Identity Politics

IDENTITY POLITICS

When it comes to intersectionality in terms of identity, it is always both political and personal.

JOELLE BAYAA-UZURI

When it comes to actual politics, intersectionality and identity is seemingly used as a way to relate to voters and secure the coveted spot of Democratic 2020 frontrunner.

But as the battle amongst the Democrats trudges on, it seems like identity politics are only muddying the already murky waters of perhaps the most important political battles in our lifetime.

For the first time ever, our top ten Democratic candidates are somewhat indicative of the diversity of our country. Gone it seems are the days of solely white, cisgender male candidates. We have candidates that are female, queer, and people of color, that speak more to the current, intersectionality of our nation. But is their intersectional identity enough to propel them to frontrunner status in this tight political race? And has playing identity politics been a double-edge sword for the candidates?

The frontrunner has been Joe Biden, whose identity is more in line with the status quo. Biden has found mild success in tapping into the identity of former President, Barack Obama; attempting to channel Obama’s history and legacy from his presidency. This would, in part, combat some of Biden’s controversies; from his #MeToo tales of harassment to his 1970s support of school racial segregation.

Fast on Biden’s heels is Elizabeth Warren, who has shined in her fight against American class inequality (one which she has herself been accused of inadvertently supporting) and universal free/low-cost child care. Her own identity politics came under much criticism for her misuse and conflation of familial ‘Cherokee Heritage.’ This early misstep almost cost Warren severely.

While Warren supports modifying the current class system, Bernie Sanders seeks to completely undo it in the form of democratic socialism. Sanders, who has been mostly seen as a candidate for the people, has built his platform on championing lower/working class Americans. His own campaign staff, however, has been noted as being majority cis, white men.

When it came to identity politics, no one seemed to cash in on their identity more than Kamala Harris. Early on, Harris (born to Jamaican and Tamil Indian parents) attempted to use her minority identity to relate to voters. And it worked. At the start of the race, Harris was a strong contender and front runner. Unfortunately for Harris, playing identity politics blew up in her face. As a woman of color, Harris went under fire for her time as California’s attorney general, and how she failed to support legislation to put body cams on police officers. That wasn’t all, as Harris defended the Department of Corrections’ efforts to prevent transgender inmates from getting gender reassignment surgery and controversial child truancy fines (fining parents up to $2000 for children’s truancy from school) and California’s “three strikes” law (where felons could get 25 years to life for committing a third felony.). It seems like Harris’s record was full of contradictions, and it was those contradictions that knocked her out of front running.

It has been exciting to have an openly gay candidate, Pete Buttigieg. His failure to connect with African-American voters was not so exciting. His lack of resonance has him at zero percent amongst black voters for a few Southern state; despite scoring in or near double digits with whites.

Cory Booker is another candidate whose own “tough on crime” early politics affecting Newark’s black and brown communities has come back to haunt him as well.

The political race for the Democratic nomination for 2020 essentially comes down to identity politics. Identity is very tricky to maneuver with some candidates foregoing identity politics in favor of more policy and issue-based campaigns. Andrew Yang’s campaign aim to foster more entrepreneurship and Amy Klobucher’s more practical stance on law reform are two examples. Others have tried to walk the fine line, causing them to struggle in a crowded race. Beto O’Rourke, for one, has struggled to find his lane. Leading with identity has also had its share of problems. Harris, proudly touting her multiethnic background and throwing up ‘Wakanda Forever’ has shown that her track record doesn’t match her current stance. Even Biden, arguably the current frontrunner, using the legacy of our first African-American president hasn’t given him the edge he has hoped for.

The problem isn’t identity. The problem also isn’t necessarily policy. The problem is these candidates seem to be all over the place. Many of the candidates are too busy pandering to identity and shouting ‘I can beat Trump’ while failing to connect with voters on a genuine level.

The key is balance. It cannot be all about intersectional identity politics. While that is very important today, that underscores the importance of having the policies and campaign for change as well as a history that doesn’t contradict their present stance.

With a race so important and so close, identity isn’t enough. Identity won’t be enough to propel any candidate for the win. This race is both too personal and too political.