By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D.
The Truth Contributor
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. – John F. Kennedy
There comes a moment in politics when the handwriting on the wall is so clear that all must acknowledge it.
The Democratic Party, realizing that the path forward required new leadership on the presidential ticket in 2024, finally mustered the courage to tell Joe Biden it was time to have that tough but necessary conversation. Now, the question for the Lucas County Democrats is, who’s gonna tell Marcy Kaptur that the moment for transition has arrived?
In her 22nd term, Marcia Carolyn Kaptur (Marcy) is the longest-serving woman in U.S. congressional history, having served Ohio’s 9th Congressional district since 1983. For over four decades, she has enjoyed the backing of her constituents, including overwhelming support from the African American community.
Marcy has been a constant voice for working families and a champion for economic fairness. She has brought millions of dollars from Washington, D.C., back to our community to help rebuild and sustain it. In return, the Black community has demonstrated its appreciation by supporting her through countless political battles.
However, her recent decision to sell out her political “fam” to join congressional Republicans in censuring Representative Al Green was a cruel and heart-wrenching betrayal that severed the long-standing bond.
This painful backstabbing wasn’t just a break with U.S. Representative Green, an African American. Marcy also didn’t stand with her own Democratic Party leader, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, another African American. Most of all, she didn’t stand with her own district either. Lucas County is the district that was the backbone of voter support that provided Kaptur’s most recent election by the thinnest of margins and trusted her to represent their interests.
The African American voting bloc, centered in Lucas County, has stood by Kaptur for years and provided her with the decisive vote margin for re-election as she got trounced by her opponent everywhere outside of Lucas County.
How did Marcy repay that loyalty?
Turning her back on that loyalty and disrespecting the African American community’s devotion, Kaptur sided with those who will never support her and have spent years harming Black communities through restrictive voting laws, cuts to social safety nets and weakening civil rights protections. The GOP has continually ignored health disparities and exacerbated cultural and racial divisiveness using coded language to appeal to white resentment.
Moreover, the Republicans have promoted education policies that harm Black students, including banning books and whitewashing the history and contributions of African Americans, and for years have used overt tools such as racial gerrymandering to dilute Black voting power and political representation.
Furthermore, Kaptur’s zeal in protecting the House Chamber from Green’s protest outburst of “You have no mandate!” during Trump’s State of the Union speech conflicts with her inaction in 2022 when Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert heckled President Biden during his State of the Union speech without being removed.
So, Marcy’s vote was not just a misstep; it was majoring in minors; it was choosing procedure and protocol over people who face life and death issues such as the elimination of social security, Medicaid and Medicare.
Moreover, it was a treasonous backhand slap in the face to the people who kept her in office while she tried to appease voters who don’t support her or the policies that most impact the poor, working and people of color and never will support them.
Yet even worse than the act itself is what followed: Nothing! No apology. There has not even been a genuine attempt to repair the damage or mend the relationship. Only explanations, rationalizations and justifications in return for her betrayal. In politics, mistakes happen. But when bridges are burned, true leaders take the steps to rebuild them. Kaptur has seemed unapologetically defiant and tone-deaf at best.
If the national Democratic Party was willing to confront the reality of Joe Biden’s limitations, the Lucas County and Ohio Democratic Party and African American leaders must also recognize when one of their own has lost the trust of key voters.
Meanwhile, hungry politicians like Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and Ohio House Representative Michele Grim have the financial capacity and the political clout and position themselves as Kaptur’s potential successor. At the same time, an aggrieved African American community is attempting to heal from the trauma caused by the betrayal.
Still, the uncomfortable truth is that Marcy’s relationship with the African American community may be beyond repair, thereby indicating her political career is likely over. And, just as Biden was told it’s time to pass the torch, maybe someone should have a word with Marcy, too.
The handwriting on the wall is clear: Marcy’s leadership clock has run out, and the Kaptur era is over. Indeed, it is time to pass the baton.
Who’s gonna tell her?
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, PhD, at drdlperryman@enterofhopebaptist.org