2018-03-21

America Will Have Identity Politics Until It Breaks Up

Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Democratic, Republican voter bases are more different than ever, study finds
The Democrats have changed the most, as the mix of voters who support them has grown less white, less religious, more college-educated, younger and more liberal over the past decade, according to the study by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.

Republican voters, by contrast, more closely reflect the demographics of an earlier, mostly white, Christian America. In one regard, the party’s voters have actually stepped slightly back in time — Republicans are less likely today than a decade ago to be college graduates, Pew found. That’s a striking fact in a country that has steadily grown more college-educated.

“Republicans have not changed as the country has changed,” said Carroll Doherty, Pew’s director of political research.
The victory of identity politics is due to diversity. White Americans increasingly view themselves as a distinct cultural, ethnic and religious group, just as African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians do. Identity politics couldn't exist in a non-diverse America because both sides shared culture, ethnicity and religion. Identity politics made no sense when Democrat party was mostly white, but those white Democrats are not only old, but also getting defeated as minorities have enough power to elect their own people in Democrat primaries. The left's (and some of the center-right's) response to the rise of identity on the right is to call those whites even more racist. Which only serves to reinforce identity politics. It is a self-reinforcing cycle that is accelerating. Social mood is trending negative, meaning Americans will be looking for more ways to fight each other in the years ahead.

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