The Democrats Unending Fascination With Identity Politics

I know. Republicans are racists. I hear it all the time from the Left. So why is it that the Democrats and the Left seem to be obsessed with the issue of race? Of course, the same applies to sex and all those other categories in Hillary's "basket of deplorables."

First, Michelle Obama told us that "any woman who voted against Hillary Clinton voted against their own voice." Because women are not able to decide for themselves which candidate best represents their values? So, not having that capability, women need to just automatically vote for the female candidate? Wow!

Now, the former First Lady (and future Presidential candidate?) tells us what she observed at the State of the Union address: "On one side of the room, it's literally gray and white. On the other side of the room, there are yellows and blues and whites and greens. (Yellows? Greens? Really?) Physically, there's a difference in color, in the tone. Because one side - all men, all white. On the other side - some women, some people of color." Upon viewing this, Mrs. Obama thought: "No wonder people don't trust politics."

Then, this very dangerous comment: "Until we are ready to fight for that - which means some people have to be willing to give up their seats to make room, or you need to be ready to add more seats - I think we're going to continue to struggle." Another wowser! Michelle Obama is talking racial quotas. Historically, quotas were used to limit the access of minorities to certain institutions. Does the former First Lady not know this?

These comments bring to mind some earlier comments by Democrats. Recall Madeleine Albright, campaigning for Hillary Clinton, and saying "there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other." And Harry Reid, while Senate Majority Leader, asserting "I don't know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican." And, of course, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, as head of the DNC: "There is nothing, and I mean nothing, in the Republicans' right wing agenda that appeals to the American Jewish community."

Okay, let me concede that the white supremacist, Richard Spencer, is also (not surprisingly, he's a white supremacist) prone to identity politics: "You are going to have to get used to white identity." Except, the Democrats I mentioned above are all mainstream Democrats, some having served as leaders in their party. Spencer does not enjoy the support of the vast majority of Republicans. For Leftists who assert that he does, to what office has he been able to get elected? On the other hand, how many times was Robert Byrd elected and reelected to Congress? (He was 6 years in the House and 51 years in the Senate.)

Mia Love is a black, female Republican member of the House from Utah. Love, in reply to Michelle Obama, said this: "Sadly, this is identity politics. I don't know if she noticed, but I am not white and I am not a male...This is absolutely divisive language. It's not language that unifies us as Americans." Amen to that. As Dennis Prager likes to point out, he has repeatedly asked conservative audiences which make-up of the Supreme Court would they prefer: nine white heterosexual males who are all left-wing, or nine black lesbian females who are all conservatives? The answer is always the same - conservatives go with their values, not identity politics.

(For a further discussion see the 1/18/13 post "Republicans Vote Their Values, Democrats Are Driven By Issues."