Democratic Party’s focus on identity politics and “equity” overlooks the struggles of black Chicagoans and other critiques
Election watch: Dems’ Obsession With Identity
Last week “nearly 200,000 white women hopped on a two-hour Zoom call and reportedly raised at least $11 million for newly anointed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris,” reports USAToday’s Ingrid Jacques. “And then, not to be outdone, a bunch of self-proclaimed ‘white dudes’ joined a call Monday to do the same,” while “other groups have held similar calls.” Harris “has taken to calling [Donald] Trump and his running mate JD Vance ‘weird.’ I would counter that these segregated fundraisers are just plain weird, but they also speak to the Democratic Party’s obsession with race and gender.” Harris will “never get my vote because of her far-left policies. Period. It has nothing to do with her race or the fact she’s a woman.”
Urban beat: ‘Equity’ Fails Black Chicagoans
Chicago’s equity-driven “policies have undermined the four most important means of improving outcomes for black residents: public safety, public education, taxation, and public services,” thunders Paul G. Vallas at City Journal. “Too many restraints” placed on “proactive policing” and prosecutors “failing to charge violent criminals” do great harm to black Chicagoans. “In Chicago, only 6 percent of black students meet state standards in math and 17 percent in reading.” “Public insecurity, poor-quality schools, and eroding economic opportunity” have thwarted outside investment and fueled a black exodus. “As the Democratic conventioneers fret about their national prospects in November, they would do well to take a moment to question the results of the progressive equity agenda in their host city and state.”
Ex-restaurateur: Trump’s Tax Win-Win
“Critics from the Left and the Right claim” Donald Trump’s “no tax on tips” proposal “is a political ploy that would benefit few workers and reduce tax revenue,” notes Andy Puzder at National Review. Yet the proposal could both “increase tax revenue” and accomplish a political goal for Trump by helping him with low-wage workers. The policy could “have the income-enhancing benefits of a minimum-wage increase without the risks — such as reduced working hours, automation and job displacement.” And “nine out of ten” tipped workers said they’d prefer to retain a lower minimum wage rather than risk a decline in tips. “That is a unique combination.” “The fact that it also may be a political plus does not negate those benefits.”
From the right: Left’s Supreme Court Power Grab
President Biden’s attack on the Supreme Court may go nowhere, “but it is nevertheless another stain on his thoroughly soiled career,” charge the Washington Examiner’s editors. The proposed 18-year term limit for justices and enforceable code of conduct “smash up against the Constitution,” and passing an amendment would be highly unlikely. Notably, Biden never had a problem with the Supreme Court during his 36 years in the Senate, during which he served on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Where was the urgency for remaking the Supreme Court then? There was none because in those days, the court made more ideologically activist decisions that Biden and his fellow left-wingers liked.” “The Democratic Party and wider Left are now attacking the Supreme Court only because they want to regain control of it.”
Culture critic: Like France, We’re Vulnerable
“Repeated attacks on France’s infrastructure,” coming soon after the CrowdStrike fiasco, “underlines the vulnerability of so much of modern society,” warns Reason’s J.D. Tuccille. France’s high-speed rail network was struck by arson and other acts, disrupting transit, while its telecommunications lines suffered vandalism that affected fiber and mobile lines. These “incidents illustrate how hard it is to secure the modern, interconnected world” and, coming on the heels of CrowdStrike mess, highlight “the fragility of the systems on which we depend.” Oh, and America is just “as exposed as France,” with data networks and power grids subject to disruptions. “Unless we make backup plans for when those connections go away,” we leave ourselves “at risk in a world that offers so much” but that could be taken away “in an instant.”
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
