The GOP has stopped hiding its identity politics

Conservatives once hated identity politics and victimhood—but then again, we once supported free trade, too. Perhaps our disdain for tribalism was always a high-minded, yet doomed, effort to suppress the natural, carnal state of a fallen humanity. You and I may view politics as being about ideas and human flourishing, but a lot of people believe it’s really about power—about making sure scarce resources are allocated to “our” people.

But what about people like me who don’t have a “people?” Where does that leave us?

Now, I’m not going to join the liars on the Left who smear all Trump supporters as racists and xenophobes. But I’m also not going to deny there’s a “What’s in it for us white people?” element among his support. It’s one thing to support enforcing America’s immigration laws (I do) and deporting people for being here illegally (we should). It’s another to oppose immigration because you think there’s something wrong with Mexicans.