Photo: Facebook

DA campaign manager quits party – for being ‘too woke’

Apparently, the DA is ‘letting the woke undermine the party’ – and the decision to REMOVE posters in Phoenix has upset a long-serving member.

by Tom Head

11-10-2021 18:19

in News

Photo: Facebook

The DA? Woke? It would appear there is, at least, one person in South Africa who feels this way: Mike Waters, a campaign manager for the party in Ekurhuleni, has quit his role just weeks before the election – and yes, it’s Phoenix-related.

Mike Waters quits DA over ‘woke influence’

The big story of the 2021 Election campaign so far has been the DA’s decision to erect election materials in Phoenix, KZN. This town saw vigilante violence claim at least 20 lives, but the Blues ended up upsetting most of the nation, when their posters claimed that the folks who stood up against looters ‘were heroes’.

As John Steenhuisen tried to explain last week, the posters weren’t meant to refer to the dozens of suspects arrested for taking innocent lives – but the damage had been done by the time the DA decided to tear down the banners.

Phoenix posters continue to cause divisions

This decision to appease the outraged hasn’t sat well with former MP Mike Waters. He will no longer lead the DA’s election campaign in Gauteng East, and he’s resigned with just 21 days left before the big vote. It’s another pain in the arse for the official opposition, who have been accused of just about everything and anything in the last week or so.

But someone branding them ‘easily influenced by the woke’ is a new one on all of us.

“I am shocked and horrified by the weakness displayed by my party this week, over the Phoenix poster matter. The DA’s grovelling apology and decision to take down the posters is appalling, and betrays the heroes who defended lives. I cannot defend or support a party that is capable of such spineless treachery.
“Therefore, I am resigning as the regional campaign manager for the DA in Gauteng East. I cannot fight for votes for a party that crumbles in the face of hysteria. But, for as long as I and other muscular liberals can raise our voices above the wokerati, I will remain a DA member.”
Mike Waters