In this “special emergency edition” of Texting, Tomek and I discuss Cornel West—the self-styled “Jazzman of American Politics”—and the current state of his 2024 US presidential campaign. We had planned to wait for the beginning of Season 3 to explore this “text,” but in the aftermath of Dr. West’s contentious interview with Jimmy Dore and the reactions thereto from such commentators as Revolutionary Blackout Network, Sabby Sabs, and Garland Nixon, we thought we should weigh in sooner rather than later. During our chat, we also react to Briahna Joy Gray’s recent debate with Krystal Ball and Kyle Kulinski on the viability of third-party candidates, and we compare Dr. West’s campaign with the Greens to those of RFK Jr and Marianne Williamson with the Dems, ever mindful of Sam Husseini’s point that we should always aim to “instrumentalize” candidates of whatever party for our own purposes before the Establishment does. The pod was recorded late Sunday night Taipei time, just after it was announced that Dr. West had appointed Peter Daou as his campaign manager—a fact I was not aware of until Tomek shared the news with me in real time. We hope this time-sensitive discussion contributes in some small way to constructive dialogue about the American Left, the American political scene in general, the 2024 election season, and the aim of “dismantling” US Empire (which Dr. West’s website lists as the first plank of his platform). Let us know what you think.
For those who prefer video, the pod has been uploaded to YouTube as well:
P.S. I have been working on an article about Cornel West which elucidates the three characteristics of the jazzman he often cites in his speeches and public appearances. Although these were briefly mentioned in the podcast, I hope to post a fuller description of them in the coming days.
"The Jazzman of American Politics"