By Lafe Tolliver, Esq
Guest Column
If there ever was the stereotypical image of a dumb jock who just constantly grins and is dutifully led around by his white handlers, my vote (I stuffed the ballot box) goes to the one and only (thankfully) Herschel Walker.
If you have been halfway watching the news about the critical Georgia US Senate race, you could not have missed the presence of Hershel Walker grinning and shuckin’ and jivin’ when asked even softball political questions.
Some people have no personal shame or self-respect so they conduct themselves in such a manner that their very presence or image can become offensive.
Herschel does not disappoint in presenting an image of an intellectually challenged Black man doing the work of Massa (i.e., Donald Trump).
You wonder, how can a Black man in 2022 be so obtuse to the facts around him that nonetheless, he would be so swayed by the wooings of Donald Trump to run for an office that he knows he is woefully Ill prepared to take on.
To be kind to Herschel, realizing that he has admitted to some issues of mental health and compounded by the nigh provable fact that repeated blows to the head during his football career has caused cognitive brain damage, nonetheless he surely must be cognizant of the fact that he is being played by the GOP to simply be their water boy if he were to win the senate seat.
The outrageous lies that Herschel has blatantly tossed out to the public is indicative that he is following Donald Trump’s playbook and that is: deny, distract, deceive and then, repeat again when needed.
The current bruhaha is about he paid for a former girlfriend’s abortion in 2009. The evidence to date, is highly credible especially the “get well” card that he sent her after the abortion and in which the card read: Rest, Relax and Recover.
Placed inside the card was his check for approximately seven hundred dollars and the card was signed by Herschel. The woman also had a receipt for a certain amount from the medical clinic.
His answer to questions that he paid for the abortion? Deny, deny, and deny again.
You have some hope, and then again, maybe not, that the voters in Georgia will tell Hershel that he is a persona non gratia.
If that does not happen, you can attribute it to the sad political fact that as long as a person running for office has a (R) next to his or her name, the GOP voter will hold his nose, sear his conscience, and pull the voting lever for that person.
That is how debase politics has been reduced to for too many voters. Scandals, infidelity, domestic violence allegations and puffing up one’s resume by conveniently eliminating (or even creating resume lies) some questionable issues are par for the course.
When you listen to Herschel Walker speak, you quickly realize that he is total incapable of any long-term intellectual debates; and if he is asked questions that require more than a yes or no answer, Herschel is clueless and simply resorts to loopy loop answers topped with a big grin. How comforting that is.
Sure, there are ding bats other than Herschel who are scamming the voting public about their skills and abilities to represent them in Congress but Herschel takes the prize in this election round because he is counting on a “pass” from the white media that they do not appear as if they are unduly berating him as a Black man.
Herschel, as any other politico, deserves no kid gloves treatment and especially so since the perception is clear that he is a dupe for the GOP and if they win the senate race in Georgia, Herschel will simply be led around by his white handlers and be told how to vote.
He will not chafe against the political lease around his neck as he is artfully protected from any hard driving reporter who is not willing to settle for a toothy grin and a signed autograph from him on the tough political questions of the day.
For the brazen and unprincipled GOP, power is their only concern. Principles and policy decisions can wait in the senate cloak room. If getting power means that they shred any minimal standard of proper conduct, civility or decency, so be it.
Politics in America has become a blood sport egged on by the venality of Donald Trump and his host of minions in the Senate and in the House. Regrettably, GOP voters are dutiful sheep falling in line to prop up political shells like Hershel Walker and others like him.
If meaningful legislation is blocked in Congress due to what appears to be coming years of infighting and deadlocks, the blame must also be placed on lazy voters who did not demand accountability of the lackeys that they have voted into office.
I can only hope that enough voters in Georgia are not taken in by the flim-flam of a Herschel Walker campaign and realize that Herschel Walker as a possible US Senator, borders on being political profanity.
Contact Lafe Tolliver at tolliver@juno.com