# Identity politics---balkanization? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 26, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361 "2020-07-26T03:08:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/21 "2020-07-26T19:43:59Z")
Too late, we are discussing now how to remove [the weakest link](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/politics/trump-white-house-racial-unrest-leadership/index.html) in our efforts to prevent America being torn apart. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/22 "2020-07-26T19:44:38Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > **The Republican Party nationally, but mostly in the South and the Midwest will be aiming to turn out every single Caucasian vote as needed. They can’t afford to lose Caucasian votes.** > > **The Democratic Party feeds off of identity politics, that is their forte.** You really don’t see it, do you? ---
**Author:** ![Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankees_1996_Champs)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/23 "2020-07-26T22:05:35Z")
What I am saying is that both parties play identity politics, but the Democrats play it more because that is all they offer. Independents like me know that there is a race problem in America, but it does not have to be so racially balkanized. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/24 "2020-07-26T23:46:52Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > What I am saying is that both parties play identity politics, but the Democrats play it more because that is all they offer. What do you base that on? The only evidence I’ve ever seen that the Democrats are focused on identity politics is that it’s something Republicans keep saying over and over. I’ve never heard the actual evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankees_1996_Champs)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/25 "2020-07-27T00:31:55Z")
> **[Buttigieg calls out Democrats for playing 'identity politics'](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/buttigieg-calls-out-democrats-playing-identity-politics-n1004706)** > > In a risky speech to the Human Rights Campaign, a major LGBT rights group, Buttigieg warned of a “crisis of belonging in this country.” > **[Andrew Yang says identity politics is a 'counterproductive' way for Democrats...](https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-yang-identity-politics-counterproductive-way-democrats-campaign-2020-1)** > > "Identity politics, as it's used in many contexts, serves to highlight differences and separate Americans from each other," Yang told Insider. ---
**Author:** ![Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankees_1996_Champs)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/26 "2020-07-27T00:34:05Z")
> **[The danger of identity politics: Democrats are traveling down a dangerous road](https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-the-danger-of-identity-politics-20190917-7t2b672tpnhxjm3sj6oubqnirm-story.html)** > > The best thing the Democratic Party has going for it right now is President Trump. Were he not running for reelection, I might vote for a Republican. It would be only the second time in my life — I once voted for John Lindsay as mayor of New York —... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/27 "2020-07-27T00:39:34Z")
Okay, let me make my question clearer. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What do you base that on? The only evidence I’ve ever seen that the Democrats are focused on identity politics is that it’s something Republicans and some other people keep saying over and over. I’ve never heard the actual evidence. I’m asking you to do more than just repeat what other people are saying. Tell us what you think. What is it that you are saying identity politics is? What is it that the Democratic Party is doing that you say is identity politics? What would the Democratic Party be doing differently if it was not doing identity politics? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/28 "2020-07-27T00:44:36Z")
[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/ny/new\_york\_trump\_vs\_biden-7040.html](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/ny/new_york_trump_vs_biden-7040.html) RCP Average 4/30 - 6/25 – – Biden: 56.0 Trump: 32.0 Biden +24.0 [https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/nj/new\_jersey\_trump\_vs\_biden-7193.html](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/nj/new_jersey_trump_vs_biden-7193.html) RCP Average 4/16 - 5/4 – – Biden: 54.7 Trump: 35.3 Biden +19.4 And nationally, after all that pearl clutching, Biden is ahead of Trump by 8 points. Mind you, it is not just identity politics that is telling the people that Trump needs to go, a lot now is thanks to the dismal way Trump is handling the pandemic and the race issues. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/29 "2020-07-27T03:01:26Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > What I am saying is that both parties play identity politics, but the Democrats play it more because that is all they offer. So Obamacare, Dodd-Frank and the consumer protection bureau are identity politics? ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/30 "2020-07-27T04:01:20Z")
Identity politics? Its been going on for 250 years. Patriot or Loyalist? Union or Confederate? Communist or Labor Union Supporter? Racist or Republican? Bill Clinton supporter or Sexist? ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/31 "2020-07-27T06:09:31Z")
correction, 2500 years ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/32 "2020-07-27T15:40:13Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > I don’t think America is ready for a Black woman vice president right now. > Not in these racialized time with Trump pushing a 1968 redux. If not now, when? And what’s the big deal? And if you’re making it about a black woman VP, aren’t you guilty of playing identity politics? > [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > Biden would do well in picking a Black man to complement and balance the ticket. I guess it depends on what you mean by “balance”. Most people would think that a black younger woman serves as a perfect balance to a White older man. > [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > _If America wasn’t ready for Hillary, Ferraro, Palin, Warren and Klobuchar, what makes you think America will be ready for a Black woman president if Biden passes away due to stress?_ America needs to be dragged into the 21st century. > [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > Condi Rice didn’t run… Condi Rice is a Republican and retired from politics. Why are you trying to drag her back into something she wants no part of? > [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > If Biden’s VP runs on her own in 2024, Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley will destroy her. She will have to be ready. Only thing Cotton and Hawley will be destroying in 2024 is a large nacho platter. We’re not even done with 2020 and you’re already picking losers 4.5 years out. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/33 "2020-07-27T15:51:54Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > If not now, when? And what’s the big deal? And if you’re making it about a black woman VP, aren’t you guilty of playing identity politics? Oh, it’s not Yankees\_1996\_Champs, it’s the Italian-Americans on Long Island that work for the NYPD. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/34 "2020-07-27T16:04:29Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Oh, it’s not Yankees\_1996\_Champs, it’s the Italian-Americans on Long Island that work for the NYPD. Oh, right. As goes Long Island, so goes… well… just [Long Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Long_Island#:~:text=The%20current%20District%20Attorneys%20of,Democrat%20elected%20with%20Conservative%20Party) actually. > The current District Attorneys of both Suffolk and Nassau are Democrats, the current County Clerks of both counties are Republicans, the current Comptroller of Nassau is a Democrat, the current Comptroller of Suffolk is a Republican and **the current Sheriff of Suffolk is a Democrat elected with Conservative Party support** ; Nassau County does not have an elected Sheriff. > > Democrats currently hold a 10 to 8 majority in the Suffolk County Legislature, the Republicans currently hold a 11 to 8 majority in the Nassau County Legislature. The bolded part should remove any concern @Yankees_1996_Champs might have over LI law enforcement supporters backing away from Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/35 "2020-07-27T16:17:40Z")
I remember being told the same thing in 2016 - that Hillary Clinton only cared about identity politics and pandering to minority groups, not the issues that affect “real Americans”. Never mind that it wasn’t remotely true - the issue Clinton spent the most time and effort on by far was jobs - but the Republicans and their overseas friends pushed it hard anyway. And now here this narrative is again, coming to the fore and festering like a persistent cold sore. And OP is doing his darnedest to make sure we all see it. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/36 "2020-07-27T17:50:05Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > The Democratic Party spends it’s entire time talking about Black women VP Nonsense. If your particular choice of news sites doesn’t mention Democrats talking about anything else, you need some different news sites. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/37 "2020-07-27T17:58:29Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Nonsense. > > If your particular choice of news sites doesn’t mention Democrats talking about anything else, you need some different news sites. Wouldn’t it just be easier to google “Democrats + Identity Politics” and then post news sources from May 2019 to January 2020? Don’t even need to spend time reading them for context as long as you can leave the door open to counter criticism by saying you previously linked to a 15 month old NBC news article of a former Democratic candidate’s campaign speech. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/38 "2020-07-27T18:10:01Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Wouldn’t it just be easier to google “Democrats + Identity Politics” and then post news sources from May 2019 to January 2020? Don’t know why you’re quoting me on that. If Yankees\_1996\_Champs goes looking for sites talking about identity politics, that’s what they’re going to get; which is the exact opposite of what I said they ought to do. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/39 "2020-07-27T18:12:16Z")
Um… I was agreeing with you. Sorry I wasn’t clear. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361/40 "2020-07-27T18:20:49Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > The Democratic Party spends it’s entire time talking about Black women VP, etc. Here’s the [Democratic Party website](https://democrats.org/), and here’s their [platform for 2020](https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/). Seems to me that, rather than spending their “entire time” talking about “Black women VP”, they’re talking about a lot of other things that aren’t that at all. In fact, I can’t find mention of “Black women VP” anywhere. Maybe you’re talking about a different Democratic Party? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-politics-balkanization/916361.md?page=3)