Not really. I understand how people can read it & assume it’s an argument for the same exact thing. It’s not! I don’t believe identity politics- i.e. you are black, therefore...you have to vote this way/ racial solidarity; this is the party of women’s issues; etc. I will never support racial mandates & the like. I still believe the most important aspect for a candidate should be their beliefs & values.
However, I don’t have a problem taking factors into account. We always have. Weve always advocated sticking runningmates from specific states or regions on a ticket to help win over those voters. “Hey, he could help us in the midwest!” That is, in a sense, an identifier. Lord knows the appeal of Trump was toward winning over working class whites- that the GOP used to struggle with. I’m not advocating that we should champion different values or opinions in order to win. I am arguing that just like picking a New Englander with a strong mid-atlantic accent could definitely sway New England erst & a Pennsylvanian could help sway Pennsylvania.
There were a lot of people that didn’t want to vote Biden bc they wanted someone younger. In a sense that could be “identity”. But it’s not- in the sense of Democrat identity politics. If we are being honest, the fact that they take into account someone’s gender or race isn’t the thing th as t bugs us so badly. What is wrong about their identity politics is that they believe people of a certain gender, race, sexuality, etc. are only allowed to belong to a specific set of ideas & political party. It asks you to elevate your gender, race, etc. above your Americanism. Th a ts vile to me.
We shouldn’t mistakenly assume, however, that people don’t respond to seeing faces like their own. They do & we all know it. I am a female. I’m also a traditionalist conservative. I’m happy to see men in charge. I can tell you, though, that it’d be nice to see super conservative women on a ticket. This movement & it’s members, by nature, & likely without realizing it, end up choosing white males out of habit because of their own identity as white males. 40% of the country is non-white; 60% is white; males are half that number- 30%. If you are only willing to elect from a pool of 30%, the other 70% will pass us by. That’s reality! 😳
“”I am a female.””
As am I and I’ve voiced my opinion many times about women in politics.. I had a long working career and was happiest in any job with a man for a boss as opposed to a woman.
In years past, it - “they” - weren’t so bad but somewhere along the way, women in any power position turned out to be obnoxious people with only a few exemptions...THAT has also been a thread for discussion in the past month...We thought of Thatcher and Meir as the only exceptions..Too bad we couldn’t find some like them now!! I’ve digressed, I know but I jump in when the water is right...
LBJ was JFK’s running mate for the very reason you mentioned. Good points in your post - thanks.