ornel West knows what most Democrats think of him. Since he launched his presidential bid four months ago, the progressive, media-savvy academic has heard the accusations that he’ll prove a spoiler and hand the 2024 election to Donald
To be sure, West’s campaign remains a shoestring operation that may never get off the ground. He lacks the movement infrastructure and specific policy platforms that helped past left-wing presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, or Bernie Sanders, outperform expectations. Given West’s recent decision to runBut there’s a reason that West has managed to stay in the public eye for more than three decades.
“Anytime everyday people straighten their backs up, they're going somewhere, because the ruling class can’t ride your back unless it’s bent,” he says. He tells me he realized running under a party’s ticket means devoting too much of his time to party activities, instead of speaking directly to the people.It’s true that a lot of people know West after more than three decades as a public figure. After growing up marching in Civil Rights demonstrations, he went on to teach religion and African American studies at universities like Harvard, Princeton and Union Theological Seminary.