to call everyone his “brother” or “sister,” it may be hard for him to draw lines in the sand. But sometimes historical reality demands it. 

Also of concern is the complete absence of a discussion of COVID-19 crimes, or of any other major state crimes, on West’s website. 

West is a candidate that progressive-minded Americans who lack the psychological preparation to face the horror of COVID-19 can feel comfortable with. Maybe he is appealing to some in the Green Party for precisely that reason; a soothing voice who will not touch on taboo topics, rather than a serious candidate for the presidency. 

Let us remember, after all, that West claimed the United States was practicing “vaccine apartheid” towards poor nations that could not afford the expensive COVID-19 vaccines(deadly bioweapons provided by Moderna and Pfizer). Although we should be willing to forgive West for getting caught up in that political scam—we cannot do so if he does not admit that he was wrong in suggesting that the vaccines were helpful medically. 

When thinking about West as a candidate, it is important to note that whereas the 9.11 operation was aimed at conservative fundamentalist Christians, inspiring them to see themselves in a crusade with Jesus against an infidel enemy, the COVID-19 operation was aimed at progressive elements, and the“science” of vaccines was tied to gender, identity, and race issues which are popular in that demographic.

West’s previous statements on COVID-19 will become a crippling liability if he runs into a candidate like Kennedy who has fearlessly denounced the vaccines from the very beginning. 

And what if West debates Kennedy, who is gearing up to make the truth about COVID-19 the main arrow in his quiver?

The COVID-19 scam is not an abstract conspiracy theory anymore. The Pfizer papers, and a host of medical documentation, make the true nature of that slaughter of citizens unbearably clear. By next summer it may be mainstream commonsense that it was a crime against humanity.  

That means that West’s claim that, 

“I am running for truth and justice and as a candidate for president of the United States in the Green Party. I want to reintroduce America to the best of itself—the dignity, courage, the creativity of precious everyday people.”

could come back to bite him in the near future. 

Truth is the most powerful political tool, but it is also an unforgiving master.

Whereas speeches about empathy, solidarity, love, and unity can be inspiring, truth is by its nature undemocratic and uncompromising. We do not vote to determine the truth.

Or perhaps West imagines that he can maintain a politics of “truth and justice” that artistically avoids discussion of 9.11, secret governance, the COVID-19 scam, or the transfer of trillions of tax dollars to private equity via COVID-19 stimulus and quantitative easing? 

West is completely right to identify the dangers posed by the Pentagon, big pharma, and Wall Street, but he does not describe how they work, and who exactly benefits from them. Nor does he present a concrete plan for how to take those powers down.

To some extent, this softness in tone that we see in West, even as he assumes an anti-imperialistic position, is common among progressives, especially those who bask in the fading light of the movements of the 1960s. Somehow West feels a need to keep his smile even when confronting the worst of corporate fascism. That refusal to be harsh, even brutal, in confronting the horrors of the current parasite economy is what distinguishes West from Kennedy. 

We can certainly sympathize with his basic humanity, but if he is planning to lead a revolution, or stand against fascism, that will require a different posture. Otherwise, he risks being used by the political masters as a safety valve for political frustrations. 

About the Author: See Emanuel’s platform here