This past week, a Republican state legislator in Georgia made news after he posted arguably threatening messages on Facebook directed at a black Democratic former legislator who had complained about Confederate monuments.
It was not surprising that the indefensible messages got the attention of race-obsessed MSNBC contributor and The Root politics editor Jason Johnson, but what was unexpected is that he oddly used the incident as a springboard to attack her for supporting a white candidate over a black candidate in the Democratic primary for governor.
Johnson -- who once cited a quote complaining that a "random f***ing white woman" was nominated by Democrats for St. Louis mayor instead of a black woman -- devoted his article posted Friday to complaining that LaDawn Blackett Jones not only has a history of not talking liberal enough on some issues, but that she is acting as the "African-American attack dog" for a white candidate.
The article titled, "White Ga. Lawmaker Threatens Black Woman, Says She May Go Missing ... but Was She Already in the Sunken Place?" begins with Johnson recalling the Facebook messages exchanged between Jones and Republican state legislator Jason Spencer which ended with Spencer suggesting she might "go missing" for espousing her views in southern Georgia.
Johnson then recounts that Jones -- who was acquainted with Spencer from their time serving together in the legislature -- had laughed off the comments, with the liberal columnist then beginning to take aim at her as he asks: "What kind of African-American politician gets into heated debates about the symbolism of Confederate monuments online, but, when threatened with a Southern-style lynching, gives a big shoulder shrug?"
He then complains that, when she was in the state legislature, she "was willing to make some strange alliances depending on who invited her to the cool-kids table."
Johnson recalls that Jones worked for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, but, after Donald Trump was elected President, she "chastised the Democratic party for focusing too much on Native, Asian, African-American and LGBT issues and not giving enough attention to working-class white men."
After relating that Jones had suggested Democrats have a "caucus" devoted to white men, Johnson shifts to complaining about her support for a white Democratic candidate over a black candidate. He informs readers that Stacey Abrams "is vying to become the first black female governor in American history," but that Stacey Evans "is seeking to become the 41st white female governor in American history." (Note: Both candidates do, in fact, have the same first name.)
Johnson then complains about the white candidate not being liberal enough on some issues: "Evans also supports school vouchers, has been relatively silent on police brutality and violence against African-Americans in her county, and straddles the fence so hard on Confederate monuments that she could split a pantsuit."
Bemoaning that Evans has been too "nonprogressive," he injects race again as he adds:
Jones has adopted the tried-and-true position of becoming the official African-American attack dog of the Evans campaign -- every white Democrat facing a black Democrat has one. She has even been trotted out to question Abrams's "blackness" on the campaign trail, arguing at one point that Abrams, a black woman, would not be better or worse on racial policy issues than Evans, a white woman.
After cautioning against "crowning" Jones the "Maxine Waters of the Dirty South," and reiterating his criticism of the Republican legislator who posted the provocative comments against her, Johnson concludes by taking a parting shot at Jones: "Former constituents and African-American voters don't want to see Jones disappear in the swamps of Georgia, but it might be a good idea if she dug herself out of the sunken place."
