Episode 58: Wild Cards

2008-02-26
By DeAngelo Starnes

Ralph Nader is the Omar Little of presidential campaigns.  Both are wild cards who live by a code.  Neither man minds taking the fight to seemingly undefeatable well-organized opponents.  Some might say they both like to steal: Omar from drug dealers and Nader votes from Democrat candidates.
 
I bring up the comparison because, like Omar in this season’s Wire, Nader made a belated appearance in the presidential campaign.  And like Omar, his presence is not insignificant.  Most important, Nader is an uncontrollable wild card that the non-appointed rule-makers hate to see in the game.
 
Neither Nader nor Omar has succeeded in taking out the big dog.  Nevertheless, they’ve made dents in their opponents’ operations.  But that’s what the hunt is for, right?  And I think both love the thrill of hunting as much as they do the kill.
 
I’m sure Nader and his supporters wouldn’t appreciate the comparison to a lone ranger street criminal such as Omar.  And trust me, I’m not here to trivialize Nader’s stature to that of a television character.  But the comparison survives in that both are wild cards in their respective universes.  And they are not just wild cards, but wild cards that have to be dealt with. 

Disclosure: I’m a Nader fan.  He’s a “for the people”-type candidate.  His body of work on behalf of the common person is staggering and has resulted in laws we take for granted: seat belt laws, tire safety, clean air and clean water bills, pension protection, whistleblower protection, consumer credit disclosure requirements, requirements that meat and poultry be safe for public consumption, and the institution of two government agencies: the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.  I’m not here to advocate that anyone vote or not vote for Nader.  But it should be noted he’s more than a fringe candidate.  He’s fought major uphill battles with multinational corporations and government officials to get those bills passed for the benefit of all. 
 
On a smaller scale, Omar made similar waves hitting drug dealers stash’s and money.  But he also took out Stringer Bell, which some might feel parallels Nader taking out Gore in 2000 with his candidacy.
 
Nader actually matures the arguments.  While the electorate might groan at his announced presidency, you can be assured of the following.  You will not hear him cry about plagiarism or failure to hold a hand over heart during the playing of the National Anthem (This last bit of nonsense is supported by a photo.  Now how are we supposed to know that the photo wasn’t taken after the National Anthem had played?), or how someone wore Muslim attire during a trip to Africa, or how much Iran needs to be bombed.  You won’t hear him saying childish things that an eighth-grade student running for school office wouldn’t say. 

Nader talks about the issues that concern me and you.  Like corporate greed and corporate welfare when you and I can’t get a break in our checkbooks.  He talks about the Government’s complicity with corporate efforts to screw its workers.  He talks about suppression of candidacies that speak to these issues.  Mainly, he speaks about the distribution of wealth and how that imbalance in the distribution adversely affects all of us.

And like he says to the groaners, if the Democrats’ game was so tight, why do they keep losing and caving in?  If their game was so tight, why are they worried that he might siphon enough voters to cause them to lose the presidency?  Fact is, Barack is correct; the conservative agenda is not good for the Ninety-Nine Percent.  America is ready for a change.  Another fact is as progressive as Barack’s speeches appear, he still has not addressed the real problem: corporate greed.  And I know many will say, allow him his moment so that we get this brotha into office.  But I heard the same about Clarence Thomas.  And he ain’t asked a question during oral arguments in two years.

Anticipating the hate mail, Barack ain’t Clarence.
 
Nader didn’t enter the race to win.  He didn’t enter the race to confuse.  He entered the race to make sure the candidates didn’t forget about us.  I just hope he doesn’t meet a similar fate that Omar suffered in this last episode. 

Recap:

Opening: Rawls said something that struck me as odd: “The Mayor is going to need a police department more than an education system.”  Why should those two components of our government have to compete for the same dollars? 

Often, the result of public education’s failings in urban areas is directionless Black youth.  Directionless Black youth are a problem for the police department.  But aren’t directionless Black youth a threat to their own future, too?  Wouldn’t an inspirational educational system help their focus? 

It’s my belief that much of the education system is antiquated.  Not for lack of effort but for lack of vision and creativity.  I believe there needs to be more outside-the-box thinking.  School, for instance, is too slow for kids.  Tap into their intellect early and keep them engaged.  Move children along at their intellectual pace rather than their age group.  Get to know each individual child and learn what makes them tick.  Foster teamwork and group participation.  Try to make each child feel special.

I know these might sound like noble concepts and idealistic in a Naderesque sense.  However, the current model isn’t working for many children.  The current emphasis on standardized testing for funding qualification isn’t necessarily geared towards education.  Education is more than memorizing the answers needed for a good score on a standardized test.  It’s about learning how to get information and knowing what to do with it.  There’s also a socialization aspect to it in that children are placed in environments where ideas about problem-solving are shared, debated, and learned.  The dictatorial style of teaching doesn’t foster intellectual growth because it doesn’t engage a child’s thirst for information.  I think that’s one of the reasons kids drop out and act up.  They’re bored.

It was good seeing Poot slinging shoes instead of rock.  He realized Antagonism is a dead-end street.  Just wish he could’ve helped Dookie with his quest to get to the world from the Streets. 

The behavioral analysis of the alleged homeless serial killer described McNulty to a “T.”  It was written all over his face as the FBI agent read off the characteristics of  “a white male, likely not a college graduate but feels superior to those with advanced education, he is likely employed in a bureaucratic entity – possibly civil service or quasi-public service from which he feels alienated, he has a problem with authority and deep-seated resentment of those he feels have impeded his progress professionally, the biting marks are probably post-mortem staging, he has problems with lasting relationships and is possibly a high-functioning alcoholic with alcohol being used as a trigger in the commission of these crimes.”  Whew!  Joe Louis gut-shot.  These guys are good.

Carcetti begging for the alternative Democrat candidate from Prince George’s County to drop out the race by saying, “I’m the only viable candidate to beat that Republican prick.”  That’s exactly how Barack and Hillary feel.  But they left themselves open to Nader’s candidacy by not speaking to the people.  They speak over the people.  They speak down to the people.  They speak about experience and change and new ideas.  But they don’t discuss the nuts-and-bolts of getting the people a better way of life.

Clay Davis said it best, “Playing like you gonna run a man you know can’t win to scare you into getting some pay-offs.  That’s some cynical politics.”  The paranoid in us wonder if Karl Rove is behind Nader’s announced run.  Don’t be so cynical.  Nader is a principled-person, as his body of work proves.

The title of this thing could have just as easily been called “Confessions” as much as “Clarifications.”  Confessions are often clarifying to unanswered questions or gaps in information. 

Finally, Omar, couldn’t get any ink on the press.  I hated to see Omar go, especially in the manner he went.  Within the context of the show, Omar was an admirable character.  Like Nader, he had a singular vision of what he believed to be justice.  It was street justice, and a perverted vision of street justice to be sure.  But justice nonetheless.   However, the newspaper couldn’t give four lousy paragraphs to his death?  If he was white and died in a school shooting, I bet we would’ve received a complete biography.

Omar deserves a eulogy.  First, why should we care that he was a homosexual?  He’s still a human being with feelings.  I’m not gonna get deep on homosexuality but if that was his thing, that was his thing.  Second, in a universe of amoral persons on both sides of the criminal law fence, he had a moral code that dictated the innocent shall not suffer. That, by itself, separates him from McNulty, Lester, Avon and Marlo.   Third, when have you not rooted for Omar?  I know a lotta sistas in the audience hated that he killed off their man, Stringer Bell.  But while he might’ve been a predator, he wasn’t a parasite; which is more than you can say for the people he robbed.

Which brings me back to Nader. I know a lotta people are pissed at him right now.  Be pissed at the polls.  But Nader raises issues the front-runners won’t raise.  His presence will make them speak to the people.  Because once you get past Ralph’s injection into the debate, his message against corporate greed and corruption can’t be disputed.  And his message about exclusion of a third voice needs to be examined very thoughtfully.  Ralph goes beyond soundbites.  He demands intellectual engagement. 

Great episode that will focus on Omar’s death.  I like Gus’ killing of Templeton’s sloppy ways more. 

DeAngelo Starnes is a writer and attorney. He lives with his wife and son in Denver, Colorado.