The racial realignment is a humiliation for white liberals-Opinion
By: Peter Laffin
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
In the aftermath of the George Floyd killing in the summer of 2020, a sea of middle-class white protesters in my former hometown of Denver ritualistically writhed and moaned face-down on the grass for nine minutes in a park. It's difficult to believe in hindsight that such creepy and transparent virtue-signaling ever took place. But middle-class white liberals were in a tailspin at the time. The often contradictory codes of "woke" social etiquette had knotted their brains; they were simultaneously confused and fighting mad, and above all, they were desperate to appear to be standing on the "right side of history." So strong was this urge as they packed into the park in Denver that day that even the rules of social distancing were suspended, as well as the science™ upon which they were based.
These folks have come to mind frequently in recent weeks as a spate of newly released polls on minority voter preferences suggest unprecedented levels of minority support for — gulp — former President Donald Trump and his Republican Party. Indeed, if these surveys are to be believed, American politics is undergoing a racial realignment unseen since the passage of the Civil Rights Act. In response to nearly a decade of white liberal virtue-signaling and pearl-clutching over a supposedly racist and xenophobic politician, minority voters appear to be ditching their self-appointed saviors en masse.
Numerous polls signal the shift. The latest New York Times/Siena poll shows Trump not merely closing the gap with Hispanic voters, but running ahead of President Joe Biden with Hispanics by 6 points. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll also found Trump in the lead with Hispanics by a single point, while a new poll by the American Principles Project found Trump and Biden running even with Hispanics in swing states.
This is, of course, the same Trump who white liberals compared to Hitler for proposing a southern border wall and using the term "bad hombres" during a 2016 presidential debate. And yet, in the preceding years, Hispanic voters have shifted meaningfully toward Trump. He lost the Hispanic vote by 36 points in 2016, but he cut the deficit to 21% in 2020. And if recent polls that show an even split between Trump and Biden are even close to correct, the turnaround will rank as among the most consequential political storylines of the century.
Black voters also appear to be trending toward Trump. Recent data released by Gallup show that the percentage of black voters who self-identify as Republicans is at the highest level this century. While still only at 19%, the number is vastly improved from Trump's 2016 vote share, which saw him take only 6% of the black vote nationally. Again, if this trend is even close to correct, Trump will win the presidency handily in November.
Given the constant accusations of racism Trump has drawn since appearing on the national stage, in addition to the Left's extravagant commitment to radical racial politics such as Ibram X. Kendi's vision of "antiracism," it is impossible to overstate how humiliating these surveys are. White liberals have somehow managed to repel the very people with whom they desperately sought allegiance.
Some may be quick to credit Trump for successfully expanding the demographic tent of the Republican Party — and in truth, it's impossible to argue otherwise. However, Democrats deserve the lion's share of credit for driving away their own base. Their governing record on topics of importance to minority communities is abysmal. Indeed, black and Hispanic families have suffered from school closures, skyrocketing food costs, and open borders that have resulted in cities being flooded with undocumented immigrants. These voters are also concerned by the increasingly radical positions championed by white liberals on matters of sex and gender, particularly in relation to education. And they are turned off by the constant demonization of religion and traditional values, since they are more likely to attend weekly religious services than their white counterparts.
But perhaps more damaging to the Democratic brand has been the constant and grating racial pandering, which is often subtler than the cringey exhibition in Denver. For instance, a recent study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that white liberals "dumb down" their speech when speaking to racial minorities, while conservatives speak the same way to everyone. This "competence downshift" tracks well with the racialist ideas of prominent corporate DEI consultant Robin DiAngelo: Since the summer of 2020, white liberals have been conditioned to "see race" and adjust their behavior accordingly. Conservatives, on the other hand, have persisted in the stodgy idea of treating people equally regardless of race. It isn't hard to see why minority voters have increasingly drifted into the company of the latter.
CNN analyst Van Jones famously described Trump's election in 2016 as a "whitelash." One wonders: What term will he choose to describe a Trump reelection with increased minority support? A "blacklash," perhaps? A "non-whitelash"?
More important is whether or not white liberals will actually listen to this growing chorus of dissident minority voices. My guess is they will continue to ignore minorities who don't behave the way they'd like them to — and that they will pay for it at the polls.
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A 'grift-lash.' Some Black conservatives love power, money, influence and are willing to give up or sideline their people's needs to get it.
(See for example: Clarence Thomas who is dead to the people he could/should have represented for the past 30 plus years. He is a conservative 'darling' more attuned to conservativism than he is to the progress that aided him. Even as " affirmative action " helped place him in a position to be seen by the powerful president who gave him a life-time appointment to the Supreme Court.) President George HW Bush, gave "Justice" Thomas the honor of replacing a champion of civil rights. . . Justice Thurgood Marshall and this is what Thomas does and continues his intentions to do with it:
Do any Black liberals love power, money or influence?
Did Clarence Thomas suddenly turn blacks into republicans after 35 years?
Is that why Marshall & Thomas & Jackson were appointed? Simply to represent 13% of the population as Justices?
Wouldn't that make them, as one of our leftists members calls them, "Token" Justices?
Marshall being the exception.
You know, this is interesting only as a moment in time before a big November election. Matters are starting to shift into gear across the board. People are beginning to focus on the candidates more. As for Blacks who support Trump - okay. It proves a point: Some portion of Black people can grift (with the best of grifters) too! A certain percentage of all people groups can and will sell their souls for power, fame, and influence.
Now to the point I wish to make. Some conservatives talk about being color-blind. It's a bait and switch strategy to get votes from the misinformed and ignorant minorities; who do not realize that this so-called, "color-blindness" is nothing more than code-talk for putting in substitute labels: Liberal and Conservative. Now we have harsh, cruel, punishing political battles over liberals not being suitably up to conservative standards. And, the same attacks of old have been coded and still take place under a different guise.
The liberals are diverse and healthy in their ranks with percentage of all racial groups and the conservatives are predominantly white. Thus, no true movement has occurred in the conservative conscience as we all know for a fact watching MAGAs purge anyone from the GOP who does not toe the predominantly white ethos that promises it won't change. But, actually is moving backward to re-establish the country as it was before Blacks were so-called 'advanced' enough to imagine they could be mainstream Americans.
So yes, let's continue this experiment in blacks walking up to and touching the hot-iron of predominantly white conservatism and let's see where it get them.
Thought of the Day: Some conservatives don't want black people around them for their culture or individuality. MAGAs want them for their numbers: their votes. To become carbon copies of themselves in a black 'outfit.'
After which, these black "conservatives" will sooner or later (hopefully sooner) see that they are just new 'spokes' in the conservative wheel churning out policies that make whiteness even more of the standard for the country (which is predicted to be 50/50 evenly mixed between Whites and Minorities in the near future) even as black conservatives become forgotten and absorbed into a type of conservative politics that neither respects their 'blackness' but now chooses to erase 'blackness' from their minds.
People like to try new things. It's normal. So either one of two situations are 'brewing':
1. Black conservatives crossing over into the GOP are going to be 'strong' and compel change that MAGAs can't fathom from where they stand looking down the road today, or
2. Black conservatives crossing over into conservatism are going to lose themselves to a 'White' standard that so dilutes their essences that they won't matter to any cause any longer. Least of all their own worthy cause or causes. (See Herman Cain—deceased due to Covid-19 exposure 'trusting' in MAGA conservatism to keep himself alive.)
BTW, since we're on the subject. Donald Trump tried telling our liberal Jewish brethren that they should become MAGAs and toe the line under the control of Donald Trump. Here is where the 'ask' gets interesting: MAGAs are not asking Jews to ignore/discount/go "unWoke" about being Jewish.
Don't ask Blacks to forget about their black self-awareness and culture. . . MAGAs you will similarly fail.
Gee, I thought it was Martin Luther King's dream.
Dr. King aspired to a true democracy and a true color-blind society with inclusion, equity/equality, and diversity in this country of ours. Something MAGA is currently mocking and using legislation in red-states to fight against. Also, Dr. King fought the fight for social justice - another in the series of things MAGAs are currently mocking and poo-pooing.
Even an cursory look around it becomes obvious that it's something the liberal left is completely against.
So few words that fall flat. Yet another 'golden' opportunity to write meaningful commentary wasted.
And yet you haven't proven any of them wrong.