OPINION

Barack Obama and 'The Brothers'

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Dear former President Barack Obama,

During former Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential campaign, you chastised "the brothers" for what you perceived as their reluctance to vote for a black female. You said: "We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all corners of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running. Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers."

Did you tell "the brothers" who, for the sake of racial solidarity, you tried to shame into voting for Harris that you only believe in left-wing racial solidarity?

You starred in an attack ad for the white opponent of the Republican black man, who would have become the first black governor of California. You didn't tell "the brothers" to vote for him. In fact, you wanted "the brothers" to vote against him.

You became a U.S. senator from Illinois by defeating your black Republican opponent in the general election. In the name of racial solidarity, shouldn't you have told "the brothers" to flip a coin?

Your future vice president, then-Sen. Joe Biden, threatened a filibuster had President George W. Bush nominated Janice Rogers Brown, a black female D.C. appellate judge, who would have become the first black female Supreme Court justice. Did you tell "the brothers" to get over their sexism and support her?

You currently support and are campaigning for the white opponent of the black retired Marine Republican who is attempting to become the first black female governor of Virginia. What happened to accusing "the brothers" of sexism for refusing to vote for a black female candidate?

When Biden told a black radio host he "ain't black" unless "you know if you want to vote for me or Trump," you were silent. Would you have said something had President Donald Trump told a white radio host, "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Biden, then you ain't white"?

Now, let's talk policy.

Republican blacks pay far greater attention than do Democrats about the crisis of the black family, where over 70% of black kids are brought into the world without a father in the home married to the mother.

Black Republicans, far more so than Democrats, care about the crisis of urban K-12 education. About your adopted city of Chicago, Wirepoints writes, "(There are) 30 schools in Illinois where not a single student can read at grade level. Twenty-two of those schools are part of the Chicago Public Schools and the other eight are outside Chicago."

Republicans support school choice, where the money would follow the child rather than the other way around. Democrats, beholden to teachers unions for campaign funding and support, vehemently oppose school choice despite the dismal K-12 urban schools' results. Yet, you want "the brothers" unreservedly to pull the lever for the party that stands in the way of them getting a decent education, the lack of which translates into lifelong earnings losses. May I note that your daughters attended private schools up to and including high school?

For the last four years, you said nothing as your former vice president intentionally allowed into the country a minimum of 10 million to 15 million illegal aliens, most of whom had little education. They therefore compete against urban black and brown legal residents with high school-level education. Years ago, a study by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that there were nearly 1 million fewer blacks working because of the presence of illegal alien labor, which put downward pressure on the wages of legal black and brown workers. Note this study took place well before Biden allowed in the flood of millions more illegal aliens.

Republicans that you tell "the brothers" not to vote for are far more concerned about these issues than the Democrats you encourage them to blindly support.

You support DEI, Black Lives Matter and are a self-described proponent of "identity politics." But you oppose DEI, black lives and identity politics for black Republicans.

Is that pretty much it?

Asking for a friend, a former California gubernatorial candidate whom the Los Angeles Times called "the black face of white supremacy."

Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an "Elderado," visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on X @larryelder. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM