Identity Politics – Bad for America, but Good for Democrats | News, Sports, Jobs

WASHINGTON — If history were any guide, if the election were being held today on a scale of 1 to 100, Democrats would already have a 9-to-1 lead over former President Donald Trump. In our model, 10 percent would be the black vote and 90 percent would be the nonblack (predominantly white) vote.

It is not a question of issues or files, but only a question of political identity. Can this change?

It would take a substantial white and/or Hispanic vote win for Trump and/or a significant increase in black support for Trump. Otherwise, we will likely have a President Kamala Harris and a Vice President Tim Walz.

Democrats used black people and needed them to win elections. Democrats have not won the white vote in a presidential election since President Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Really. It was black people who gave the Democrats the upper hand.

Here's how: In a theoretical two-person race, you'd need over 50% of the vote to win. For the non-black group, you're already down 9 to 1 on 100 points. This is because over 90% of the black vote consistently goes to the Democratic candidate and less than 10% of the black vote goes to the Republicans. As a result, Democrats only need 41 more points (%) to reach 50 points (%). Republicans need 49 more points to reach 50.

If the 90% non-black (mostly white) group gives Trump a 6-point advantage, Trump would still lose if each group's turnout were the same. So a comfortable 48%-42% Trump win among non-blacks would still translate into a 51%-49% Democrat win.

Black support for a black presidential or vice presidential candidate can even be over 90% for Democrats. Former President Barack Obama received nearly 95% of the black vote in his 2012 election, and Biden-Harris received over 95% of the black female vote.

Harris was nominated for president. For the presidency, she did not receive a single vote from registered Democratic voters. This would be the second time she has not received a single vote in the Democratic primary. The first time, she edged out the others to win the vice presidential nomination. This time, she was anointed by President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party leadership and secured the presidential nomination in a matter of days. All others who have achieved that honor took months to achieve it.

The so-called “democratic process” Nominating a presidential candidate in 2024 looks more like what would happen for Russian President Vladimir Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping than what would happen for any modern American president.

Even when the Democratic Party leaders voted, Harris was the only name on the ballot. I’m sure the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro could have identified with that. And Putin and Xi Jinping would agree that “this is how it should be done” I say facetiously.

Identity politics is not new.

In Booker T. Washington's book “Getting out of slavery” He said he once asked former slaves how they would know who to vote for. They replied that if they learned what the whites were going to do, they would do the opposite.

Identity politics took a break for a few decades. In the 1950s, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, when he won, and Nixon, when he lost, both won a significant percentage, but not a majority, of the black vote.

The legendary civil rights activists of the 1960s didn’t boast about their political affiliation and achieved more for black Americans than ever before. They helped pass civil rights, voting rights, and fair housing laws. They ended segregation and racial discrimination.

Did the Democratic Party leadership do enough to earn over 90% of the black vote? If so, the liberal media, an arm of the Democratic Party, would have told you so.

But here's what they won't tell the black community:

Education

Republicans made federal financial aid to historically black colleges and universities permanent. Democrats could have done that, but they didn't.

In terms of school desegregation in the United States, Republicans have proposed free school choice, which was preceded by the successful creation of magnet schools during the Reagan administration. Black Democrats exercise free school choice for themselves, but deny it to their voters by supporting the powerful teachers unions that fund their campaigns.

Crime

To ensure we know exactly what happened during encounters between police and suspected or actual criminals, Republican Sen. Tim Scott has drafted legislation to make federal funding for police body cameras available nationwide.

The Second Chance Initiative for people leaving prison was put in place to help reduce recidivism. It was signed into law by Trump.

Urban revitalization

When it comes to improving the lives of our inner cities and the plight of inner city residents, Democrats have missed the mark. Over the decades, Republicans have given us Enterprise Zones, HUBZONES, and Opportunity Zones. HUBZONES have created billions of dollars of economic opportunity in inner city areas (I authored major portions of this legislation as part of the Urban Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act).

Closing the border, which so-called border czar Harris has ignored for three years, would help stop the flow of drugs into the United States and into the hands of drug traffickers, which has exacerbated gang-related murders in our cities. Republicans want a closed border.

Help for the poor

It was the Republicans who felt that the poor should not only be required to pay taxes, but that they should also have a low-income tax credit. Former President Ronald Reagan signed that law. Former President Bill Clinton signed a welfare reform bill, but it passed Congress thanks to the Republicans.

Civil rights

The last Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by GHW Bush in 1991. It passed with the largest majority ever, after a previous attempt was vetoed.

War and Peace

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. President George H. W. Bush asked General Colin Powell to use excessive military force to quickly remove Iraq from Kuwait. Biden-Harris used sanctions against Russia when it invaded Ukraine. Sanctions have failed for two years. Instead, we have lost lives and resources that could have been better used to help Americans.

Black Democratic leaders demonize their opponents and use tribalism to keep identity politics strong. For the black community, however, their results have been negligible.