Not many weeks ago conservatives were beside themselves with glee because Kanye West had sung praises of President Trump. As West went full steam ahead on what I called his "President Trump is good tour," the excitement of being able to label West a "black conservative," no matter how far from reality said claim is, had people ecstatic. He was the new national hero. People wrote me saying that West should run for office. His only qualification – overnight he supposedly became a "black conservative."
I hate to be the skunk at the proverbial picnic, but let me point out a few things. At least two-weeks before West began praising the president, his sister-in-law called for Trump to pardon a woman who was serving life in prison for drug crimes. The female dealer had been imprisoned for most of her adult life, and the Kardashian sister wanted President Trump to do something about it. Shortly after that, Kanye West began his "Praise President Trump" accolades.
After West had invested an appropriate amount of time praising Trump, his wife, the ubiquitous Kim Kardashian, began her jeremiad for the imprisoned woman – publicly calling for President Trump to pardon the murderess or at least to have her sentence commuted so she could be freed. That was followed with a hastily arranged Oval Office meeting with President Trump and Kardashian to discuss prison reform.
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Though West's praise of President Trump may make him a "color-coded conservative" to some, I view West's words as nothing more than publicly schmoozing the president to get what his wife and sister-in-law wanted. If West's wife had not been granted the meeting she wanted, you can bet dollars to donuts that West's tune would have changed from praise to condemnation.
Their praise for Trump may still turn into condemnation of the president if the West and the Kardashian families do not get what they want. They want their friend out of jail, and they want her out now. Yet, people are still blathering that West is a "black conservative." Until I see much more evidence than I see now, I argue that the only factual part of that narrative is the part about West being a color.
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Then there are self-professed conservatives calling Roseanne Barr a conservative, when in reality she is anything but conservative.
I haven't seen the reboot of the "Roseanne" show. I watched the original program twice that I can remember. I mention that for the sake of transparency. I'm not ashamed to say that I've retweeted some of Roseanne's tweets, and she has retweeted some of mine. I have also hash-tagged her on some tweets.
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However, just because Roseanne seemed to show favor for President Trump, that in no way makes her a conservative. It may not even make her a true supporter of the president. Call me suspicious, but let me explain.
Television shows do not just happen overnight. They take time. It is not inconceivable that if Roseanne had been planning her comeback for the past years, it would be an excellent ploy for her to boast that the show would be favorable to President Trump. What better way to hit the ground running with huge ratings born out Trump's massive support base?
A conservative from Colorado wrote me the following:
"If another network does pick up the show, they need to leave all the ABC-hired writers back at home. The show was never conservative. Roseanne herself may or may not be conservative. ABC used the bait of Roseanne voting for Trump to reel in conservatives so they could plow them with their typical liberal, LGBT, multi-cultural propaganda. It was a shame so many conservatives fell for it. When I saw the part with the young biological male child being celebrated and encouraged to prance around in girl's clothing followed by the show about the Muslim neighbor who was supposedly just a normal American, I knew the show was typical ABC liberalism at work."
I find nothing this person said with which to disagree. I think it is fair to point out the detestable, albeit fully expected, Erebusic duplicitous double standards ABC, members of the cast, the mainstream media, Hollywood, ad nauseam employed. And while I wrote that very thing – it is a far cry from calling her a conservative. (See: "ABC and Wanda Sykes Find Morals," mychal-massie.com, May 29, 2018.)
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It should be considered, however, that Roseanne's plan was always to cash in on the popularity of President Trump, before her hysterical joke blew up in her face.
To be sure, I'm not saying President Trump doesn't deserve the praise of Kanye West; I'm saying that West's praise can go away as quickly as it appeared. Nor am I condemning Roseanne. I'm saying that conservatives must be alert to the machinations liberals use while pretending to be our friends, when in reality they may be interested only in using us for their personal gain.