“I am white and I can’t help but think that if I were Black, AA would embarrass me. I’d be thinking that no matter how hard I worked, everyone would be thinking I used my skin color to get an advantage.”
Absolutely, it damages those it supposedly helps.
I overheard a conversation just this evening, two men discussing a difficult professor, and one said to the other disdainfully, “he’s probably just an affirmative action hire.”
So any “disadvantaged” person who achieves anything is assumed to be at his post due to affirmative action - not due to his qualifications.
One consolation I have kept to myself is that as much as I hate Mittens, our justified stance of his not being conservative might pan out with actual Democrats who actually want zero OUT but will more easily vote for a middle of the road R.
So, my prescription would be to DOUBLE DOWN with attacks on mitt’s liberalism, rooftop to rooftop, in a way that lures right-leaning rats and independents.