The new Squad: Same as the old one

I watched a recent ceremony on T.V. for the Oakland Public Library’s completion of a big renovation project, its first upgrade since 1951. The main speakers were the Squad: Sheng Thao, Nikki Bas and Carroll Fife. They were in a good mood: Fife without her usual angry scowl, Bas trying (but not succeeding) to appear warm in front of the T.V. camera, and a forced-smiling Thao pretending she wasn’t just handed the humiliation of her life by being recalled.

These three women have long been the objects of my political ire, and I have to admit it wasn’t easy watching them on the tube. But I did my best to try to peer through their veneers and find something to like about them. First off, it’s great that the Main Library has had such a wonderful uphaul. I don’t use the library myself very much these days, but kids do, and in their speeches the three ladies described the many services the library and its branches offer our youngest generation. So kudos to Fife, Thao and Bas for whatever part they played. I just hope the library doesn’t let homeless people take it over.

Bas and Fife, unlike Thao, also were in good moods because the recent election was kind to them. Bas got kicked upstairs to the Board of Supervisors. I’m not sure exactly what power she’ll have in Oakland now, but my feeling is that she won’t be able to do as much harm as she did when she was on the City Council. And Fife, of course, was just re-elected, a huge mistake by the voters of District 3, and one I’m sure they’ll come to regret.

What I see when I look closely at the three women is the smug certitude of their belief. They’re ideologues through and through. They’re absolutely convinced that race—the color of one’s skin—is the most important element in life, and thus in our politics. They’re also convinced that Oakland, and America as a whole, is a racist society built on the remnants of slavery, upheld by “structural racism.” This makes them delusional, of course, but I don’t think it’s possible for either of them to see Reality. You’d think that they would have learned something from Thao’s historic recall and from Trump’s victory and from the Democrats’ resounding defeats in the last election, but no. If anything, Bas and Fife are even more stubbornly committed to their ideology. Fife, in her confusion, even believes her re-election makes her the most powerful member of the City Council, even more powerful than the next mayor, whoever that may be. She’s also like Trump in that she harbors grievances and keeps a list of her enemies (of which I’m proud to be one). Fife is going to be pushing for some extremely radical measures in the city—things like free rent for poor people, interest-free loans, vastly higher property and sales taxes, further defunding of the police, more grants to shady Black nonprofits, and a purge of anyone at City Hall who’s not an extremist when it comes to race.

Fife will have a few obstacles, though. One will be the next mayor. Who will it be? Will he or she be a moderate, the way the voters want, and stand up to Fife’s racialized wokeness? I’m also interested in Kevin Jenkins, who looks like he’s hustling his way up the greasy pole. If he’s the next City Council president, will he use that power in favor of moderate policies, or will the Black Power crowd, including Fife, hold him captive to the loony left? We’ll just have to see, but one thing is for sure: with the recalls of Thao and Price, our work is just beginning. We have historical momentum on our side, as well as morality and truth, but the monsters of wokeism, like Dracula, are always lurking in the dark, waiting to arise and suck our blood.

Steve Heimoff