Every time identity politics is in the headlines rather than wages or health care, Donald Trump’s re-election chances go up. As Tony Blair said recently: “If you put right-wing populism against left populism, right-wing populism will win.”
This issue is not a winner for the left. It at least appears to pit the interests of Asian-Americans against African-Americans, and fractures what might have been a winning coalition. It makes a mockery of phrases like “people of color,” because they obscures some real and important differences. Attempts to be more fair to one group will, in practice, involve hypocrisy and unfair treatment toward other groups. As Harvard targeted admissions for Blacks, Asian-Americans and Jews found it harder to get in.
The winning issues for the Democrats are about social services, education, health care, and stagnant wages--anything that pits the 1% against the 99%.
At www.bloomberg.com
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