The Biden regime, and Democrats in general, are well on their way to elevating the practice of pandering to identity politics to its logical extreme, that being the complete breakdown of meritocracy.
First, allow us to define terms. When we write of identity politics, we speak of the whole “looks like America” rubric in that any group must accurately reflect in terms of its numbers the racial, sexual, cultural breakdown of this land, or else be considered unacceptable.
Funny how the most strident advocates of this mandate have no problem with an NFL or NBA whose player rosters are not “looking like America.” Instead, they carp about coaches or front office positions not being representative.
Even Major League Baseball, oft-criticized for being “too white,” has Hispanics and Blacks over-represented as players compared to their percentage of the United States population.
Perhaps they are there because they have the talent, which would be a meritocracy. That is the formerly common goal and practice, in government and private industry, of putting the most qualified person available into a position, regardless of racial, sexual, or cultural breakdowns.
Identity politics and meritocracy cannot co-exist.
It is sadly amusing how those who honor identity politics as their first commandment are willing to waive it when it benefits them.
That’s how Clueless Joe got the job in the first place. He was the great compromise. The far-left types who of late control the Democratic Party, wanted wild-eyed socialist Bernie Sanders, but they realized, in an uncommonly sentient moment (something that is a rare occurrence for Clueless Joe) that Bernie could not win the election.
Never mind that the Clueless One was just another old white guy. He could win and keep the levers of powers in the hands of the left.
Similarly, the identity politics people were willing to check at the door their crusade to get a woman in general, and even better, a woman of color, a seat in the Oval Office. Kamala Harris, who would have trouble winning a race for dog catcher in a non-partisan precinct, could be slotted on the ticket as Biden’s vice president to throw a bone to progressives.
And, considering Biden’s advanced age and increasing mental frailties, should he fail completely, Harris could be slipped into the post without ever having to have won election to that office.
Alas, identity politics does not exist in a vacuum. When you put people of questionable qualification into jobs they appear unable to handle, there are unfortunate consequences.
Harris is a cackling, ill-informed gaffe machine almost any time she gets within spitting distance of a microphone. It’s chilling to think of her as president.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who seemingly got his post mostly due to being Hispanic (born in Havana, Cuba), is presiding over a continuing crisis at the border with Mexico, one that now has grown to include problems at the Canadian border under his slumber.
Secretary of Transportation, Pete Butt (something) is widely considered to have gotten his job mostly on the basis of him being openly gay and thereby filling a quota as the first person of that description to hold a cabinet post.
Pete’s been AWOL when weather crippled the nation’s air travel in December of last year and, more recently, a deer in the headlights, blaming Donald Trump for a toxic train derailment in Ohio and the painfully slow response from Pete’s people.
Although not technically a Biden pick, our U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, is a prime example of meritocracy being kicked to the curb. Fetterman suffered a stroke during his campaign and was kept under wraps to keep the public from realizing the extent of his impairment.
When he was forced to emerge for a debate with opponent Dr. Oz., Fetterman fumbled, bumbled and outright fabricated things like his past stance on fracking.
And still he was elected. Since then, Fetterman has checked into a hospital for ‘light-headedness” and more recently, for clinical depression, which a spokesman said he has suffered from in the past. Funny, I can’t recall that being shared pre-election, either.
Those bold enough to suggest Fetterman is not up to the challenge of serving in the Senate are mocked as “ableists,” another of those made-up labels which seems to mean one thinks a person without mental or physical disabilities might be able to do a better job. Imagine that!
Here’s a simple thought experiment that should help clarify the problem in general.
You are about to go into surgery for a life-threatening condition. Do you want the surgeon and assorted staff to be the best qualified people, regardless of race, creed, nationality, sexual orientation or other politically correct consideration, or do you want the operating room to look like America?
Example two: You are getting on an airplane for a lengthy journey. You peek into the cockpit. Do you want a pilot and co-pilot who are qualified and competent, or people put into those seats to fill a superficial quota that is defined by matters of race, nationality, sexual orientation or some other random litmus test?
You make the call.
Sam Ross Jr's site 