Time for Republican Millennials to Grow Up

Two weeks ago, Shermichael Singleton, the deputy chief of staff for incoming Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary Ben Carson, was unceremoniously fired; with the dismissal, the Trump administration also stripped away his dignity.

It all started back on October 24, 2016. Singleton wrote a very critical editorial about Trump’s presidential candidacy.

“…The moral fiber of the Republican Party and America as a whole is at stake. That is why I continue to speak up against Trump’s candidacy…There is no way I can bring myself to vote for Donald Trump,” said Singleton.

I have absolutely no regard for most Black Republicans from the millennial generation. They are arrogant as hell, think they know everything, and have no intellectual curiosity about anything.

Singleton is one of the few from this group that I actually have some hope for. I think he is very sharp, but I think he lacks the proper guidance from some of the more seasoned political operators, who could have guided him through some of his unforced errors.

But one thing that has been bothering me about this Singleton episode is, if Trump was as bad as he indicated in his October column’ why in the hell would he want to work for someone like that?

By accepting a job with Trump, he undercut the whole rationale of his editorial. In essence, he became the very thing he was accusing Trump of. If you “can’t vote” for Trump, how can you justify working for him? Just a thought.

After the White House gave him a job at HUD, they came across this critical editorial. From my understanding, they then called Carson’s chief of staff, who was tasked with firing Singleton.

He was ushered out of the building by security with no advanced warning. This was the White House’s version of doing a perp walk. This was totally unnecessary. I don’t want to hear any garbage about this being standard operating procedures.

It wasn’t like he was accused of embezzlement or rape. He wrote a damned editorial. The White House could have simply let the chief of staff walk him out of the building after work hours and no one would have been the wiser. If they wanted to.

Carson was notified of the firing the next day. Wait! Let me get this straight. The incoming head of HUD (Carson has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, but is expected to be by the end of the week) has one of his top personal aides fired and he had absolutely no input into the decision? Really?

Carson should have immediately withdrawn his name from consideration for the HUD post. But I digress.

My advice to Singleton: SHUT THE HELL UP! Stop doing media interviews. You seemed to have become intoxicated with being in the media. You need to lay low for about a year and get back on track. You are only compounding your troubles.

Shermichael, you should be extremely concerned that not one person has publically said anything supportive of you. Carson’s only words about you was he was “baffled and speechless” at your firing but “he is moving on.” That is not exactly a ringing endorsement of you. Shouldn’t that bother you?

It is quite obvious that you have no seasoned people around you that give a damn about you; or they would have given you the same counsel I am offering you.
I cringed when I read this statement by you in a media interview, “I helped him [Carson] through the confirmation process…I actually wrote the initial draft of the opening [hearing] statement…I guess you could say I was the brainchild behind it.”

Shermichael, I have written congressional testimony for many people and written speeches for some of the biggest names in business, sports, entertainment, and politics; you never, let me repeat: never ever, publically, take credit for something like that.

You come off as self-promoting, arrogant and bringing attention to yourself, not your principal, Ben Carson.

I think you have a bright future, but you must surround yourself with experienced people who can guide you. By your actions, it’s obvious that you don’t have that type of support, or you are simply ignoring their advice.

You must understand that how you, and by extension Carson, were treated is an ominous sign that the White House has no regard for you. You must understand that the loud silence of those who call you friends are like the sounding brass or the tingling cymbal, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

Your experience should be a lesson and a wakeup call to all Black millennials in our party. Civilization did not start when you came out of your mother’s womb. Believe it or not, there were Black Republicans long before millennials came along.

Shermichael, you must spend more time reflecting on this experience and less time talking to the media. I am not convinced that you have any idea how serious your treatment was and what it means to your future. Just my humble thoughts.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in Black Press USA.

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