The diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) nonsense that some Republicans are directing at Vice President Kamala Harris must stop. I say this as someone who strongly opposes most DEI hiring programs.
I believe prioritizing identity politics over merit, qualifications, and real-world experience risks undermining or endangering organizations that adopt the practice. To be clear, I don’t care if someone is gay, straight, trans, black, white, brown, male, female, faith-based, atheist. If someone is best suited for a job based on merit, they should get the job. Period.
But if they are not qualified on merit and real-world experience, then they should evaluate or protest based on what field the candidate will be placed in. For example, Republicans are well within their rights to denounce and investigate the hiring of Kimberly Cheatle, the former Secret Service Director who just resigned in disgrace.
In my opinion, and the opinion of many, DEI programs should not be implemented in certain subgroups of professions that often hold human lives in their hands: not in the Secret Service, the FBI or other three-letter agencies, the military, police, fire departments, pilots, train engineers, the space program, or anything else.
Certain subgroups within these professions should demand that the people filling those positions are the most qualified, based solely on merit and real-world experience. This is common sense, and it has to do with self-survival, but it’s a belief that comes under regular attack from parts of the left.
Now, going back to the specific attack on Harris as a “DEI hire,” it is not only foolish, but will likely be used by Democrats and much of the media to attack former President Trump for conspiracy charges.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) called Harris a “DEI hire,” and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) similarly told local media that Democrats were pushing Harris to replace Biden because “we feel we have to continue to support her because of her ethnic background.”
There’s a very funny and thought-provoking scene in the 2008 hit movie, Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
In this scene, a tiny Chihuahua is riding in the box car of a moving freight train as a powerful German shepherd runs alongside, attempting to jump onto the car. The German shepherd jumps on and gets halfway to the car, but then begins to slip off the car. The Chihuahua runs over and sinks its teeth into the German shepherd’s ear, trying to pull him into the car.
In extreme pain, the German Shepherd cries out, “Don’t help me. Don’t help me.”
Yes, that’s true: their continued “help” could undo much of the progress Trump has made with minority and female voters.
Newsflash for Burchett and others: When Joe Biden offered then-Senator Kamala Harris the position of vice president, it wasn’t a “DEI hire.” It was a smart political move by a candidate and party looking to expand their voter base.
Certainly, some will argue that Biden could have chosen better candidates, such as former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, but choosing a minority woman as his running mate was a powerful political move that was rightly applauded by tens of millions of Americans.
How many young women in our country grew up dreaming of being vice president, or even president? They have every right to dream. Whether they like it or not, Kamala Harris made American history when her dream came true.
And, as Burchett and others would like to remind us, since 1996, Women support Democratic candidatesMoreover, women High registration and voter turnout Female candidates have outnumbered male candidates in every presidential election since 1980.
While President Trump and his campaign are striving to win a majority of female voters, they are also making significant inroads with underrepresented communities — women and communities who believe the nation’s highest office should be open to women.
Republicans have multiple reasons for criticizing Vice President Harris, and the list continues to grow.
She”Concealer Chief Executive OfficerPresidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has accused Biden of hiding his declining cognitive abilities from the American people, and of being complicit in the failures of the current administration, including the economy, inflation, crime, open borders, skyrocketing home prices, and setting a trap that could spark World War III. Police budget cuts And provide No bail against violent criminals.
Republicans may believe they have a “deep pool of talent” to pursue Harris, but they should leave her being a “DEI hire” or any reference to it off the list and focus on her policy failures.
And with this Republican-led failure in mind, former President Trump should shout: “No help. No help.”
Political and communications consultant Douglas McKinnon served as a White House writer under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and as special assistant for policy and communications at the Department of Defense during the final three years of the Bush administration.
