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Video: Black Guy Asks Pro-Reparations 2020 Dems for Money, Gets Turned Down Every Single Time

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Rob Smith is an Iraq War vet who works with conservative organization Turning Point USA and is known as “America’s favorite black, gay Republican.”

Needless to say, Smith isn’t afraid of anything. Hate, confrontation, physical danger — whatever the source of conflict is, Smith is ready to dive in head first.

That boldness, along with a hefty dose of likability, makes Smith the perfect choice to confront, confound and ultimately undermine hypocritical leftist politicians.

And undermine them Smith has.

In a delightful video for TPUSA, Smith manages to track down several Democrats hoping to win the party’s 2020 presidential nomination. Once he finds them, he confirms that each supports the idea of reparations.

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Once Smith gets a positive response, he then asks the candidates if they would be willing to provide his reparations right there on the spot.

The answers ranged from humorous to humiliating, and Smith got them all on camera.

Cornering Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, Smith asked, “is there any way that I can have the money now?” Ryan replied with a very quick, seemingly reflexive “no.” Smith offers to take Paypal, Venmo, or even cash. The offers failed to persuade the congressman, who stood by his monosyllabic “no.” So much for Ryan’s convictions.

Next, Smith took on Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, asking the potentially 1/1024th Native American senator “if I can have my money now.” Warren replied that “you probably want to take a look at the bill that’s pending in the house.” Strike two.

Do you think Democrats are hypocrites when it comes to reparations?

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was next up. Smith said, “you support reparations. I’m curious if I can get my money now. I’ve got Cash App, I’ve got Paypal, I’ve got Venmo.”

Booker, however, seemed less amused than Smith’s earlier subjects, wiping his head and saying, “you literally don’t know what you’re talking about because you haven’t even looked at the legislation.” Third time wasn’t the charm.

What about Marianne Williamson, the love-laden pseudo-flower child of the 2020 Democratic crop? Smith politely asked, “okay, now is there any way I can have my money now?” Williamson respond with a “no, not right now.” At least that wasn’t a categorical no. Maybe she intends to cough up the cash later.

Smith pushed a little further, though, asking Williamson how she thought reparations would work if she took the White House. She responded, “what I have proposed is a plan where there would be 30-50 people on a reparations council. You are a member of a people where there has been historical oppression. The fact that you got out doesn’t mean ‘whoopee!’ The way any people continue to survive and thrive is it’s not enough for individuals to get out.”

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It’s not clear exactly what Williamson meant, but it sounded suspiciously as if she judged Smith to be a minority who had “got out” of a system of oppression, and as such might not qualify for reparations. Neither is it clear exactly what Williamson thinks will allow people to survive and thrive. She contends “it’s not enough for individuals to get out.” But she doesn’t manage to communicate what “is enough” to fix historical oppression. Williamson supporters may want to pin her down on that; otherwise, monetary reparations could turn into land, property or even indentured reparations. (Unlikely, we know, but who can guess what Marianne Williamson might come up with?)

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard confirmed she supports Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s HR 40 bill, which is a reparations study bill, but perhaps saw where Smith was heading and cut him off before he could get there. Smith managed to ask her if the reparations came in the form of cash payments. He had hardly finished the last syllable of his question when Gabbard asked, “have you read the bill?” Smith continued to grill her, only to be left with a “I think this is a conversation we need to have as a country.”

That’s only the halfway point of the video. Smith confronted candidate after candidate, but walked away with nary a new penny to his name.

Now it’s easy to say that Smith ambushed these politicians (is that even possible in this day and age?), and they obviously can’t pay reparations out of their own pockets.

But the question of “why” should be asked. Why can’t they? If they believe the power of government should compel American taxpayers to transfer some of their wealth to those whose ancestors may have been enslaved, why can’t these candidates volunteer to alleviate just a little bit of the suffering they claim reparations should address?

The answer to that why question is as old as leftist, Marxist redistribution schemes themselves. Leftists won’t practice what they preach because they simply don’t want to. Their sense of virtue isn’t obtained by helping others. It’s obtained by self-congratulation, by forcing those who are already financially strained to give their hard earned money to those who have simply not earned it.

Conservatives gain satisfaction from giving of their own accord. Leftists gain satisfaction from taking, scraping a little off the top and then redistributing what’s left.

Studies back this up. Conservatives consistently score higher than leftists in terms of charitable giving.

And that gets at a fundamental point. The left will always act in bad faith and then accuse its ideological enemies of being the ones to break trust. They will always falsely accuse us of doing what they themselves actually do.

You need look no farther than this video for proof. They say conservatives are stingy, selfish and racist. But it’s the leftists in this film who hold on to their money, think only of themselves and patently dismiss a black man who’s simply asking them to live up to their own purported convictions.

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Josh Manning is deputy managing editor for assignment at The Western Journal. He holds a masters in public policy from Harvard University and has a background in higher education.
Josh Manning grew up outside of Memphis, TN and developed a love of history, politics, and government studies thanks to a life-changing history and civics teacher named Mr. McBride.

He holds an MPP from Harvard University and a BA from Lyon College, a small but distinguished liberal arts college where later in his career he served as an interim vice president.

While in school he did everything possible to confront, discomfit, and drive ivy league liberals to their knees.

After a number of years working in academe, he moved to digital journalism and opinion. Since that point, he has held various leadership positions at The Western Journal.

He's married to a gorgeous blonde who played in the 1998 NCAA women's basketball championship game, and he has two teens who hate doing dishes more than poison. He makes life possible for two boxers -- "Hank" Rearden Manning and "Tucker" Carlson Manning -- and a pitbull named Nikki Haley "Gracie" Manning.
Education
MPP from Harvard University, BA from Lyon College
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, tiny fragments of college French
Topics of Expertise
Writing, politics, Christianity, social media curation, higher education, firearms




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