If we can judge by the dazzling resume and powerhouse ad, there may yet be hope for politics, at least in Arkansas. Last week, Dr. Chris Jones, a black, eloquent, MIT-educated nuclear engineer, urban planner, Baptist minister, proud girl-Dad and 7th-generation Arkansan announced he's running for governor in a race now dominated by slimy lickspittle and professional charlatan Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who now faces what one un-fan deems "her worst nightmare - a POC who's better than her." Jones' family came to Arkansas, which has never elected an African American to a statewide office, in 1819. The son of two preachers, he grew up in Pine Bluff, with what he calls a strong sense of faith "only made stronger" by his love for science. Gifted a NASA Scholarship for physics and math, he attended Morehouse College, where he was student body president - to date his only formal political position - and hoped to become an astronaut. Grounded when he found he was deaf in one ear, he went to MIT and earned a Masters in nuclear physics and a Ph.D. in urban planning; he also served as assistant dean for graduate studies, working to double minority enrollment. After becoming ordained as a minister, he returned to Arkansas and led the non-profit Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, where he saw "how disparities in the state had gotten worse, not better." Despite...everything about this country's recent and long-ago history, he insists he has faith in Arkansas' potential and is running "to ensure every person has an opportunity to succeed."
Jones got off to a blockbuster start with his first, elegant, hard-hitting campaign video, "About Time." Introducing his three daughters and wife Dr. Jerrilyn Jones - Air Force veteran, ER doctor, head of the state's Department of Health Preparedness - he holds a pastoral stole to weave together past and present and argue, "(At) this moment in our nation's history...If we want our politics to be different, we have to be different." In a state that's seen only one other black candidate for governor - 100 years ago - in a country that's elected just two governors of color, he could face an uphill battle among several Democrats running against Sanders. Still, some political observers say he could ride a wave of recent victories by progressive black newcomers. And while Jones admirably argues he's not running against anything but for positive change, let's get real: While his stands on issues remain unclear, the harsh, dumb, venal, much-despised reality of Sanders, whose sole lame goal is to go after "the radical left," serves as a brutal wake-up-and-get-out-the-vote call. "If you don't (help) elect Chris Jones, we get Sarah Huckabee Sanders," writes one patriot. "Do you get it? So donate." Online, the campaign ad went viral; the eager consensus: "Vote Chris Jones for anything." Meanwhile, Jones focuses on high-minded unity: "I'm not running to fight a culture war or go on cable news. I'm here to bring Arkansans back together with a campaign that brings out our best." Many are elated. "You appear to be the politician and thinker and philosopher and poet I have longed for for my adult life," wrote "a fan of physics." "Please be real." "Thanks for joining the journey," Jones responded. "I'm real."
