It seems increasingly common for me to find myself utterly confused by American politics. I have admittedly always liked Bernie Sanders and I liked his interview on Vermont Public Radio where addressed the upcoming presidential campaign. He said “We have got to look at candidates, you know, not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or their gender and not by their age. I mean, I think we have got to try to move us toward a nondiscriminatory society, which looks at people based on their abilities, based on what they stand for.” If that would seem like an unassailable and uncontroversial statement, guess again.
Advocates of identity politics responded with outrage that Sanders would want candidates judged entirely by the merits and not their race, gender or sexual orientation. Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress was apoplectic on Twitter, “At a time where folks feel under attack because of who they are, saying race or gender or sexual orientation or identity doesn’t matter is not off, it’s simply wrong.”
The New York Post also quotes former Clinton aide Jess McIntosh chimed in, “This is usually an argument made by people who don’t enjoy outsized respect and credibility because of their race, gender, age and sexual orientation.” Then there is Stephen Colbert snarked, “Yes, like Dr. King, I have a dream—a dream where this diverse nation can come together and be led by an old white guy.”
So instead Colbert believes D.r King would want people to judge leaders on the basis for their skin? Indeed, Colbert would presumably mock Dr. King for saying something so facially absurd as “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
The Democrats are clearly all-in on identity politics despite the fact that it is viewed by many as inherently discriminatory and divisive.
It is a reminder that the best thing going for Trump in the 2020 election remains the Democratic establishment.