“Over a simple traffic stop … I don’t get it … I really don’t …”

I clicked on a conservative blog today because I wanted to find an article to disagree with. I came upon this one, however, from Big Jolly Politics, and was pleasantly surprised. Author Ed Hubbard confronts his fellow conservatives by saying that there's no way they can look into Sandra Bland's story, and not see that something is undeniably wrong. He goes on to argue that Republicans should embrace the #BlackLivesMatter movement as a "call to action" because they are the ones who can make a difference. It is the first time in, maybe forever, that I have heard a Republican passionately state that black lives matter without a quickly added qualifying statement.

As evidence, he provides two videos of Sandra's arrest, and emphatically encourages his readers to watch them without judgement. He then provides an argument on why now is the time to act. Up to this point, I loved everything he said. He then makes a slightly belittling statement about the "progressive ideas" of the leaders of the movement, and the conservative's ability to "seize this moment to engage in a debate over real public actions and private actions that will address the problems of under-education, underemployment, and over-incarceration in African-American communities." He then doubles down on his argument stating that "progressive policies have perpetuated the problems experienced by black mean and women in this country." The problem with this argument is that he doesn't provide any evidence of how progressives caused the issues at hand, or exactly how Republicans are the answer.  

This article is almost hitting the nail on the head. Almost. While he supports the phrase "black lives matter", he neglects to hear the voices in the movement who are directly affected. All in all, I respect this mans bravery in posting something so at odds with the typical conservative blog post. Unfortunately, he lost me with his bold claim against progressives with zero backing.