Should the Democratic Party disavow identity politics?

[Cashew]

No, the Democrats need to give minorities a reason to vote for them.

Actually no, you don't.

Blacks shifted support to the democratic party during the election of FDR, in spite of his silence on civil rights and being in the same party as southern democrats. why?
The new deal, and expansion of the welfare state. This claim that minority support will somehow collapse is nonsensical.

Minority support did collapse in 2016. They didn't suddenly switch to the Republicans, but they voted in lower numbers.

And you blame Clinton for this?

But seriously, you do realize that is more of millennial issue than a race pandering issue. Blacks under 30 are closer ideologically to Bernie sanders than Clinton, and so if anything the blame falls on her faction of the party for failing to inspire to them.

[hopper]

So, in an attempt to appeal to the white working class, the Democratic Party should abandon all discussion of minority-centered issues, thereby practically eliminating any national voice for underpriviliged communities. What I'm hearing is that, unless the discussion revolves around white people and their issues, then it should not be discussed for the sake of not offending white sensibilities. What could possibly be wrong with that?

This might come as a surprise to you, but the American political system is biased in favor of rural whites.

You might be fine with Dems being permanently locked out of legislatures, and having the United States vote like mississippi, but the rest of us are not.

Was the American Political System biased for rural whites in 2008 and 2012? I'm sure Republicans could say the Electoral College was biased in 2012 in favor of big states like CA, and NY.

I don't want the United States to become like Mississippi because we need a functional 2 party system.

[hopper]

I think the whole thing about white people being racist is pissing white people off. Just stop it already. Its sort of like Republicans saying bad things about Hispanics. They did stop doing that until Trump came along.

[ApatheticAustrian]

I think the whole thing about white people being racist is pissing white people off. Just stop it already. Its sort of like Republicans saying bad things about Hispanics. They did stop doing that until Trump came along.

if actual racists say racists things or non-racists say racist thing to pander to actual racists....there must be a way to call this out as bad or dangerous.

if there is not, liberal democracy itself is in danger.

[Frodo]

I think the whole thing about white people being racist is pissing white people off. Just stop it already. Its sort of like Republicans saying bad things about Hispanics. They did stop doing that until Trump came along.

I understand it's human nature to not like to be called out as a bigot, but hey, if the shoe fits...

[ApatheticAustrian]

I think the whole thing about white people being racist is pissing white people off. Just stop it already. Its sort of like Republicans saying bad things about Hispanics. They did stop doing that until Trump came along.

I understand it's human nature to not like to be called out as a bigot, but hey, if the shoe fits...

it's true that some people think the shoe fits too often.

and some people think, the shoe literally only fits if you wear a swastika.

[tallguy23]

You can talk about minority rights without alienating the WWC.

[Cashew]

So, in an attempt to appeal to the white working class, the Democratic Party should abandon all discussion of minority-centered issues, thereby practically eliminating any national voice for underpriviliged communities. What I'm hearing is that, unless the discussion revolves around white people and their issues, then it should not be discussed for the sake of not offending white sensibilities. What could possibly be wrong with that?

This might come as a surprise to you, but the American political system is biased in favor of rural whites.

You might be fine with Dems being permanently locked out of legislatures, and having the United States vote like mississippi, but the rest of us are not.

Was the American Political System biased for rural whites in 2008 and 2012? I'm sure Republicans could say the Electoral College was biased in 2012 in favor of big states like CA, and NY.

I don't want the United States to become like Mississippi because we need a functional 2 party system.

The thing is that many blue avatars on atlas seem to dream of having a cosmopolitan democratic party.

Assuming they succed, they will be in for a huge disappointment once they realize how unreliable their coalition is at turnout, how easily urban areas can be gerrymandered into irrelivance, not to mention how vulnerable they are making themselves to voter supression by concentrating in certain areas.

This is the most fragile coalition one could dream of!

[Associate Justice PiT]

You can talk about minority rights without alienating the WWC.

     You most certainly can, but the left is a long ways off from mastering this, or even fully accepting that it is a serious failing on their part.

[Tartarus Sauce]

I will say that they will if by disavow, you mean the same policies said without being offensive to people we are offended by.

This. You can build up one group without tearing down another.

[Hifly]

Is it identity

Only if you don't have a problem throwing women and minorities under the bus in some misguided and morally bankrupt attempt to attract the WWC.

This; the majority of centre left/democrats I know embrace 'identity politics' because of a genuine desire to ensure that black/lgbtq/latino people have equal rights, and equal access to opportunity

Labour Students are very different to the sort of individual you may encounter on the doorstep or in the CLP.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Obviously not, but if they do and end up nominating Bernie Sanders, it would be very tempting and fun to support Jill Stein.

[Marokai Backbeat]

All politics is, to some extent, identity politics.

[m4567]

All politics is, to some extent, identity politics.

Agreed.

[ApatheticAustrian]

ofc the part of "white rural righteous rage against the godless cities and its elites" would be against identity politics.

[Mercenary]

It depends what one means by identitity politics.

If you just mean support for affirmative action and a desire that colleges, governmental offices, etc have a diversity that is equivalent with the public as a whole in an order to support equal status of minorities then that is fine.

If it means you go about calling all white people racists just because they are white and saying you have white guilt and automatically dismiss highly qualified candidates because they are not a minority while specificallly only selected someone because they are a half-hispanic half-black lesban transgeder muslim then it is un indeed something that should be dropped.

These kind of things are a good example why a two party system is necessary, keep the craziness in check. A lot of the extremists on the liberal side have some pretty kooky ideas. While they may not be as downright abhorrent as the alt-right, they are still lunatics that shouldnt get their way either.

[rafta_rafta]

The only party indulging in identity politics is the GOP which nominated a candidate who campaigned based on racism and fanned the fears of the white working class

[JerryArkansas]

The only party that really plays Identity Politics is the one who tried for eight years to discredit the first black president, the party that calls poor black and hispanics moochers.  Who run racist campaigns every year, and now run openly racist ones.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The only party that really plays Identity Politics is the one who tried for eight years to discredit the first black president, the party that calls poor black and hispanics moochers.  Who run racist campaigns every year, and now run openly racist ones.

Wow you've really turned on Hillary Clinton since she screwed the pooch.

[JerryArkansas]

The only party that really plays Identity Politics is the one who tried for eight years to discredit the first black president, the party that calls poor black and hispanics moochers.  Who run racist campaigns every year, and now run openly racist ones.

Wow you've really turned on Hillary Clinton since she screwed the pooch.

Why is the racist trying to be a lector on what is and isn't racist.

[hopper]

The only party that really plays Identity Politics is the one who tried for eight years to discredit the first black president, the party that calls poor black and hispanics moochers.  Who run racist campaigns every year, and now run openly racist ones.

I don't think the Republican Party as a whole called Hispanic and Black People moochers.  The Dems always bring race up until this year when Trump said what he said about Mexicans.

The whole Republicans vs Obama thing I think is a bunch of he said this than he said that kind of thing.

About Trump running a racist campaign the Establishment never really found a candidate to support so he wasn't "the parties candidate" per say but now he is their parties president! I think Trump is more of a protest to the Establishment in both parties not just to the Republican Establishment.