More African-Americans are waking up the fact that Democrats have taken them for granted for decades, and the “Walk Away from the Democratic Party” movement has gained traction.
An unlikely American started the hashtag movement. Brandon Straka, a black, gay New York hairstylist, checked many of the boxes of the party’s “identity politics” platform. But the former Democrat and aspiring actor turned his back on leftist extremism.
“Once upon a time, I was a liberal,” Straka states in a six-minute video. “For years now, I have watched as the left has devolved into intolerant, inflexible, illogical, hateful, misguided, ill-informed, un-American, hypocritical, menacing, callous, ignorant, narrow-minded and, at times, blatantly fascistic behavior and rhetoric.”
His message caught the eyes of Fox News, where he’s now a part-time contributor and his Twitter profile has edged up to 70,000 followers. But perhaps the most dangerous moment in his #WalkAway movement came when former Grey’s Anatomy star Isaiah Washington put his iconic face to it.
“Walking away is a sacrifice,” Washington reportedly said. “There’s a risk and there’s a penalty for it but you have to walk away when it matters. And the reason I chose to walk away from the Democratic Party is that something doesn’t feel right.”
Washington was the first high-profile Democrat celebrity to back the Walk Away movement after visiting the White House, and experiencing how President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda compares to the Obama Administration and Democrat policy.
“I voted for 44 twice. I even checked my emails in his Senate Office while lobbying for Salone to be given another chance to rebrand,” Washington tweeted. “Not once in 8 years was I given any support regarding Africa or the Black Agenda, but 45 invites me to the WH to celebrate the #FirstStepAct.”
The president’s signing of the First Step Act undid numerous excessive and wrongful sentences suffered by African-Americans under disgraced ex-President Clinton’s laws. The zero-tolerance, three-strikes laws were largely promoted by Joe Biden when he was in the Senate and who is now courting African-American voters. After seeing the Trump Administration’s commitment to equal justice for all Americans first hand, Washington did some soul-searching.
“You got a lot of conservative or centric libertarian-minded people that really care about other people but they are terrified to come out of the closet and say anything that’s not in line with the Democratic Party,” he reportedly said.
The Hollywood star understands that being outspoken could land him on a blacklist and cost his acting career dearly. It’s a brave step to call out Democrats who have done nothing to improve the lives of African-American communities. Elitist agendas about closing factories and trade agreements that outsourced American jobs to China have disproportionately diminished the opportunities of African-Americans. Despite facing a professional backlash, Washington has fiercely promoted the #WalkAway movement.
“I have a message for the Hollywood Actors DM’ing me and revealing that you’re Conservatives. Don’t DM me again, because you all are lame and I don’t respond well to hypocrites or cowards,” Washington reportedly tweeted. “You’re no different than the bystander that is waiting on the blood to spill from a martyr.”
The liberal and fake news media have already begun attacking Washington, saying “a washed-up actor preaches to his social media followers in-between efforts to revive an acting career.” Other liberal propaganda outlets tried to make Washington suddenly seem politically irrelevant. Such is never the case when even a B-list celebrity spews hate at the president. But black voters are quickly becoming what liberals call “woke” to the fact Democrats have long forsaken them.
Under President Trump’s America First policies, African-Americans have enjoyed the lowest unemployment rate in recorded history, hovering around 6 percent and dipping as low as 5.9. During the Obama years, black unemployment routinely topped 16 percent, the worst since the 1980s.
Since President Trump famously asked African-Americans, “what have you got to lose,” during the run-up to the 2016 election, grassroots anti-Democrat movements have been popping up. Candace Owens has become a vocal leader in the hotly trending BLEXIT movement, and entertainment media stars such as Kanye West have backed President Trump and the GOP based on tangible gains and pro-black policies. Democrats are experiencing fits of terror as African-American voices encourage others to vote their interests.
“As a black man, Democrats want me to be a victim. They call me an Uncle Tom for talking about problems in the black community,” Iraq war veteran Rob Smith tweeted. “Democrats want me to find empowerment in victimhood, but as a veteran, I was NEVER a victim. It was time for me to #WalkAway.”
