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Headline Roundup November 21st, 2016

Opinion: Identity Politics Backfires

Summary from the AllSides News Team

In this highly divisive election, many editorials pointed out the problem of identity politics, how it causes problems for the Democratic Party, worsens race relations and belittles many other segments of Americans, if not everyone. Some saw it as a key driving force that backfired against Democrats and Hillary Clinton to elect Donald Trump. Some called for an end to identity liberalism. Others identified using a dominant identify to define a group of people as a crude way to dehumanize people and a core component of racism.

Featured Coverage of this Story

The Danger of a Dominant Identity
The Danger of a Dominant Identity

New York Times (News)

Opinion

Over the past few days weโ€™ve seen what happens when you assign someone a single identity. Pollsters assumed that most Latinos would vote only as Latinos, and therefore against Donald Trump. But a surprising percentage voted for him.

Pollsters assumed women would vote primarily as women, and go for Hillary Clinton. But a surprising number voted against her. They assumed African-Americans would vote along straight Democratic lines, but a surprising number left the top line of the ballot blank.

The pollsters reduced complex individuals to a single identity, and are...

Open on David Brooks
How identity politics blew up in Democrats' faces
How identity politics blew up in Democrats' faces

The Week - News

Opinion

What's the matter with America? That seems to be the burning question on the tongues of many liberals in the wake of Donald Trump's stunning upset victory over Hillary Clinton. And in a way, that question is a mash-up response to two popular theories on America's political landscape, the first laid out in Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas?, and the second in The Emerging Democratic Majority by John Judis and Ruy Teixera. These books offer a clear window into how liberals understand not only the broad political landscape,...

Open on The Week - News
The End of Identity Liberalism
The End of Identity Liberalism

New York Times (News)

Opinion

It is a truism that America has become a more diverse country. It is also a beautiful thing to watch. Visitors from other countries, particularly those having trouble incorporating different ethnic groups and faiths, are amazed that we manage to pull it off. Not perfectly, of course, but certainly better than any European or Asian nation today. Itโ€™s an extraordinary success story.

But how should this diversity shape our politics? The standard liberal answer for nearly a generation now has been that we should become aware of and โ€œcelebrateโ€ our...

Open on Guest Writer - Left

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