When I first heard Kevin Powell speak, I thought to myself that here was a charismatic individual who has some good points about my Congressman not doing enough for the citizens of his district. However, I like to research, and as I found out more about who Kevin Powell really was and what he stood for, I felt just like I hope sensible Republicans (if there are any left) will feel in a couple of weeks – manipulated. You see, people like Kevin fall into what I call the “prophet mold,” the person who tells them with passion what their problems are and that solution is in front of them.

Kevin Powell is very quick to criticize Congressman Towns on everything he can possible think of, many of his criticisms are exaggerated, untrue, or minor (warning, if you do decide to read the previously linked 100,000 word document, it is a very difficult read). Over the last couple of weeks, a certain someone began to remind me of Mr. Powell. That person is Sarah Palin, the pitbull VP candidate for the GOP. When I heard Sarah Palin tell her rabid listeners of the “East Coast Elite Media” trying to tell them how to think, and how it was they who were responsible for their problems it clicked in. Much as how she is willing to tell everyone with a straight face that it is the elitists who are responsible for their problems, Powell is eager to tell everyone with a straight face that it is Congressman Towns, and many other older Black politicians, who are responsible for their problems. Here are some other examples:

Resort to name calling when being criticized for their past:

Much like Sarah Palin and her followers have called people sexist for bringing up legitimate questions about her past, Kevin Powell calls people racist when they criticize him for a past that he does not deny. In the Brooklyn Paper interview of Powell, Powell says just that (26:10 into the interview podcast). In fact, the article below the podcast on that page, used to mention Powell’s racism charge, but it was strangely taken off without explanation.  The fact is that Kevin Powell has had a history of violence for over 20 years, and to call someone racist for bringing it up is a very sad tactic to use.

Exaggeration of their accomplishments:

Kevin Powell’s biography on his campaign website starts with this humble sentence – “Kevin Powell is widely considered one of America’s most important voices in these early years of the 21st century.” I consider myself someone who is well read, and didn’t even know that Kevin Powell was a writer and activist in my own community until I was told many times that he was one by his supporters. I would challenge anyone to read Kevin Powell’s writings and show me where he has written something that qualifies him as “one of American’s most important voices”. His writing is lengthy and mediocre at best. Overall, Powell’s biography is greatly exaggerated. My favorite though, is where he implies he obtained a degree from Rutgers University, when in reality he was expelled from the school for pulling a knife on a female student. In addition, many friends who are active as community organizers in Brooklyn, have told me that Kevin Powell is only present at events where there will be press.  

Lying:

Kevin Powell and Sarah Palin have another thing in common. They both love to stand up and blatantly lie to people in the belief that they are too stupid to find out the truth for themselves (bridge to somewhere became the bridge to nowhere, huh?). I recently read a blog entry on his campaign website about how hard he plans on campaigning in the final days of the Primary. Yet, on another blog entry Powell admits that he is going to the Democratic Convention. AND, he went to Dallas right before the upcoming Primary to promote his books.  Powell’s supporters denied that he was out of town, yet here is the proof. In addition, Powell was caught lying about the fact that he attempted to bribe volunteers for Congressman Towns. When challenged on this fact, the Powell campaign removed an offensive blog post directed at the volunteers with no explanation or apology.

Views that vary from the vague to extreme:

One of Kevin Powell’s arguments for being elected the next Congress man from our district is that he released a 58 page plan (warning – very large pdf) on what he will do in Congress. However, much like the empty rhetoric of how Sarah Palin and John McCain will solve our problems, Kevin Powell offers very few examples of how he plans to accomplish his long list of promises. He very admirably wants to end all war in violence in the world, he wants to pull the troops out of Afghanistan (something myself and Obama do not agree with), he wants Israel to get out of Palestinian settlements, and he wants to “build multilateral peace talks between nations and political groups”. People may love hearing that, but few will question how a freshman member of Congress from Brooklyn plans to accomplish that. What about problems closer to home? In Powell’s “plan” he says –

"Kevin Powell will propose and support growth strategies that target the creation of local businesses by funding community entrepreneurs. He will focus on investments in manufacturing and services that are underrepresented or cannot be effectively or conveniently outsourced. This can be done through public‐private partnerships with businesses, unions, and government and community organizations."

The only example of how he plans to do this that I can find, and I really looked hard, was in the Brooklyn Paper interview of Powell. His example of how to do this is that he has contacts that could help bring a Best Buy to East New York. Are you fucking kidding me??? A retail chain with low-paying jobs is going to solve our problems? This is coming from a man who has been luke-warm in his opposition to Atlantic Yards, and even mentions in the interview that much of what they are doing will be what he would do (in terms of bringing more jobs). He only seems opposed to Atlantic Yards pending a study on its “environmental impact”, yet people blindly say he is a staunch opponent.

The simple fact is that Kevin Powell is woefully unprepared to deliver even a fraction of his 58 pages of promises. He has attacked people as recently as 2004, called people racist for bringing that up, and he and his campaign have made many, many mistakes along their short journey. Kevin Powell would be a detriment to the 10th Congressional district and I hope the voters tomorrow are able to see that.