Posted on 11/24/2016 3:44:09 AM PST by Louis Foxwell
Did Identity Politics Doom the Dems?
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam.
The specter of identity politics is haunting the left. It shows up at teary-eyed election parties in Berkeley, debates over craft beers in Williamsburg and the editorial pages of the big opinion shaper papers.
No less an icon of the left than Bernie Sanders has been grumbling that his movement needs to reconnect with working people again. He even tentatively denounced identity politics. It is not good enough for somebody to say, Im a woman, vote for me. Bernie bears a grudge. Thats obvious. But the old Socialist has a history of spouting the old Socialist working class denunciations of immigration.
Bernie is really arguing that the Democrats ought to emphasize class more and race less. Similar left-wing squeaks have popped up in a handful of editorials. But they arent likely to travel very far.
The Democrats are losing the Rust Belt, just like they lost the South, because they have become an urban political machine. Identity politics is just urban organizing with a lot of left-wing lipstick on top. Bernies state is 95% white. Even Burlington hovers somewhere in the high eighties. Bernie can only organize around class because a coalition of minorities wouldnt get him to the nearest post office.
Identity politics beat Bernie in the Democratic primaries. But it might have cost Hillary the election. And now Trump is in a position to end the Democrats by cutting their immigration lifeline. The Dems have burned their bridges with the working class by gambling everything that they have on demographic change. If they change doesnt materialize, then they are trapped at the dead end of a short alley.
Thats the big problem the Democrats face. Identity politics with its hysterical outbursts of rage and specialized vocabulary of victimhood (privilege, victim-blaming, microaggressions) is toxic nationally, but dominates the academic and big city political populations that are its base. The Obama coalitions of millennial college leftists and disaffected minorities are passion voters whose turnout is unreliable and when they dont turn out, then the aspirations of the Dems become sand castles with a storm coming in.
Democrats went into this election convinced that the tide of demographic change was on their side. That tide depends heavily on immigration. If Trump secures the border, deports illegal aliens and revamps immigration to serve national interests, then the Democrats lose their demographic future.
And they realize it. Theyve gambled their political future on immigration. If immigration cant deliver the demographic changes that the left touted, then they will become a minority party.
The left used to oppose immigration. The Socialist Party inveighed against, "the immigration of strikebreakers and contract laborers, and the mass importation of workers from foreign countries brought about by the employing classes for the purpose of weakening the organization of American labor, and lowering the standard of life of American workers.
But the left shifted away from working class regions and toward urban areas. Its political organizing was no longer based on experiences rallying coal miners or fruit pickers, but bullying college students. Identity politics was ideal for big campuses where identity coalitions were even more powerful than in big cities. Voter turnout is laughably light. Those who do vote are more likely to carry political agendas.
Under Obama, campus politics went national. The Dems made the final shift from class to culture war. When Hillary first ran for the White House, she could juggle the traditional three races appeal. This time around she had to incoherently appeal to a bewildering range of angry identity groups.
The Obama coalition ran on passion politics. The minority half of the coalition needed someone representative. The campus half wanted hip inspiration. Hillary Clinton couldnt deliver either one.
But the lessons of her defeat arent lost on Democrats aspiring to higher office. Paying lip service to diversity is no longer enough. The only way to ensure minority turnout in national elections might be to have a minority politician at the top of the ticket. The future would belong to the Obama clones.
Bernie certainly understands the implications of that even if some Democrats dont. He could very well be the last white male with a serious shot of entering the White House as a Democrat. And hes strongly hinting that he would like to run again in 2020. Thats why he has to question identity politics.
Class over race means Bernie could still become the Dem nominee. Race over class could lock him out.
Thats also why Obama has reassured Dems that identity politics will eventually pay off, even if there might be the occasional setback along the way. Nevertheless the country will still be transformed. Bernie however has questioned whether a permanent Democratic majority would even be possible.
Without the prospect of a permanent majority through mass migration on the horizon, the Democrats have to consider abandoning identity politics and returning to tried and true class warfare.
But a retreat from identity politics may not even be possible.
Intersectionality is worlds away from the old racial pandering. The culture of identity outrage dominates left-wing messaging. The opposition to Trump leans heavily on victim politics rather than class. We are incessantly lectured on all the Muslim and illegal alien kiddies who go to bed crying because of him. This performance of passive aggressive victimhood has only disgusted even more of the country.
Identity politics is tethered to outrage and therefore is inherently unstable and alienating. Its based on a subjective experience that is deemed inaccessible to those with more privilege and yet it is an experience whose emotional outcomes are meant to govern our lives. Its a selfishly anti-intellectual creed that cannot be reasoned with because it derives from the recesses of personal emotion.
Its not an intellectual exercise, but a performance of personal suffering and outrage. And theres no way around it without jettisoning the crust of political correctness that makes victimhood sacred. Those who suffer the most are morally superior. Their whims and wishes must dominate the Dem agenda.
An older left could have made a compelling case for the victimhood of the unemployed coal miner, but no such creature exists in campus politics where there are 63 gender identities, but no white working class. The left has defined victimhood as the alienation experienced by those who are different. There is no room for oppressed majorities, only minorities. An ideology that once defined itself by labor is far more interested in charting the erratic emotions of unstable college kids than in the real problems of working people. It can relate to the former, but not the latter.
Democrats have to choose between identity politics and the working class. Abandoning identity politics would be a painful process while abandoning the working class has proven to be painless and disastrous. But identity politics without mass migration and social transformation is unworkable. Immigration determines the future of the Democrats. This election is forcing Democrats to make a choice.
Obamas identity politics preached that Republicans had to embrace identity politics or lose their ability to win national elections. But if the Democrats cant sustain the rate of demographic change that they need, their lost grip on the working class white vote may lock them out of the White House.
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Identity politics, all forced to identify with the truly hated & horrid, harridan Hillary ...LOL.
Leftist politics is all about negative reinforcement. They will thrive under Trump because they will find so much to hate.
The hate crowd is not as strong as the love crowd. Americans want to love Donald. If he can give them a few good strokes based on his campaign rhetoric he will be greatly loved.
As the Hillary fans were fond of telling us, "Love Trumps Hate." What we know is "Trump love trumps hate."
That is extraordinarily insightful. Another exhibition of Democrat stupidity....failure to factor in the fallout of their strategies. They're fanatical about winning no matter who loses.
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The smell of desperation to elect Hillary was everywhere. So all the loyal little Democrats marched in sync w/ the big democrat in the wh.
Obama paraded in millions of illegals to vote en masse and he spread around huge amts of govt money to fix the vote for Hillary.
<><> Obama and Congressional Democrats----w/ then-AG Eric Holder----gave NeighborWorks America (formerly ACORN), and blood-thirsty La Raza a huge funding source...our tax dollars.
<><> Obama/Holder/Dems extorted banks via DOJ litigation/bank settlements----these nefarious "diverse" liberal organizations got all the loot.
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BACKSTORY Obama and Congressional Democrats----with a huge assist from then-AG Eric Holder----gaven NeighborWorks America (formerly ACORN) and La Raza a huge funding source of tax dollars (to achieve Obama's dream of a permanent Democrat majority).
<><> Obama/Holder/Dems extorted banks via DOJ litigation/bank settlements----into paying off these nefarious organizations.
DOJ went after CitiCorp and ordered them to pay $50 million to La Raza and NeighborWorks America as part of the settlement.
Another clause in the agreement makes it possible for La Raza and NeighborWorks America to rake in even larger amounts of money.
Of the remaining money the banks needed to pay in settlements, the banks were able to contribute additional money to La Raza and NeighborWorks America. For every dollar they contribute, it reduces their debt to the government by 2 dollars. Thats some mighty powerful incentive to give generously.
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Trump should begin the detection/prevention/defunding of massive Democrat voter fraud orchestrated by identity groups.
I have to disagree with this. I mean, after all, Hillary wore those flashy, expensive pantsuits made out of oven mitt material that looked like a cross between a Mao suit and Captain Kangaroo's smock. And the angry screeching sound she made when speaking is just like a former boss, ex wife, or a buddy's mom that everyone can't stand. How could anyone not be inspired by that? /sarc (in case it's needed, for some reason)
Listening to them stone I don’t think they get this.
Please put me on the list. I do go to his blog directly as I love the way he thinks and writes. I thought I’d click through a few of the advertisers to up his stats. The top one was a Viagra ad. I thought I might need to reboot to get away from it. But after the second or third “are you sure?!” I managed to x out. (Whew! My mouse had early withdrawal and now it needs a cigarette.)
Excellent Analysis!
No, Daniel, Identity polictics did not doom “Dems”? Obama, Clinton, Reid & Pelosi, etd. have most successfully and fully destroyed the entire Democrat Party as a effective operating toll in USA politics!!! End of story!!!
Change your ways Democrats...now, or, die politically come, November, 2018!!!
Identity politics (also known as class warfare) is a cornerstone of dialectical Marxism. It is, by definition, the politics of division. So whenever you hear a liberal yammering about “unity” and “working together,” remind them that their founding principle is exactly the opposite. Left-wing sacraments like diversity and multiculturalism do NOTHING to promote unity or strength, but only serve to exaggerate differences and dilute resolve.
Hillaryous Rotten Criminal doomed dem ‘rats.
Identity politics has ruined the country.
I’m weary of it.
The so called “protected classes” makes some more important than others.
.
The dem party is made up of factions of people who don’t all get along with or even like each other.
I somehow don’t see the muslim crowd and the LGBT folks as being compatible under the same tent, and regardless of what Al Sharpton, JJ and Obama preach, blacks and latino’s aren’t enamored with each other either, etc.
LOL Funny.
You are now on the list
Happy Thanksgiving!
One of the best op eds from Greenfield.
Trump/Pence and their supporters can neutralize the dangerous left wingers for 16 years and get America back on track for real Americans. Greenfield addresses this reality below:
“Thats the big problem the Democrats face. Identity politics with its hysterical outbursts of rage and specialized vocabulary of victimhood (privilege, victim-blaming, microaggressions) is toxic nationally, but dominates the academic and big city political populations that are its base. The Obama coalitions of millennial college leftists and disaffected minorities are passion voters whose turnout is unreliable and when they dont turn out, then the aspirations of the Dems become sand castles with a storm coming in.
Democrats went into this election convinced that the tide of demographic change was on their side. That tide depends heavily on immigration. If Trump secures the border, deports illegal aliens and revamps immigration to serve national interests, then the Democrats lose their demographic future.
And they realize it. Theyve gambled their political future on immigration. If immigration cant deliver the demographic changes that the left touted, then they will become a minority party.”
Exactly on point. The Democrats were this close to succeeding, but the overplayed their hand, and now they are looking at an existential crisis. The white working class in the north has flipped, and locked up the Midwest for the GOP. The trend is likely to continue at least through the 2018 midterm, as those have been favorable to the GOP for a while now due to lower turnout among the Democratic base.
Then, Trump will cut off the spigot of new Democratic voters coming in via immigration. Add to that the loss of a few million more voters as Voter ID gets adopted across the land.
As the field for the 2020 elections shapes up for the Dem’s, they’ll be in crisis, with the identity politics crowd getting increasinly shrill, but anyone with sense realizing that they have to move away from that if they are to have a chance. But they can’t because they’ve cast identity politics as a question of moral good versus evil. There’s no compromise. Gonna need a lot of popcorn!
Being a Florida FReeper, I am sure that you are aware that the colors of the Seminole Nation are Black, Yellow, Red, and White. These four colors have always represented the four major racial divisions of humankind, and are echoed in the old Sunday School Song:
“Black and Yellow, Red or White,
They are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
This is how I was raised, and I am sure most Americans have had a similar experience.
Once again, Dan hits the nail on the head as he exposes “Identity Politics”. Instead of the unified “Medicine Wheel” of the four races of man centered around a Cross symbolizing the the Four Directions (North, East, South, and West), the Left has shattered the nation into tiny splinters called “Diversity”. The have changed “Out of Many, ONE” into “Out of ONE, many”.
With their crooked prism, they no longer see the bright, unified light of Freedom based upon individuals coming together, but have split us up into an infinite, confusing spectrum of scattered, aimless photons, each disdaining the others. They have even co-opted the Rainbow as their symbol.
One hopes that we will once again regain our focus as AMERICANS!
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