Will the Left Ever Stop Using Identity Politics?

On Monday night, a large protest was organized in front of the Supreme Court, in response to President Trump’s executive order temporarily barring refugees from certain countries from entering the United States. Led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other Congressional Democrats, the protest was predictably exposed as nothing more than a classic Leftist demonstration, for the sole purpose of protesting Trump.

A major takeaway from the protest was the blatant exploitation of identity politics. Since Trump’s executive order targeted seven majority-Muslim countries, the Democrat reaction was predictably to call it a “Muslim Ban” and to exploit Muslims as a minority for the party’s own political gain. After Pelosi spoke at the protest, she called up Democrat Congressman Andre Carson from Indiana to speak, while making sure to add that Carson is a Muslim in introducing his speech. Pelosi stated, “Now we’ll hear from Andre Carson, a Muslim member of Congress.”

But even this wasn’t good enough for Pelosi. Carson introduced himself, stating “Greetings from the great state of Indiana. I’m Congressman Andre Carson!” Pelosi proceeds to whisper to Carson, “Tell them you’re a Muslim!” Luckily, a hot mic caught her in the act.

Of course, Pelosi is not the only Democrat to use this political tool. Hillary Clinton, while campaigning for President, would change accents while giving speeches, depending on her audience. While in the South, she was asked what her favorite food was, and to pander to the crowd, she answered “hot sauce.” There was also a Clinton email exposed via WikiLeaks detailing her cabinet should she win the presidency, which read “EPA: Likely an African American (and/or at Education).”

This is a disgraceful tactic, but it is nothing new. The Left uses minorities as pawns frequently, and Pelosi blatantly exposed the Left’s view of minorities. It didn’t matter what Carson had to say, but what group he belonged to. While the Right views all Americans as equal, based on the content of their character, the Left separates them into different minority groups and voting blocs. This allows the Democrat party to pander to these groups and own them as permanent Democrat voters, no matter what these individuals’ personal values and political beliefs are. Either vote Democrat, or you’re a traitor to your race.

The Left does not care if their policies work for these minority groups. For example, they will use social welfare programs as “proof” that they are compassionate and care about certain groups, particularly blacks, even though poverty, crime and single-parenthood have skyrocketed since the Great Society was enacted by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. Whether these policies work is not the concern of the Left. The goal of the Left is to advance their agenda and will use whatever means necessary and exploit whoever they need to.

But we need to remember that above all, no matter our race, religion, or sexual orientation, we are all Americans. We cannot allow ourselves to be separated into minority blocs. It will only destroy the vision of the melting pot that our great country was founded upon.