The DEI Trap

Kamala Harris’s sudden ascendancy within the Democrat Party, with nary a peep from other ambitious Democrats, spotlights the uncomfortable contradictions of identity politics and the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement. 

Americans universally believe that everyone should have a fair shot at opportunities regardless of sex or race, which is why the kind of racism and sexism that was once so prevalent is so rare today.

Americans in 2024 embrace multiculturalism and diversity. This is the reason diversity and inclusion programs became ubiquitous. There’s virtue and no harm in gentle reminders to be sensitive and inclusive in light of our diversity. After all, our national motto is e pluribus unum.

Today’s Democratic Party, however, rejects this positive view of American progress. Democrats claim that America remains institutionally racist and paternalistic – a credo that provides the intellectual justification for identity politics and the grievance-based race-conscious demand for equity that animates the DEI movement. 

Employers sensitive to the left’s narrative on race and sex and leery of claims made in litigation seek to prove and protect their own virtue by hiring on the basis of race or sex. But doing so not only disadvantages whites or males wholly blameless for the sins of the past, it also diminishes the minority hire whose qualifications are doubted by some of their peers – even when they are the best person for the job. 

The disconnect between the DEI narrative and the modern cultural reality regarding racism and sexism creates the DEI trap: DEI injects racism and sexism into a culture that rejects racism and sexism, making things worse and hurting those it purports to help. 

Joe Biden’s 2020 selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate and his appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court only highlighted the DEI trap. 

“I commit that if I’m elected president and I have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, I’ll appoint the first black woman to the court,” Biden vowed. “If I’m elected president, my cabinet and my administration will look like the country, and I commit that I will in fact pick a woman to be vice president. There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow. I would pick a woman to be my vice president.”

He didn’t say he would pick the best person – he said he would pick a woman and that there are a number of women who are “qualified” to be president. 

Biden burnished his own “antiracist” credentials at the expense of his choice. He implicitly diminished her, whoever she might have been, in order to prove that he’s neither a racist nor a sexist. 

Then, after securing the nomination, Biden chose Sen. Kamala Harris, whose own campaign for president was a surprising disappointment and unambiguous failure. A star in her home state of California, she turned out to be a bust as a national candidate.

Choosing her over Elizabeth Warren or Amy Klobuchar, both of whom performed better in the 2020 primaries, had the perverse effect of highlighting the importance of race and sex in Biden’s selection, further bolstering his image with those in his party who value DEI, at the expense of further diminishing Harris. 

Now, the liberal legacy media would have us all make believe that none of this happened – and make believe that Kamala Harris is the next great Democratic Party leader, despite a lackluster record as vice president and without competing against other rising stars in her party. 

Now, Harris further diminishes herself as she conducts her own search for a running mate: Democrats have quietly made it known that only white males are under consideration.  Really? Kamala, who should not be called a DEI candidate, needs a white guy by her side to win? Is this really where Democrats want to be?

This is the reductio ad absurdum of DEI: Kamala Harris recreating the “glass ceiling” she “broke,” taking a bow to “white privilege” and “the patriarchy.” For what reason? Why isn’t Klobuchar under consideration? Or Michigan  Gov. Gretchen Whitmer? Don’t hold your breath in hope that the Democrat-friendly media will ask these obvious questions of their new darling. There are two ways out of the DEI Trap: Make believe it’s necessary because we are all irredeemably racist and sexist, or embrace the reality that we are not. 

Democrats and their friends in the media are deep into make believe, seeking to make any criticism of DEI akin to cross-burning. On the other hand, all of us could embrace the reality of what America is today and consign racism and sexism to the dustbins of history. Everyone is different; we each bring different strengths and weaknesses to the table. 

Joe Biden labeled Kamala on the basis of race and sex to make himself look good. But you can’t promote DEI without living with the implications of DEI in an open culture. So, Democrats, step out of the trap and march into the sunshine by ditching DEI.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.