Actually, the Democrats Don’t Care About Identity
The Democrats like to trumpet their commitment to group representation and multicultural sensitivity. But they’re happy to throw those principles overboard if it will help them attack the Left.
Ilhan Omar speaking at a Democratic campaign rally at the University Minnesota, October 2016. Lorie Shaull / Wikimedia Commons.
There’s a simple narrative out there about the current political battle lines. On one side there’s a Left that thinks class and economics are the only things that matter, and that diversity and issues around race, gender, and the like are completely unimportant. On the other, establishment liberals and the Democratic Party believe that representation, social justice, and, for lack of a better term, issues of identity should take primacy.
Except none of this is true.
Leave aside the mischaracterization of the Left’s position. Is it really the case that Democrats and prominent liberals care most about identity and representation?
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