The Death of the Democratic Party

In a recent speech in Las Vegas, Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic presidential candidate from South Bend, Indiana, spoke about the dangers posed by “so-called identity politics.” As you are aware, dear reader, identity politics involves people of a particular religion, race, social background, etc. forming exclusive political alliances, which ultimately moves them away from traditional broad-based party politics.

According to Buttigieg, Americans have been told “to choose between supporting an auto worker and a trans woman of color, without stopping to think about the fact that sometimes the auto worker is a trans woman of color, and she definitely needs all the security she can get.”

This is the problem: Even when a politician like Buttigieg warns about the dangers posed by identity politics, he still comes across as an apologist. Must everything revolve around the trans community? Seriously? Trans people make up about of 0.6% of the American population, yet they make up almost 100% of the conversation.

One assumes that a large number of Americans are fed up with constantly being told to “embrace” transgender and gender nonconforming people, to “empathize” with their collective struggle. This does not mean that the exasperated are transphobic. The vast majority wish no harm on people who are uncomfortable with their identities. They just happen to have more personal, more pressing issues that need addressing, like trying to pay their bills, keep their jobs, or send their children to a decent college.

According to a 2018 Northwestern Mutual’s Planning & Progress Study, the vast majority of Americans, 78 percent, say they’re “extremely” or “somewhat” concerned about not having enough money for retirement. And they have every reason to be worried: 21 percent of Americans have nothing at all saved for the future, and another 10 percent have less than $5,000 tucked away.