FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 8, 2023

CONTACT: Tracey Miller, 202-660-1628, Tracey.Miller@theacru.org

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Former Congressman LTC Allen West, Executive Director, ACRU

The Pitfalls of Identity Politics

The Left Has Backed Themselves Into a Corner

Naples, FL — “I find it interesting when Joe Biden addresses our military and harps on the subject of diversity being our greatest strength. Hmm, tell that to the 332nd Fighter Squadron, the famed Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black fighter unit. Their fame was not in being black, it was in never losing a bomber during their escort duties. The ‘Red Tails’ were, after all, the most requested unit by bomber units who wanted to come home. It had nothing to do with skin color and everything to do with skill and merit,” states ACRU Executive Director Allen West in his latest OPED for TownHall.com.

West continues, “It is very troubling to have this false narrative of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) being bandied about in our military. The military is a discriminatory organization because its mission is not about a P&L statement. Its success is measured in lives and the protection of our nation against our enemies. Equity — the equality of outcomes — ain’t the right way to run a railroad, unless you want to enhance the probability of train wrecks.”

When virtue signaling and identity politics become the primary means of selecting leaders, we end up with some very inept people in some very high places of power, elected and non-elected. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff nominee, General Charles Q. Brown, wants to ensure no more than 46% of Air Force fighter pilots are white. How about we staff those positions with 100% of the best fighter pilots available, regardless of their skin color or sexual orientation?

West continues, “No one better reflects identity politics than the current vice president of the United States of America. To fully understand this, we have to go back to the 2016 presidential election.”

“Joe Biden was failing, but a safe bet, they believed. However, he had to get a primary win under his belt. It was South Carolina due to the Black electorate’s support. But was Joe good enough to excite a national Black electorate? Nope. So who did he call upon to be his running mate? Yep, the person who dropped out before the first primary: Kamala Harris.”

West concludes, “For the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, this national election could see the vice-presidential nominee for either party be impactful. The party that avoids the pitfall of identity politics and chooses someone based on merit and talent, rather than cultural Marxist DEI nonsense, could see that selection as a game changer.”

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American Constitutional Rights Union is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy organization dedicated to defending all Americans’ constitutionally protected civil rights.