Disclosure: I confess I didn't know Kanye West from Nathan East before Kanye went full-bore Trump dragon energy.
Do I detect touch of schadenfreude here? "[A] celebrity who may be doing performance art is exactly the African-American 'supporter' the Trump-era right deserves."
Douthat's premise: If it's performance art, it's fake. I disagree. The medium is the message. Performance art values authenticity & challenges orthodoxy, prodding the audience to think in new & unconventional ways. The worst case scenario, then, has Kanye reckoning w/ the beast, to undo the damage w/ love, patience & tolerance.
Kanye is thoughtful and courageous. Given the Left's intolerance of diversity of thought & its visceral hatred of Trump, Kanye put his career & his life on the line, witness calls for gang hits.
Kanye is conversant w/ Sowell. At a minimum, good judgment.
Perhaps most persuasive, Kanye deployed in argument Harriet Tubman's most incisive quote, which was precisely on point: "I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves"
We must deconstruct the inner-city plantations: Ds have controlled them for generations—Chicago/85yrs, Milwaukee/108…
Kanye knows that Trump's appeal to blacks will resonate. An aspirational force exists in all of us. Inner-city captive Ds may be downtrodden/dependent, but the spirit survives. Like everyone else, they dream about success, security, & happiness—& freedom—for themselves & their children.
1
Hold on a minute! I generally see Ross as interesting while mostly disagreeing but this is outright horse pucky!
How exactly has the Republican party been transformed "into the working class party?" By undermining the social safety net and cutting taxes for the rich and for corporations? If you amend that to "the party of working class whites", perhaps it holds but until the Republicans, ( and for that matter Democrats), get serious about creating more opportunity for upward economic mobility, a real working wage, greater access to healthcare and education, neither of the two parties as they currently exist can call themselves the "party of the working class."
45
— a fine-sounding idea, except that white America has never found a way to treat its former slaves that way, making black identity politics not an indulgence but a matter of survival.
Stated as such, what really is the point of writing about any other ways of pretending to search for a means of reconciliation? There really isn’t any in that kind of context. Leave it to Nature to restore the imbalance we created and arrogantly perpetuate.
6
"The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party. . ."
If the Times were to have a comedy subsection of the opinion page, surely this snippet would earn Douthat's column a spot in it.
Thanks for the laugh.
27
Ha ha ha GOP is a working class party? Mr. D here is beyond cynical. But then so is his party.
41
According to (white person) Ross Douthat, Kanye is not the right black person white people should listen to and learn from to get the real story on black people.
Thanks for the heads-up, Ross. But I missed what it is that allows you and the NYT to determine which black people we oblivious white folks should listen to.
15
Please don't cover Kanye West anymore.
He's just desperate for attention.
I don't subscribe to the NYT to read about someone who seems like he's gone off the rails and would do anything just to line his pockets.
Oh, wait.
I have to read about Trump almost every day.
Carry on.
46
“...the essential failure of conservative outreach to black America...”???
When, Mr. Douthat, has this ever happened? With Michael Steele? The RNC cut him loose after President Barack Obama’s successful re-election in 2012. They used him—like they used Alan Keyes In Illinois in 2002, as a foil against then-Senatorial candidate Barack Obama.
What kind of “outreach” did Mitch McConnell or John Boehner or Paul Ryan or Donald Trump make to the 44th president in eight torturous years of obstruction and refusal and denial? Are not the Right blaming every Trumpian failure of governing on President Obama’s?
So, Mr. Douthat, conservatives disavow the black man’s presidency as they assiduously “court” black conservatives? Pray tell; how? The alt-right claim Kanye West, a misguided individual of unquestioned racial anxieties, as one of their “non-own,” jeering at the you-know-what in darkest corners of the Internet and claiming to have “turned” a hefty slice of black America away from its survival mode-as social protest milieu because he’s “a *rapper*?” How can you begin to accept this specious reasoning as valid?
If “conservatives” genuinely wanted “outreach” to those whom they have long marginalized and treated with utter contempt—at best—or indifference—at worst, they would speak out more forcefully against Donald Trump and his zany administration than they have otherwise done. Am I correct?
Does the name Judge Merrick Garland ring any bells?
Ten months left in office?
17
I, for one, am delighted to see Kanye is a Trump supporter. I wouldn't mind seeing Sean Penn flip too.
1
The Tax Law makes the Republican Party the party of the
working class?
Really Ross, look a little deeper......start by describing their unifying characteristics........
11
Voter ID laws are designed for the sole purpose of suppressing minority votes. The laws are promoted by the GOP. If I was black, that's all I'd need to know to understand which political party to throw my weight behind, even if I have to hold my nose while doing it.
22
Ta-Nehisi Coates noted that “Trump won whites making less than $50,000 by 20 points, whites making $50,000 to $99,999 by 28 points, and whites making $100,000 or more by 14 points. This shows that Trump assembled a broad white coalition that ran the gamut from Joe the Dishwasher to Joe the Plumber to Joe the Banker.”
The “working class” explanation for trump’s election is total hogwash. His voters’ median income was over $80K, while Hillary’s was much lower.
They just wanted a “beautiful wall” and “get their country back” from the hated black Kenyan-Muslim-socialist-atheist president.
The media focused on the mythical “economic anxiety” of the white working-class to deflect from trump‘s dominance among white voters of all classes, especially their own.
Ta-Nehisi Coates was right to call it “escapism.”
42
Once again, we are having different conversations in our different communities.
For some Whites, I guess the importance of Kanye West's revisionism is that it creates a putative opportunity for further penetration of the Black political enclave.
For us in the Black community, it is a primal pain: a Black man desecrated the memory of his own ancestors by saying that they freely chose to remain in the bondage of slavery.
Kanye West should be ashamed of himself, had he the merest capacity for introspection.
Anybody unwilling to acknowledge the pain of such a pronouncement to the Black community (as I am sure they would have readily done had such nonsense been uttered about Holocaust) will be seen by Blacks as nothing but a carpetbagger.
You can game it all out all you like. But if you don't acknowledge our pain, you should expect no gain whatsoever in our community.
15
Mr. Douthat's piece is a wonderful counter-point to the piece by Professor Alexander, from U of Viriginia, who insists on casting a wide net that included the inane falasies of the liberals to the more serious issues. It would seem that Douthat has found a place from which to talk to his fellow conservatives, however many there are left out there and say a few things that matter. And this is from a progressive who finds himself rejecting many of Mr. Douthat's social and cultural propositions, especially his moral condemnations. It is refreshing to see a conservative thinker look at his own folks, instead of a person like Arthur C. Brooks, whose column the other day about "why bullies always get rewarded," He carried on something awful about bullies and like Professor Alexander, and never really pointed a finger at Trump's doing in creating the great divide. Rigbteousness is not the exclusive domain of the left, as suggested by Alexander and others these days. It finds it in all political directions. From the finger wagging to the profound. Also the old conservatives might have expressed disdain for the comments of the white house staffer who insulted Senator McCain this past week. But hey, what else is new?
5
Obama was elected twice because he ran as an individual, culturally he was a white educated liberal who had a black identity because he was born that way.
Many blacks are succeeding in upper middle class by getting good liberal educations and professional degrees. Many blacks are upper class not only for athletic and entertainment skills but also from business. and some of them are conservatives.
Slavery is not a choice- Confederates said that staying in the Union would be like slavery.
4
'A long time ago in a galaxy far far away' black artists, athletes, entertainers and preachers' were the only known spokespersons for all black folks.
The notion that not all blacks think and vote alike is used to excuse and explain Ben Carson, Clarence Thomas and Kanye West. Ignoring the theological reality that Lucifer was an angel and Judas was a disciple. Ignoring the historical truth that all blacks were enslaved along with being seperate and unequal in America based upon their color aka race.
6
What do Kanye and Trump have in common other than that dragon thing? Oh yeah, insatiable need for ATTENTION. So, here we are on the long revered op-ed pages of The NY Times pondering the meanderings of Mr Douthat’s socio-cultural musing on Kanye’s twitter dreams, as if we should take any of it seriously.
Good job, Kanye. Good job. I’m sure Trump begrudging gives you a knowing nod... as long as you spelled his name correctly. A con knows a con.
9
For a reality check, just dive into the country's voting statistics on a national, state, and local level evincing Black Americans' overwhelming rejection of this long-gone Party of Lincoln. The ethos, i.e.prejudices, of the modern day Republican Party depends and requires, in fact, that it not be that dusty, museum relic.
To redirect Trump's campaign exhortation to Black Americans, "What do you have to lose?", back to his sacred base supporters, his party has to lose that very constituency by implementing the columnist's totally unrealistic and impossible "changes" to one of its core electoral motivations.
4
Perhaps if the Justice Department starts acting on behalf of all citizens, white, black, Asian, etc, the Republicans maybe taken a little more seriously. How about the EPA stepping in and actually cleaning up the water in Flint Michigan? How about outlawing gerrymandering, asking for voter Id in mostly black and poor communities?
Maybe then Republicans can be taken seriously as the party who cares about Blacks. Until then, if I were black, I wouldn't trust one of them. Even whites don't trust the Republicans.
11
The Conservatives are about one thing primarily -- the transfer of wealth from the poor and middle-class to the rich. The game is called "I am against big Government." Look at the data, every Republican administration since Reagan leaves with a huge deficit so that they have an excuse for cutting programs for the middle-class and poor. Every Democrat President claws his way back to reduce the deficit. But the Republicans never allow programs to be restored -- they withhold something from the not-wealthy. Now we are back again with the last tax cuts, a wealth transfer sugar-coated with up-front tax cuts for the middle class and mindless spending on bloated defense hardware but not cyber-security, and 'The Wall'. When the deficit again balloons, the cost will be "socialized," Trump will blame the Democrats, and the Conservatives will cheer. Conservatives take us all for fools. How do the Conservatives play this game of transferring more wealth to the rich in repeated cycles? It's called the Southern Strategy: Say what white supremacists want to hear, get yourself in power, and then DO what your backers (think Koch brothers and other Oligarchs) want you to do: make government into a well-oiled money transfer machine. There is no remedy for the impoverishment of the middle class and the poor till racism is erased from the hearts of Americans. There is no middle way, no compromising on this, no synthesis of the kind Douthat mindlessly suggests.
17
"But it is a conservative error, naïve or culpably ignorant, to act disappointed that black Americans aren’t attracted to a coalition led by a barely-repentant “birther” who flirts with white supremacists."
I think the "flirtation" was over a long time ago - the bedroom is the scene now.
4
So long as Republicans control the dialogue (conservative pundits rule TV and radio) and control our government, the legislative, administrative branch and the Supreme Court they can pretty much do as they wish. We have 33 Republican governors to 16 Democrats. We have 32 Republican controlled state legislatures to 14 Democratic. We have heavily gerrymandered Republican congressional districts. I'd say the Republicans have done a very good job of taking control of our country and its dialogue. Their trash talking and bashing has seemed to work well for them.
9
...so, Ross, now you are trying to sell us on the idea that "the Big Orange is the New Black"?
Your red states will never buy it!
3
Who cares what Kanye West thinks? Why do people put so much weight into the political views of celebrities, especially wildly rich ones whose lives are completely divorced from the day-to-day struggles of the vast majority of Americans. There is also a veiled racism in assuming that, just because Kanye West is black, he somehow speaks for the black community. Do white celebrities speak for all white Americans? Reminds me of Trump's comment at a rally, “Oh look at my African-American over here.” Pointing to Mr. West's support of Trump is the same sort of "tokenism."
135
There is an easier lens with which to view the reactions from right and left-tribalism.
Anyone, and I mean anyone who comes out in support of Trump is viewed with cheers, whether it's someone they'd expect from the usual conservative talking heads or other people who are celebrities in rightwing circles. So getting someone like Kanye, who is a legitimate superstar to endorse trump is a huge validation.
For that matter, imagine if Trump were a democratic president. Republican tunes would change so dramatically, you'd think they were always consistently concerned about any number of scandals that are derided as "nothingburgers" now.
With democrats, there's a much higher bar. John McCain, Jeff Flake, George Will. These are all conservative voices that have come out in support of democrat causes, or at the very least shown independence from the GOP as a whole at various points. Democrats praise their independent thought, but do not point to them as validation.
Conversely Democrats have no qualms about throwing their own overboard if their walk doesn't match their talk. (See Al Franken). Sometimes this is to their own detriment.
Democratic tribalism requires standards and a track record. Donald Trump the democrat would be impeached or at least forced to step down by now if he had a democrat Congress. Republican tribalism only requires having an R next to your name.
10
Good article because of clear original thinking that shows the need for theorists to work along with, but separate from, politicians striving for pragmatics. A central point we all need to repeat until we get it: we do not take racism's history seriously, and until we do we will not be able to move on from racism's damage.
4
Some good suggestions, but they run counter to the strategy Republicans, and Trump in particular, have used to build their base of supporters. And that would be Fear.
4
The problem is that conservatives do not want to tear down the statues of the confederacy or actually deal with obvious abuses by local police forces.
Conservatives are happy with the status quo. From there power can be maintained and built up.
9
The only thing that Trump has in common with Kanye is the love of money. The only thing Republicans ( donors) care about is fooling naive voters so they can loot the Treasury. The "followers" leave the Trump rally excited that they got a hat. Kanye sells you a T-shirt. Talk about "delusions."
16
You missed the part where the two major legislative initiatives under the Trump administration were hostile to the working class and therefore the black community as well. The Republican agenda hasn't dovetailed to well with the idea that the GOP is no longer the country club of yore. Trump is also a walking embarrassment to the notion of conservative religiosity. Meanwhile, the party has embraced certain elements of white nationalism and aggressively pursued xenophobic policy. Even supposedly clean cut Republicans like Mike Pence are seen glad handing with people like Page semi-protected Joe Arpaio. The sheriff made famous for locking minorities in open air prison camps in the middle of the southwest desert and later pardoned by Trump despite explicit contempt of court.
This argument sounds like a white fantasy narrative. I don't know what game Kanye is playing but I can tell you from experience the guy is a jerk. I knew that long before I knew anything about his politics. If this is performance art, I don't want to be a subject of his medium. In the meantime, I agree conservatives look foolish cheering every time something offends their cultural counter points. The joke is most definitely on you.
13
Stripped of its usual anti liberal venom Ross makes some good points about white racism and how it can start to be ameliorated. Unfortunately the times everyday including the Virginia professor today demonstrates that there is little white inclination to to so. To take one example I am unaware of a single regular times columnist who understands the imperative importance of denying an honorable platform for the racism of the odious Charles Murray because it is no more than an update to the tv shows I saw as a child debating whether blacks are more human or ape like. Does it ever strike white people with their history of slavery and segregation that Murray is precisely what you’d expect would crop up as an old nightmare in new clothing? But as long as you can try to belittle blacks and clothe it today’s jargon, too many whites are good to go. Free speech like free trade requires ground rules and a fair contest. Instead whites want to peddle racist garbage everywhere and the times is fine with it.
5
I am disappointed with Mr. Douthat's language ("white America has never found a way to treat its former slaves") and the thought process implicit in that language. What a way to look at our country. There are no former slaves alive today. And the use of the term "white America" is a lazy and divisive stereotype. This column is yet another negative attack on our -- all of us, black, white, brown and yellow -- society. And it's boring, to boot.
16
Sorry Ulyssis, it is not boring to those who are treated to years of racism and marginalization. There may not be slaves in the US. but the legacy is still with us, and that legacy has been cracked open by the likes of this President and his followers. It was not too long ago when whites were telling African Americans to go slow. And now suddenly, we are being told that we are all too excessively politically correct. I would ask you to re-read Mr. Douthat's piece again and see if you can see what is finally a conciliatory tone,and I feel, a genuine desire to look beyond the flashy and the newsworthy stuff that goes viral daily on social media.
5
It's as though black people have their own special formula for being intelligent that is unknown to everyone else on planet earth. In every other nation, West would be recognized for what he is and nothing made of anything he said except on stage.
Other peoples have Nobel Laureates and all manner of strivers. Black people have rap stars, athletes, and equally ignorant politicians; yet, no one can figure out why the result is always the same. It's hard to imagine, really, even in popular terms: from the heights, say, of Ella Fitzgerald, to the puerile slimy depths of Kanye West's verbal skid marks. What backwards crawling crabs we are!
To black people, Jay-Z and Obama are equally accomplished. It's the same as the Scotch-Irish in the South who think Trump is brilliantly himself: there's nothing you can do about that; it is what it is; escape if you can.
Lastly, in an attempt to ward off the obvious: it is neon red how greatly black people have contributed to America in ALL fields of study; that, however, is not what black people, around the world, are known for; hence, Kanye West. Ignorant people like ignorant people.
4
What is the evidence that the Republican Party has become the party of working class Americans and therefore more likely to appeal to black Americans than before? You speak of the economic populism of Trump and the actual policies are standard Republican fare, a trickle down economics with the tax benefits going to wealthy Americans. You speak of the Trumpian appeal to religious conservatives. Only white evangelicals are blinkered enough to fail to see that the emperor has no religious vestments, this vain, hateful, and narcissistic man. Trump's religious views are purely opportunistic, courting the votes of white evangelicals, especially obvious when his racism oozes from every pore of his body.
11
It appears that Kanye West is as adept at attention-getting as Donald Trump, and about as sincere. Did the conservative columnists at the Times participate in a conference call this week & decide to chortle about the "panic" amongst liberals? You will never get that the liberal mind-set is not about "ratings," but about respecting one's fellow citizens and trying to make things better. To quote Luke Skywalker, "I'll never join you!"
10
You don't have to be a conservative (and I'm not!) to realize that Kanye West is a joke.
And by and large, this is a distinction he has brought entirely upon himself; not only with some of the things that have come out of his mouth, or his rudely spectacular take-down of Taylor Swift, or his marriage into the Kardashian clown show. His entry into the realms of the ridiculous stem from the fact that there's just too many things to choose from -- even though his most recent comment that slavery was somehow a "choice" is almost enough to make one forget how he's now died his hair blonde, and has attached himself like a limpit to Donald Trump...
Talk about 'Golddigger'.
16
Mr. Douthat, NO! Mr. West is very intelligent, but he is now sadly delusional. I cannot accept the connection between himself as symbol and the opening for black Republican support or "common ground." His words about slavery were driven by some entirely new breed of sickness of our generation, which is dangerously poisoned and abused.
5
Where is Charlie Rangle when you need a real tough guy?
1
This dissertation on blacks and conservatives being closely aligned is more right-wing Fanfiction. Most of us are smart enough to realize that the white allies who supported the civil rights movement were liberal folks many willing to put their lives on the line to stand with us. Meanwhile white "conservatives" wished to maintain the white supremacist apartheid state that "made America great". Today's MAGA Trump supporter is simply a reawakening of that which was always there and any black person with an ounce of sense would be well advised to give it no quarter.
17
"The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party..." What in the world are you talking about. The Republican Party remains a party of the 1%. The fact that they've hoodwinked a large segment of ignorant, unread (or Fox listeners) into thinking that they actually care about the working class is silly on the face of it. These lower class Trump voters obviously don't care about the issues... they just want to stick it to all those uppity elites that have been trying to make them caring, thoughtful citizens. It's all about culture and has nothing to do with politics.
20
Trump and the GOP’s specious “bonding” with Kanye West is about as convincing as when Trump called out to a crowd of supporters during a 2016 presidential rally “Look at my African-American over here.”
8
In 1964, the GOP nominated Barry Goldwater for the presidency only two months after he voted against the Civil Rights Act. He lost the election to LBJ but he became the first republican to win the South since the Civil War. The South has remained red ever since... Coincidence?
Jackie Robinson was also a republican before getting his wakeup call at the 1964 GOP convention... He ended up campaigning for LBJ.
The black vote went from 32% for Nixon in 1960 to just 4% for Goldwater in 1964.
That’s when the GOP lost the black vote for good. They coddled with racists and black people have reacted accordingly.
We vote democratic mostly because there’s no other plausible option.
13
Come on Ross, don't overthink it. It's match-up between two intellectually weightless salesmen, nothing more.
22
According to a white person, Ross Douthat, Kanye is not the right black person white people should listen to and learn from to get the real story on black people.
Thanks for the attempted edification, Ross. But I am still not clear what it is that allows you and the NYT to determine which black people we oblivious white folks should listen to.
1
Those of us who follow the teachings of Jesus cannot be on the same side as Trump. One cannot be a Christian and support Trump because he is a liar, and Jesus taught that the Devil is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)
Those who call themselves evangelical, who call themselves Christians and support Trump are deceiving themselves and the world. They are neither evangelical nor Christian. They are Trumpians.
19
Third, conservatives who want African-American Christians to see them as coreligionists should repudiate policies to deny food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to the naked and health-care coverage to the sick; to torture the prisoner; and to persecute the foreigner.
11
In my experience, the conservative agenda is to further enrich the wealthy, privilege fundamentalist Christian sexual and gender "morality", allow environmental degradation in the name of capitalism, and - well,I could go on. Kanye West's wealth certainly qualifies him for conservatism, so no surprise there. But to say that slavery was a choice is simply on a par with Holocaust denial - a disgusting opinion that relies on ignorance and intellectual laziness. And his platform makes it terribly dangerous.
6
If Trump can figure out a way to work with Candace and Kanye and others, the Democrats will be in even more shambles.
2
The problem with Douthat's prescription for conservatives is that racism is now an essential component of the strategy of winning over people when your policies are against their financial interests. Virtually every conservative policy and philosophy -- reduction or elimination of the safety net; healthcare as a privilege, not a right; no national minimum wage -- hurts low middle and lower class voters. So in order to attract these voters, conservatives have ginned up fears -- of communists, of abortionists, of gays, and of Blacks and Hispanics. Without embracing those policies, conservatives would lose the majority of their base.
As Bob Dylan wrote:
A South politician preaches to the poor white man
“You got more than the blacks, don’t complain.
You’re better than them, you been born with white skin,” they explain.
And the Negro’s name
Is used it is plain
For the politician’s gain
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train
13
I am not sure what makes one rapper a political activist, another a Pulitzer prize winner, another a game show character. It is an art form that I don't have an understanding of. I will say that Mr. West has a history of mental illness. His wife is a professional publicity hound that my best friend compared to Donald Trump. So maybe that is the connection.
Re white working class and black Americans having a common agenda. By their concentration in major urban markets, black Americans have much more in common with the white middle class, not whites in smaller towns and rural areas.
2
"The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party." Douthat must be joking or drinking too much milk. The Base with their red MAGA caps are not the Republican Party, they are the catnip that professional Republicans, the ones who can spell conservatism, cannot stop enjoying.
The base are a relatively small component of the current GOP but are absolutely necessary for a victory in a Primary or a win in the General Election. They are a combination of older folk living on government and private pensions and their dependent offspring who just cannot find well paying jobs and move out of the basement. They cannot cope with modern day culture from Hip Hop to the successful bi-racial kids of interracial marriages to the rapid acceptance of LGBT people as full citizens and to the millions of immigrants who are taking the jobs their children don't want or cannot compete for. One thing most are not is working class.
The GOP still stands for low taxes, smaller social programs, big military, unbridled industry and anything but socialized medicine. All the Base needs are a few bones here and there, like a wall on the Border, or a ban of Muslim immigrants and refugees or an end to the inconvenient truth about climate change.
8
“The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party...”. Anybody else whose mind choked reading this? If working-class party means that low income and working people are duped into voting for a party against their own interest, the we can call the GOP and the NSDAP working-class parties.
But we all know that a true working-class party does have a platform that helps the lower half of the income scale by social programs that allow free access to education, affordable health care, a living cost minimum wage, decent housing, good public transportation and health.
5
This episode is a little reminiscent of Stephen Colbert and the "My black friend" routine on his old show actually.
2
"The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party".
I'm sorry, but WHAT?
8
Can we just remember that West has suffered from mental problems in the past and that his recent behavior and pronouncements may be indicating that he is not well again? It's not just the Trump statements, but there have been other outbursts and behaviors that have caused his family concern. He was hospitalized just two years ago, after all. I'm not saying support for Trump means you're crazy (though some would), but it might be that Kanye needs a little understanding right now, not criticism.
1
Like many of the commenters here have pointed out, Douthat’s assertion that Trump has transformed the Republican Party into a workers’ party is either disingenuous or delusional. The piece, however, does contain one excellent passage:
“For decades, the essential failure of conservative outreach to African-Americans has been the insistence that the right just want to treat black Americans as individuals — a fine-sounding idea, except that white America has never found a way to treat its former slaves that way, making black identity politics not an indulgence but a matter of survival.”
This is the clearest, most eloquent justification for black identity politics I have ever heard. Coming from a political conservative it is quietly forceful.
4
Ross to be a conservative one must believe certain things, otherwise you are not a conservative by definition. The first belief, without which one cannot be conservative, is the belief that whiteness is better than anything else. The rest of the conservative balderdash flows neatly from this belief. All the questions Ross asks in this op-ed are easily answered from this premise.
3
Conservatives could propose paying reparations. In essence, reparations are in line with true conservative principals, which presume a market value for everything. And descendants of slaves stand to collect on the value of their forebears' work in building this nation. I'd go even further to say that reparations could be sheltered under the new tax law with respect to inheritance.
4
"But a red-pilled rapper is a bad place to start" ...
Although I agree with the points made at the end of the essay I think Kayne would be annoyed at the use of the term "rapper" instead of artist or poet. Another way for GOP establishment to invite more diversity is to use elevated word choice that lifts up, respects, and acknowledges cultural contributions. Rapper doesn't do that. Kayne has said himself that the term "rapper" is lame, a way to disregard and condescend. And he has said in recent interviews that he gets annoyed at its use.
2
Anti-Trumpers like Ross are deathly afraid that Trump will end up making in roads with black voters to go along with his coming shared Nobel Prize for denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. The fact that Trump is turning the coming 'blue wave' into a trickle also has them besides themselves with dread that the Republican Party's ideological framework will be permanently realigned along Trumpian lines.
2
Best column I have seen by you. I like it. There are a few things I might state differently, but not many, and I can understand why you chose a different way.
Thank you.
2
Mr. Douthat cites a number of ways in which conservatives can express a degree of solidarity with the African American community. All of them seem so sensible and obvious that one wonders why intelligent people require advice on how to accomplish them. The voter id laws, for example, clearly attack a non-existent problem, as documented by numerous studies. Why would any conservative need a hint from Douthat that the real purpose behind such measures centers on disfranchisement of minority voters?
More importantly, however, Douthat's suggestions, as valuable as they are, ignore the economic dimension of inequality, which affects many whites as well as disproportionate numbers of ethnic minorities. Conservatives supposedly endorse equal opportunity in the marketplace, yet those who identify with the GOP tend to champion the discredited supply side notions that justified the obscene tax reform law enacted by Congress, a measure which tilted the playing field even more in favor of wealthy Americans.
Many rightwingers also support the drive to shift tax money out of public schools and into vouchers, a campaign which cannot possibly enable poor parents to afford good private institutions for their children. That the real beneficiaries of this program belong to the middle class must qualify as the worst kept secret in America.
So long as conservatives act as shills for economic royalists, they must expect skepticism about their expressions of concern for the poor.
31
The title of this column--Delusions of Kanye--may be literally correct. The last time he embraced Trump publicly, West had suffered a mental breakdown leading to cancellation of his tour and hospitalization. While madness and creativity sometimes combine in great artists, it is not a good combination when people make political pronouncements.
20
Kinda missed a lot of interesting points here. The most significant one involves the fact that before the Trump "racist conspiracy theory" emerged—the Democratic strategy requires labeling all Republican candidates as racists—Trump maintained relatively good relationships with many African-American leaders. Thus, much of the hang wringing and gnashing of teeth simply comes from the offense against the Trump racist conspiracy that has little basis in reality. Just like the Trump xenophobe conspiracy theory ignores the fact that two of his three wives are foreigners. People don't want reality interfering with their fantasies, which leads to the most significant aspect of the Kanye's support for Trump.
The majority of Americans like to wallow in their fantasies. And the media, including entertainers, make a lot of money perpetuating those fantasies. The Trump racist conspiracy fantasy requires all African-Americans to denounce Trump. Kanye has not only refused to denounce Trump, but has spoken in support of Trump. OMG! Yet Kanye's real crime does not involve the issue of race. It's his Alice in Wonderland naivete—don't upset the apple cart of cultural madness. Don't ask questions that make sense. Simply do not burst the cultural fantasy bubbles.
Kanye has dared to descend down the rabbit hole, and I for one, would like to see more people follow him.
12
Yes, Trump's relationship with the AA community was so good he had to point out the 3 or 4 Black folks that actually showed up at this rallies. And they certainly were not "leaders" in the AA community.
You are living in your own fantasy bubble.
58
I like conservatism, where else do you give money to the richest of the rich, and "honor" to the rest, in a Democracy? Where else do you increase the incidence of abortions by getting rid of birth control coverage, and call it victory for the unborn? Where else do you take the conservation out of the environment, the conservation out of the deficit, and the conservation out of the rule of law, and call yourself conservative?
61
As the old adage goes: “With friends like Kanye . . . “
5
Isn't Kanye just trying to be relevant again? He's just another egocentric celebrity that has to keep shocking to get any attention. He married into a family that outshines him, what's a guy to do? It's unlikely he even knows what Trump stands for, only that he gets tons of press by saying outlandish things.
It's tough to fall from the top of your game and hard to get it back.
12
Trump will continue to win over black voters (he's at 22% with black men) because his no holds barred, punch back 10 times harder attitude reflects the survival instinct many black people feel they need in their every day lives.
No group in America is more frequently falsely accused of crimes than black people. They see Trump accused of much but no evidence, just like in their lives.
They hear stories of allegedly corrupt law enforcement officials trying to frame him. Just like what happens to someone in their community every day.
Democrats MUST break the GOP hold on working class whites to make up the loss of black voters that Trump will win by larger margins than any Republican since Ford in 1976.
2
"Trump accused of much but no evidence". Evidently you're not paying attention. At any rate, Mueller will soon enough provide all the proof you could want that our President is a money launderer, a crook, and a lying con man. Do you need "proof" that he's a Russian stooge? Has there ever been an American with more people in direct contact with Russians of all types...
4
Still trying to make believe that conservatism isn't about race? Sure it's not. If it were, a conservative hero like Reagan would have started his presidential campaign in the town that is most famous as the murder site of civil rights workers in the '60s.
Oh, wait.....he did.
12
Buen Hecho,
I've always believed you were made of the "Right" stuff today you proved it. Speaking as a Pragmatic Liberal you have become a leader by proclaiming that people have to choose between empty racist rhetoric and real empathy and support for those individuals truly in need. For those individuals i.e. Clarence Thomas, Ben Carson etc. read this column and find the error in your ways.
4
Ok, for a start admit that the Republicans under Mitch McConnell engaged in overt racism in the obstruction of the Obama Presidency? Second, admit that the conservative focus on divisive social issues began with Newt Gingrich, and that this poisonous world of war the US has created inside your own country is a result of economic policies that have benefited the few. Working Class?! Prove it Cardinal Douthat!
14
What Mr. Douthat chuckles at: the so-called hysterical reactions of the left, is called pain and betrayal in the Black Community.
Mr. Douthat does not seem to understand that someone (regardless of race or celebrity status) claiming that slavery was voluntary is a slap in the face meant to deliberately inflict pain.
If slavery was voluntary, then the institution itself was valid and the enslaved deserved the bondage, abject poverty and the violent debasement (including rape, mutilation and lynching).
Those sentiments have been repeated more subtly by conservatives; usually in condescending narratives such as "Blacks enjoy being on the Democrats' plantations, Blacks' sense of family was greater under slavery or that Blacks were better under slavery than under Pres. Obama.
Mr. Douthat, would you ever call the descendents of the victims of 1930s-40s Germany hysterical if they reacted negatively to someone saying their ancestors willingly walked into the gas chambers or turned their backs to be shot?
Well if not, then Blacks or the left deserve the same right to be outraged and to not have their feelings marginalized.
And by the way...there is no common ground between blacks and the so-called republican populism...that newfound GOP populism is based on the notion that the white working class have been victimized by undeserving minorities and criminal foreigners receiving some sort of unfair advantage.
21
I am actually shocked to read a column in the Times Opinion page that is from the conservative side and yet restrained and well-reasoned, especially in light of the last few weeks.
Between David Reich's outrageous essay on the 'genetic differences' that somehow justifies the kind of racism that the alt-right has become so infamous for and that 'Intellectual Dark Web' nonsense by Baris Weiss, another acolyte of the alt-right, I was ready to cancel my subscription (and still may).
If I see one of those pieces sanctioning white nationalism again from the Times, then it's Guardian here I come.
I do agree with much of what Ross has said. West is engaging in a twisted form of racial performance art at best, trying to maintain as much public interest as he can while his music draws less and less these days.
The glee of social conservatives at his foolish (and deliberate) ignorance shows just how out of touch they really are when it comes to popular culture. There's very little to be gained from the ramblings of someone on the downside of his career, because no one who matters is listening anymore.
Their callous attempts to suppress urban voting while lamenting their inability to attract the culturally conservative black vote is what's at issue here. It is a delusion, because the Southern Strategy that brought them to power has tarred them forever with African-Americans no matter how conservative they may be.
9
@ RobU - Please explain which column of David Reich you are referring to and then why you write what you do. In his first column he showed that even a leading genome researcher gets all tangled up when he tries to justify maintaining USCB races. But then Letters to the Editor pointed out how flawed parts of that first column were and he provided his reply to readers in which he changed his tune completely, "No, there are no genetically distinct races, the groups that the USCB calls races are socially/politically constructed." (In quotes just to make clear that this was his line of thought". Did you read both?
Reply here or to my Gmail - see blog.
As for switching to the Guardian I find it is a lot better to have access to both - and I pay for my Guardian access because the Guardian writers so often articulate different ways of analyzing what the Times writers have.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
This isn't your worst effort, DJ RD.
Anybody, regardless of racial affiliation who has somehow managed against all odds to arrive at the top of the pop culture pyramid and/or amassed stupid amounts of wealth will inevitably be drunk on their own Kool aid.
As a result, they start believing that anything emanating from their pie hole is an undeniable cosmic revelation that they are compelled to bestow on us less imaginative folk.
Thus, you see Kanye all of a sudden unlocking and revealing the heretofore unknown secret of the universe that slavery was just a "state of mind".
Yeah, sure it was, Kanye.
That isn't a result of being "red-pilled". It's just an ego indulgence owing to the fact that he somehow clambered above it all and that everybody else can do the same if they just opened their eyes to the truth.
Kanye and Trump do share real similarities, just as anybody who occupies that tiny space at the very top do.
They are in on a joke that they believe only they get. The problem is, the oxygen is very thin up there and the longer you stay the more brain damage you suffer.
You have to be very careful following a contrarian. Once in a while they are on to something, but more often than not they are just simply delusional.
7
Has it ever occurred to anybody that Kanye's love of Trump is in direct relationship to his love of money? The only color that matters to both of them is green.
5
"For decades, the essential failure of conservative outreach to African-Americans has been the insistence that the right just want to treat black Americans as individuals — a fine-sounding idea, except that white America has never found a way to treat its former slaves that way, making black identity politics not an indulgence but a matter of survival."
A truthful statement. Thank you.
Now, about republicans being the party of the "working class", will you be exposing that mythical farce next week? And where is Michael Steele....CPAC said they made a mistake in making "the Black man" Chair of the RNC....and now I'm not seeing him anywhere, not even on MSNBC.
7
Ross, there are some useful thoughts in your column and I will get to one of special interest to me a few lines down.
First a suggestion as concerns Kanye West and the people who are writing about him. You have a NYT colleague, Thomas Chatterton Williams, maybe you did not even know that, who thinks all the time about Ta-Nehisi Coates and now about KW. Why don't you talk with him and/or the Editors and get TCW to do a column on KW and his present place in the public eye.
Here of special interest to me is your line: "But conservatives who want their politics to be PAN-ETHNIC (please excuse the big letters) might ponder two initial changes in how they approach racism and race.
The word ethnic is almost totally beyond the vocabulary of both Times columnists and the majority of Times comment writers. Beyond because they have been taught by the USCB that there are "races" and in America one must frame all racism in terms of black and white.
Your two recommendations concerning what might be done to produce a pan-ethnic America are worth much more discussion, not just as concerns black-white but all the rest of us.
The second recommendation concerns policy and there we saw in the last election the fundamental problem. Universal Health Care and support as provided in Sweden would do far more for "black America" than anything else. But UHC man Bernie could not convince southern blacks of that truth.
Give me enough space and I can make the case for that.
US SE Larry
2
The point about "race" here is exactly right. The elite in the universities and government decided that education and policy and supported research and publication would adopt the concept of "race." The post-MLK Jr era saw a radical re-racializing of the American mind and society, led by an essentially white elite. Students in universities emerge racialized in their thinking. Not only the census bureau's work but university departments and programs are organized by race. This reifies and reinforces the concept and inculcates it in generations of students. It has set back efforts to achieve justice and equality and mutual understanding by decades.
We should have been talking about ethnicity more than race. It's a complicated distinction but some simple and rough first cuts are that "race" is what other people do to you. Ethnicity is what you do for yourself. "Race" is a way your body gets controlled by others; ethnicity is the culture and expression you create for yourself. "Race" is something you are forced to internalize, introject, even against your will. Ethnicity is what you freely accept and modify and express.
1
Donald Trump thinks that minority outreach means taking pictures with Don King, being praised by an unstable Kanye West, or putting Ben Carson in the company of his many unqualified Cabinet members.
No sale, Donald. You showed your hateful views when you fabricated a controversy over President Obama's birth certificate, when you encouraged David Duke and dignified other white supremacists, when you described African-American communities as lawless and lost.
The fact that the larger GOP abides by such racism shows that this is far from the party of Lincoln. If Republicans want more support from people of color, they will have to earn it.
7
"The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party..."
You're kidding, right?
5
The elephant in the republican room is racism and it's clear from Trump's base that regardless of what class they claim, they are bigots and supremacists because they respond like fools every time he calls them to behave that way. As for being "conservative", it's no more clear what that means than what being a "democrat" means. The cut-off for the benefits of citizenship is wealth. If you can afford not to care about the people around you, you're in.
4
Or it could be that we've been watching a major artist with mental illness decompensate in public for years. The man needs sympathy and help, not incessant media speculation and schadenfreude. Watching the behavior of literally everyone thats stuck a toe into this particular circus pool (besides Mr West himself, he gets a pass) has been disgusting.
3
When "conservative" organizations, such as the NRA or FOX news, or the like are as quick to champion the cause of a Philando Castile, rather than a George Zimmerman, I think they can start to gain a speck of credibility when it comes to race relations. Even then, it would be only the first small step in the opposite direction they've been traveling over the past half century.
110
Sure, some Conservatives are naively celebrating Kellyanne Kanye. Fine, knock yourselves out, have some fun. But know this : Kanye is very obviously in need of Mental Health Evaluation and Treatment. No, I'm not suggesting that someone spouting Conservative views or talking points is automatically mentally ill. That would be too facile and overblown. But, THIS particular person in in the throes of a very public breakdown.
Just saying.
9
Unfortunately the Trump Republican Party is a "working class party" only in its rhetoric and electioneering recruitment. In toto its civic and economic policies are plutocratic, business and upper upper class. The Trump Republicans have skillfully found and exploited (white) class and social distress for their own benefit. Trump's policies (tax cuts, repeal ACA) have only made poor rural and declining states and individuals worse. This has magnified our horrible state of massive income and wealth inequality. A good practical example has been the teachers' revolts against Republican economic policy in 3 poor states because it has short changed not only their individual pay, but also decimated the school systems. In sum since the Republicans are exploiting class issues for the selfish gains of the plutocrats they cannot truly reach out into the public square with any credibility to deal with race.
5
The republican party will never attracts blacks until they make outwardly racists people unwelcome. As I've gotten older I find many of my views line up with those of conservatives. However, I would never consider aligning myself with a party that I know has a large percentage of its members who would rather I didn't exist. Democrats have people with similar views, but they are forced to keep them private. I am not welcome in the republican party by a large portion of its members. Why would I join an organization that does not want me?
6
"The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party ..."
This is not what the Republican Party has become. Trump's voters were well off, and motivated by racial resentment and the loss of unmerited white privilege and entitlement. The Republican party has become just what that sounds like.
3
What Ross is really implying here is that the Republican coalition cannot hold.
The Republican party is made up, basically, of two powerful substrains: the college educated, oligarchic, tax-cutting, libertarian group--what might be called "old Republican"--and the evangelically-inclined, socially conservative, working class group--"newer Republican".
The former group has a lot more power than the latter in terms of setting an agenda and legislating, as it has a lot more money to influence our money-is-speech system. But the latter group has more voters and it is easier to whip into a frenzy, which is precisely why the former group is so damn afraid of it; the former group doesn't know quite where the latter group will run with its votes and its anger.
And yes, this latter group is much closer to traditional African American "values" than is the former, whether the latter group realizes it or not. The former group has had some success using divide and conquer, and the threat to white privilege, to mold the voting behavior of the latter group--the Lyndon Johnson quote so often repeated in these comments goes a long way to explain the process. But in an ever more media saturated world that process is no longer as effective, and the coalition is tentative at best.
Someone is going to come along one day and unite socially conservative and economically precarious people of many races/ethnicities against oligarchs. One only hopes it's a democrat and not a demagogue.
76
Ross, I rarely agree with you, but you nailed it here, and deserve credit for pointing out the insincerity of today's Republican approach to race. Still, you miss something important: As a member of another minority (Asian/mixed race, take your pick), and a former Republican, I can tell you that Trumpism has not only missed the boat with Blacks, it has also alienated pretty much every other "other". You may find a few Asian or Latino equivalents to Kanye, but most of us have clearly gotten the message, which is "You are not wanted!"
5
Fascinating that you posit questions of conservatives (I prefer the more inclusive label "right wingers") who wouldn't be the least bit interested in reaching out to the black community in ways that would actually help them rather than to bolster the GOP voter ranks. They will never do what you are suggesting because, as we have seen clearly in the last few weeks from numerous reports, the GOP won their majorities in DC and the WH because of racism, not in spite of it. Why would they turn their backs on the blue collar racists that now rule the GOP, thx to Trump, when their efforts to reach out to blacks would be seen as the cynical ploy it would be. Ross, you need to get real, maybe follow George Will's decision to leave the Republicans before their lemming lurch off the cliff.
3
"It is a liberal mistake to think that bigotry suffices to explain the Trump phenomenon."
It is a Douthatian mistake to ascribe false sentiments to liberals.
I must admit that, overall, what Douthat has written makes sense: We need less bombast, more listening.
4
Trump’s GOP will never consider this advice. Never.
4
There is no real significance to Kanye's ramblings. There is amusement in seeing how the left in general and black democrat leaders in particular reacted to Mr. West "speaking out of turn." This seems driven by the real fear of what a potential loss of 10-15% of the African American vote would mean to democrats nationwide. For a party with an increasingly small share of the white vote, this would be catastrophic.
2
"It is a liberal mistake to think that bigotry suffices to explain the Trump phenomenon."
--------------------------------------
Or is it a conservative mistake? This is a classic "straw man argument". One states something that may or may not represent an actual viewpoint and then goes on to "disprove" it.
I know no liberals who this that Trump is the result of bigotry. I do know many liberals who think that Trump is the result of Trump energizing a lot more people than Clinton. The voters pretty much voted for the party for which they normally vote.
1
Given the numerous incidents of White calling the police on the Black doing everyday normal things, I am realizing America is more racist than I previously thought.
I find it insulting hearing Republicans/conservatives talk about getting black votes when they don't even accept blacks as their equal. Just look at how they treated their one time black chairman Michael Steele?
Racism in the GOP didn't start with Trump. Has Douthat forgotten about the Southern Strategy? The GOP establishment such as Paul Ryan have just been more strategic in keeping it hidden with polite language.
The GOP did not enact policies that disenfranchise the non-white communities accendentally or by carelessness. These policies were designed to keep the non-white folks down. The Blacks, Latino etc. deserved to be put down because they are simply more criminal and less worthy people.
I find it laughable Douthat thinks the Republicans have become the workers' party. In rhetoric perhaps, certainly not in actions. After the tax bill they just passed; after their huge failed effort to repeal ACA; after their repeated cuts to education; after their multiple refusals to have laws that ensure safer and more family friendly work place, besides their refusal to paying workers living wage.... Douthat dared suggest his party is now for the workers?
Liberals and the Democrats are not perfect. But they are the ones talking about money for education, healthcare, families... and not tax cut for the rich.
4
The appeal of Donald J Chaos & Co. to many of our citizens, black and white, is not based on economics. It is based on anger and fear. Trump is the champion of lazy anger and easy solutions. He reacts to problems with knee-jerk non-solutions. The USA has many problems that require a clear practical approach. The factual pros and cons must be weighed, not the dated opinions of out of touch wealthy white people. Trump is the apex of know-nothingism. He operates from out-dated or just flat out wrong information. Our economy is going through a sea-change. Our industrial base, what is left of it, is replacing people with robots. People are scared for their future and their children's future. Trump is their fear embodied lashing out at all comers. The sad part is that given he is a selfish liar, most of the "solutions" are not going to help the many people who voted for him.
5
It's hard to argue the legacy of slavery doesn't matter anymore when black men are incarcerated at 5 times the rate of whites and unemployment is 5% higher in the black community than the white.
3
Not being absolutely certain about Kanye West's legitimacy as an artist or his claim to fame as a political seer, I just wasted fifteen minutes thoroughly researching these subjects and have concluded that I can continue to safely travel through life without fearing the loss of his musical talents or political insights.
4
Why do degrade an otherwise thoughtful opinion piece with an unnecessary and ill-considered attack on "Pope" Ta-Nehesi Coates? By doing so you embody the traits you attempt to argue against and fail to acknowledge his central point, the corrupting influence of the culture of celebrity and its exponential influence on life in general and politics in particular. There would not be the sad joke of President Trump without this malignant force. At least you were kind of to provide a link to his essay. It was extremely personal but, with only a little imagination, could apply to the world at large.
1
RD is pointing out that TNC has taken on Papal authority by deciding who gets excommunicated (made "anathema") from the black community--by saying who is really black and who is, actually, underneath, white. TNC's attack on Kanye was race-policing. It was repressive and and it was racist. TNC seized used his celebrity to seize this authority, and he used it in an ugly way. RD called him out on it.
1
I am speaking as an outsider and as I see it...
Kanye and his entourage are the physical representation of what is wrong with America.
They are a superfluous group of people that have zero education and zero values.
Their only "grace" is that they are blink-blink millionaires. They don't produce anything, they don't build anything, they do not have education and they do not work hard to transform the world.
The clan only have money. That's what makes them a. famous and b. powerful. In a better version of America, they would have never had a chance to succeed or to have rating or to have any followers.
But fame and fortune they have. And they influence people's thoughts. That's how you got Trump.
2
And I thought the real news was dropping negotiating Medicare drug prices.
1
Family, especially parenting. Safe neighborhoods, especially safe from homicides and armed robbery. Schools that discipline and teach. Patriotism. Work and dignity.
These suggest some of the conservative values with deep appeal to many African-Americans that are obscured by liberal pandering and a politics based on victimization.
So I regard Mr. Douthat's message as somewhat unsatisfactory.
1
"It is a liberal mistake to think that bigotry suffices to explain the Trump phenomenon."
Wrong. It is now the overwhelming scholarly consensus.
The recent National Academy of Sciences report on Trump voters is only the latest monograph to take away the excuses/lies of those awful people that their 2016 votes were based on 'disruption,' claimed 'national decline,' 'draining the swamp,' the weather, the winner of that year's Kentucky Derby, or other such nonsense. Trump voters want to restore the racial status quo that controlled the nation from 1619 to roughly 1970. Unlike Reagan, who used dog whistles to convey his fealty to white racists, Trump uses a bullhorn.
Hence the irrelevance of the frenzied, endless, and tiresome efforts to 'understand' -- apologize for -- Trump voters and to order the clear-eyed to believe they're not seeing the obvious. What there is to understand is this: Trump's and their platform is indistinguishable from those of Jesse Helms and David Duke. It must be confronted. And, in November 2018 and beyond, repudiated.
179
As Bill Clinton said: "It's the economy, stupid." The significant number of people who voted first for Obama and then for Trump didn't suddenly turn racist. They saw Trump as more likely than Clinton to make the changes necessary to improve their economic prospects.
5
Not only does this episode show us the depth of right-wing cluelessness on race and society in general, but it illustrates how desperate conservatives are for approval from the majority of the public that dislikes their policies.
3
"The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party..."
Really? That must be why the Trump Party has so relentlessly pursued tax cuts for the rich, repeal of Obamacare that would benefit corporations and..the rich... and rollback of environmental regulations that would benefit corporations and..the rich ...at the expense of the health and welfare of our children and our grandchildren.
Asserting that the Repubs have transformed into anything but the party of a demagogue is either disingenuous or a fantasy.
16
Douthat writes as if the excitement of some right-wingers' excitement about Kanye is sincere, if misguided. But, in fact it may be either deluded or just plain cynical. Even in his suggestions (about Confederate monuments and corrupt local law enforcement), Douthat seems to be letting "conservatives" off the hook at the same time he is trying to encourage them to be slightly more accountable. Douthat says some good things here, but underestimates the problem. Working-class populism will never unite people across race unless real policies improve the lives of most people. Yes, racism is complicated, but I think Mr. Douthat is not, himself, fully aware of the problem of racism in GOP.
6
There is a greater chance of the Boston Celtics flying me to Beantown this morning, starting me opposite LeBron James, and me slam-dunking over said LeBron in the Boston Garden this afternoon, than the GOP stop using race as a tactic to gain support from a certain segment of the white population in these United States.
89
It is a stretch to attach great significance to Kanye's warm bath in the Trump swamp. While it may be novel that he proclaims to support Trump, he is only one individual, who happens to have a microphone. It is, by far, not his best performance, and if he weren't a successful entertainer, no one would pay him any attention.
14
It's at least as likely that Kanye is performing performance art as that he is directly doing performance art. He is an artist. He puts words in motion. We are the ones who try to make it all line up with our own projects.
1
Deflection; old news. Shift with me to the economy!
US political economy separates narratives from numbers, but narratives often influence politics more than numbers do. To political ends, if a narrative says inflation is bad or tax cuts are good, it is politically useful as a tool of fear or praise. But the numbers also miss internal changes, statistical thresholds. When these thresholds are reached, they change the character of institutions and markets, social values.
Kanye aside, the US political economy seldom explores racism, but its economics reveals racial thresholds. As inflation, employment, GDP, national debt rise and fall, the black income gap (70%, 80%; M, F) and the black employment gap (2X, twice the white rate) have remained constant or increased for five decades!
More important than Kanye's views is this question: is the income gap constrained from the economy by racial narratives and identity politics? Is the employment gap lost productivity? Together, are they the fixed costs of racism? The cost of white privilege, rarely discussed by men in gray suits?
Trump's lower unemployment numbers didn't change the disparity. Black workers remain unemployed at twice the white rate. Their wages are lower. Structural racism remains, a bold contradiction in the face of so many singular exceptions, who collectively have not added up to a threshold of change. The gap persists in the face of black success.
Discussing Kanye doesn't fix this.
24
Employment/unemployment numbers don't include the people who quit looking for work. That can give "artificially" low unemployment figures.
9
Discussing Kanye doesn't fix it, but entertaining Kanye's poetry as a meditation might still shed some light. Whites and Blacks in this country are controlled by the narratives that establish their racial identities. These narratives are intermeshed with values and cultural forms and ways of seeing and racism and racial border policing, sometimes implicit and sometimes carried out forcefully. Parts of these identity narratives and the ways they interact with each other are the cause of racial conflict, misunderstanding, mistrust, and racial division.
Narratives emerge from history and are historical. They try to perpetuate themselves into the future, to remain the narratives that will frame the future. They are gods; they are power. They rule us. They also dominate us. They also imprison us. They also rule with repetition compulsion.
What if we ask the question, just ask the question, about whether we want these narratives to go on carrying the day, and carrying us along?
The economics of this is important, but so are the narratives--and they can defeat planning and law. They get deep within us. What Kanye says about mental imprisonment by black narratives goes a fortiori for white ones.
What if we step out of some parts of those narratives and write ourselves into some new ones together? Huge risk because our identities are at stake.
4
This is a fantastic point. We are all hypnotized into believing and imprisoned by certain narratives from an early point in our life. Perhaps it is our life's end to keep re-writing the narratives from childhood that no longer suit us as we grow older. I would argue that one of the biggest obstacles to engaging in this work is facing the loss/grief that it entails. Unfortunately, many of us are scared of such feelings and thus prefer to hold on to no longer useful ways of framing reality because they are more comfortable, and the pain of letting them go seems unbearable.
2
The fear is palpable,when individuals like Kanye speak their mind.In derisive comments of a Party which historically has taken for granted and pandered to race elements,an historic significance is suddenly portrayed.When Rampant and undocumented immigration of tens of millions takes the place of the cause for African Americans and the jobs which gave them financial security social breakdown occurs.The time comes when getting pandered to like a child who's mind has not developed yet ,by the Democratic party is no longer a sustainable function .Somebody of great courage ,like Mr. West is the element of change.
4
If you think for one second hat the republicans are doing a better job working for African Americans than the democrats are, you aren't paying paying any real attention. That isn't to say they always get it right. Politics is hard, and there is a lot of pandering on both sides. But the GOP doesn't give a lick about the African American community, or the poor and disenfranchised generally.
3
Sure they do .If you think they want more crime ,because all the jobs are gone away or the ones that are here are taken by undocumented workers ,you're wrong.If you think the Republicans want the kind of crime and drug infested inner cities the Democrats have created in recent decades ,you're wrong,those areas are black,where to begin.
Douthat is pretty consistently right here.
However, the Republican Party is not quite a working class party if you take out the South, not even a White working class party if you take out rural folks generally. That, at least, is the case if one class-ifies a party in term of its voters as opposed to it economic beneficiaries
6
Douthat, The trolls are out in farce, but don't let them distract you. I admire your attempt to draw attention to the contradictions in today's politics.
10
Working class? I think comedian (and I presume well-off by now) Dave Chapelle got it right when he addressed Trump supporters, "He's not fighting for you. He's fighting for me."
40
Perhaps the clue to bringing blacks into the the Republican party is not it's transformation into a working class party but rather, it's transformation into a workers party. Right now, under Trump, the Republican party has succeeded in pulling off the ultimate con: to entice the entire republican base plus millions of working class democrats to revel in Trumpian dogma. Then it delivers the same old supply side policy: tax cuts for the wealthy and reductions in the safety net. (Witness the recent drug price plan). But what if Trump actually delivered on his populist promises. And for that matter, wouldn't that be a good strategy for a democrat, instead of just being another culture warrior.
19
"First, conservatives who resist the idea that today’s racism can be legislated away need to think harder about how to honor the particularities of the African-American experience."
Now you're talking, Ross.
Why does the GOP not honor--for HISTORY's sake--the brave abolitionist men and women who destroyed the Confederacy, many of whom were Republicans?
Why does the GOP seem to regard black people as A Problem, not as their community?
And how could the GOP remotely consider allowing Trump to lead its party? This is not just about attracting black voters...
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Yeezy may be an extraordinary wordsmith in his field, and he may have had a difficult upbringing, but nowadays he has as much in common with urban African-America as Trump has with the disenfranchised lower-middle class 'Muricans he pretends to champion while simultaneously pulling the rug out from under them. In both instances, there's clearly an ulterior motive at work within the two of them.
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We need conservatives (and Republicans) to make a serious appeal to black voters. I've voted Democrat in every election in which I was eligible to vote (1960). But -- long story short -- there needs to be competition.
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"If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you."
- Lyndon B. Johnson
Mr. Douthat, when you write, "The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party means that its base has more in common economically with the average black American than the country-club G.O.P. of yore," I think of LBJ's quote above.
It is a boldfaced lie to say that the Republican Party is a working-class party.
The tax cut for the 1%, destruction of the ACA, repeal of the estate tax, refusal to allow the government/Medicare to negotiate drug prices, destruction of the Consumer Protection Agency, all are actions that destroy the working-class and African Americans.
After Republicans rammed through the tax cut for the 1%, Ryan pivoted immediately saying Republicans will aim to reduce spending on both federal health care and anti-poverty programs, citing the need to reduce America's deficit.
“We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit.”
Trump is now sending a plan to Congress that strips more than $15 billion in previously approved spending, half of the proposed cuts coming from the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Stop repeating this baloney that the Republicans or President Trump are populists and represent the working-class.
It is a lie.
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Indeed. I don't think I'm the only one who cringes when I hear GOP pols and funders declare their love and support of "hard working Americans" .
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It is a lie, but one to which working class whites subscribe.
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It may be a lie but it is one that American voters have embraced. I am not sure what that says about American values and American greatness. Maybe our only greatness anymore is the military threat we pose to bully the rest of the world.
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The right wing is not "clueless" about race. They know. They just don't care. In fact, they sort of like it.
It is not about being stupid or clueless, it is about values, their values.
Douthat does not hear what Kanye said any better than he reports what the right really says.
Kanye said the Democrats don't have any automatic rights to black votes. Democrats have to earn those votes, and they have not. Instead, they act entitled, and blacks have no need to "stay on the plantation" for that entitled behavior.
Kanye did not address the lack of other good choices. For example, the not-so-clueless right.
However, Kanye is correct. If blacks don't force someone to give them a real choice, they'll continue to get nothing or worse. Now the center right establishment of both parties say the words but don't do the deeds, and then call each other names for that.
So they resent Kanye calling them out on that.
As for Trump, he offers nothing, but then neither has anyone else delivered in quite some time, the Clinton Admin as bad as the Bush before and after it, and the Obama a huge disappointment.
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Mark, I keep trying to understand. Clinton, Bush, Obama, offered nothing...so less than nothing, Trump, and his wrecking crew, is the obvious choice? Bannon wanted to blow up the administrative state and the existing world order; and presumably pick up the pieces he liked. Has anyone thought about unintended consequences? How did blowing up a region, like the Middle East, work out for us and the world after 2003? Is it over? Do we think the tribalism behind Shia/Sunni conflicts has been eliminated because they move to another vacuum we create? How will starting a new nuclear arms race in the Middle East work out? Or a war between Israel and Syria/Iran? How will Russia react? China?
Kanye who?
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The current reduced rate of unemployment in the Black community is an accomplishment of the Obama administration... and it's not nothing.
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The excessive attention & over-analysis given to what clueless millioniaire entertainers think about politics certainly reflects something important about the state of politics: much of the country no longer knows the difference between entertainment and real life, between jesters & leaders. Hence Mr. Trump getting anything but polite laughter when he ran for president.
The problem with increasing the number of black Republicans isn't just a question of policy & spin. The GOP's working-class appeal, such as it is, depends on getting the non-rich to blame poor people (mostly minorities) for what rich people do to them. Mr Trump's approach to the strategy is certainly more explicit & vulgar than most, but the bait & switch / scapegoat & rip off routine has been central to the party for 50 years. If you want to try to bring black people into that fold, you'll just have to get them to blame, say, Latinos or Muslims for racism. Politics has become entertainment, but I doubt that sort of story-line will sell.
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Here's a flash. Pop star celebrities frequently aren't very bright. The bulk of undereducated voters may not care how a bill becomes a law or what the three branches of government are, and may well check their Spotify playlist before casting their ballot. Lots of us liberal elites though actually think that knowledge of how our democracy works is pretty important stuff to know. Yes, our side will parade more than its share of clueless stars in front of a crowd, but we're trying really hard not to run a government based on disenfranchisement or bait and switch. Republicans as the party of the working class? How's that healthcare program that will be better and cheaper than the ACA coming along, or the wage growth that the tax cut promised doing?
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Does one have to be a "liberal" AND an "elite" to care about how democracy works, or is enough to be a liberal? If I have to be an elite, then I'm very worried, cause I want to care about democracy, but I don't think I'm gonna make it into elite status.
Shoot, now I'm confused. Robert Mueller certainly is an "elite" right now, but I understand he generally votes Republican. If that disqualifies him from knowing about how our democracy works, shouldn't someone tell him?
Given how elite you are, and knowing your interest in how our democracy works, may I respectfully suggest this article about the politics that effect our democracy?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/12/opinion/sunday/liberals-youre-not-as-...
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"It is a liberal mistake to think that bigotry suffices to explain the Trump phenomenon".
Of course it is more than bigotry. There is also ignorance, avaricious, and a disturbing preference for authoritarianism. And for some Trump supporters , all 4 traits are applicable (political scientists call that the "Full Hannity").
So while bigotry may not be the full explanation, it is at the core for why your two suggestions are irrelevant.
Conservatives do not have a problem with a tactics, the have a problem with racism.
Taking down a few confederate statues and backing off from the worst of their anti-constitutional efforts at disenfranchisement is not going to fool anyone. And to believe that there is a significant conservative constituency interested in listening to "actual black people", is every bit as delusional as Mr. West.
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A great column Ross. I could not agree more, and I love all the ways you ask the Republican party to put their money where their mouth is! I hope this strikes a chord with conservatives. Indeed, African Americans will benefit a lot more when they are distributed more evenly between the two parties, as currently the party they support takes them for granted and the other party has written them off, and don't care for them either.
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My guess is that, more than once, DJT has embraced Kanye when they've met in person (because Trump is obsessed with celebrity).
I'm also pretty sure that neither Bernie Sanders, nor Hillary Clinton, would ever do the same.
Sometimes life is simpler than we make it out to be.
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Father Douthat, it's well known that Kanye West has a short attention span.
“I just get bored with things really easily and try to find something that excites me,” said Kanye at the 2015 Grammy Awards red carpet.
So he became a Trumper so he could break attention-deficit-disorder bread with our Attention-Deficit-Disorder-In-Chief.
No need to overinterpret, Ross.
These mutations happen periodically; they have no impact on Republican policy or strategy.
Greed Over People has only one idea, and it's hanging onto that greedy idea until the very last dollar is extracted from the sea of Grand Old Poverty it has carefully built through orchestrated fear and electoral loathing of 'the other'.
Kanye West, Clarence Thomas, Herman Cain, Ben Carson and other black Republican ornaments are certainly very useful African-American props for the party that is trying its best to yank healthcare, a living wage, food stamps, infrastructure, voting rights, education and longevity away from tens of millions of the poorest and pigmentally-challenged non-white Americans.
Even Frederick Douglass - who's been dead for 120 years - has been a useful black prop for this fake Administration, as Donald reminded us last year:
"Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice."
The idea that the Republican Party - and their Deluder-In-Chief - might re-enter Earth-based reality in the near future is a very impressive delusion.
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yes, Ross over interprets everything and writes over complicated sentences and paragraphs expressing over complicated rationalizations and excuses.
That's what a columnist must do to justify the party from a different reality. And that's what West, Thomas, Cain, Carson and other black Republican ornaments do to rationalize, and fool those they exploit, as they get what they can out of the party.
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Ahmen, Socrates.
The real tragedy here is that we are in the age of celebrity. Can we really believe that had djt not enjoyed a phase as a TV personality, he would have found his way to the White House? Kanye simply wants to be identified with the star of stars.
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Pray, what does "pigmentally-challenged" mean?
It sounds like not being White is some kind of disability.
I'm sure that's not what you meant!!
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"Instead, a celebrity who may be doing performance art is exactly the African-American “supporter” the Trump-era right deserves."
For once, I couldn't agree with you more, Ross. The above quote from your article says it all: Just as Donald Trump embodies phony populism, so does Kanye exhibit phony Trump support.
You've managed to make something of what amounts to a "yawn, really?" topic, meaning, why would anybody ever write more than two lines to the concept that conservatives have a shot at wooing African Americans?
In practice, the Trump administration IS one big plantation, including the token black Ben Carson who seems to delight in doing member of his own race in. From voter ID laws to cuts in social programs that particularly benefit African Americans, the conservative message to black voters is, "know your place.'
No, Ross, unless conservatism replaces race-bait get out the vote messages with real messages of opportunity for the disadvantaged and disenfranchised, they will never be taken seriously.
Of course, if they did that, they'd be Democrats now, wouldn't they?
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Ross, good column.
So long as the southern strategy remains operative, the GOP will never be able to make inroads within the African American community - nor should they.
The GOP should have the stones to run on their ideas - and if those idea fail, adopt new ideas.
The southern strategy is merely one of multiple diversionary screens behind which Trump, the Koch Brothers, and their fellow travelers hide their systematic theft of our collective national wealth.
We should be arguing about the strategies that produce the best outcomes for the greatest number of people - with both political parties having the courage to change their stance when the evidence points in that direction. But because the goal of the GOP donor class is the continued looting of America, and ultimate transformation of a once mighty democracy into a de facto feudal state, the deployment of repugnant, diversionary wedge issues (like the southern strategy) continues.
Ross, the Reformicons are the only hope that the GOP has - and I hope that you get a better hearing within the party once the curtain falls on Trump's disgusting reign of error.
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Mr. Douthat, I applaud your suggestion that conservatives move towards a fuller telling of history that includes slavery and Jim Crow. I appreciate your recognition that black people are sometimes obvious victims of local institutions, and that Republicans have promulgated exaggerations about "urban" voter fraud.
But where have you been?
What you describe has been true for years. There have been many opportunities over the last few years for you to write about all this. When the politics of dog whistle racism and even overt racism benefited the Republican candidates you supported, you went along. Now that it has led to the disaster of Trump and a crisis for the Republican party, you are finally noticing and speaking up. Is this a true change of heart? Or will you go back to playing along with Republican white identity politics when it leads to the election of more traditional Republicans?
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Right, now that this has led to the disaster of Trump , notice how many long time media rationalizers for the GOP are suddenly critical? Where were they?
They have been part of the media that excused anything the GOP did and helped condition public opinion, so a Trump could be nominated and then elected.
Do they ever see the connection?
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There is some debate as to whether the Republican party "has become the working class party." The average Trump voter in 2016 earned over $70,00 per year. Sounds like country club republican to me.
Trump did get a lot of white working class votes. But Hillary underperformed among black voters, compared to Obama.
Maybe Bill's "superpreditor" comments offended some.
It shouldn't be that hard to regain enough black and white working class voters to win in 2020. Just don't nominate Hillary again (or Nancy Pelosi). The dogs aren't eating that dog food.
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Gawd, Ross, what did you do to cause the Times to force this dreadful penance on you?
You start well then descend rapidly into this contempt for what amounts to a regular guy who happens to be rich and famous, who happens to be black and happens to lean right. We should be throwing parades for this guy.
I’ve known a lot of white Democratic hard-hats who are as clueless on race as many Republicans. You blindly constrain the argument to elites, where the cluelessness is more pronounced between the parties on this issue. But it’s not elites who determine the outcomes of elections: it’s the regular guys and gals. Try to remember that Trump took higher percentages of minority votes than either McCain or Romney did – and FAR higher percentages than the unchained, potted liberati ever projected. Might have something to do with their devastating disappointment on 8 November 2016, after they’d crowned Hillary months before.
Ross’s advice to Trump about truly competing for the black vote instead of looking the other way as others seek to discourage them from voting makes sense. But Kanye West is PRECISELY the kind of black American whom Republicans should be courting – indeed, lionizing – because he has immense name recognition and presence, and not just among black Americans.
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The end of this post says all that needs to be said about the cynicism of the Rights response to these statements. West must be lionized not because he has a coherent arguments, not because there is anything to say for the New Age claptrap about "creating your own reality" but rather because of name recognition. This is exactly the degeneration that commentators such as David Frum find in Trumpism. Richard's posts have been provocative and challenging to liberals. Now he is just banging the drum for the populism of tabloid celebrity.
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You should indeed be throwing Kanye parades. Sell-outs rarely come so cheap.
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The only thing "immense" in this response thread is your wildly misguided belief that Kanye is some sort of "great black hope" for the GOP to recruit minorities to their ranks.
He is no more representative of black people than Trump is of white people. They are both bizarre, sui generis ego manical outliers whose only cares are enhancing their personal financial standings via shameless and outlandish self promotion.
Your "theory" is preposterous and laughable on it's face. Kanye is not going to open up the floodgates to an onrushing tide of black americans for the GOP.
But good luck with it, maybe you can sell it to a GOP think tank like the Heritage foundation, they love quackery like that.
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Kanye West might be entertaining on one level but he’s also nuts, which might explain his failure to recognize that he’s part of the Republican’s new Southern Strategy. This is where conservatives pretend to speak for the downtrodden, the working class and the resentful while they pick their pockets and revel in the ease with which the dupes take the bait.
It’s not hard to see why the working class and black Americans are more similar economically than ever before. All of us are more similar economically when the top one percent rakes in billions, works to dismantle health care, attacks Social Security and pays starvation wages.
Republicans also depend on low-information, single-issue and religiously-minded people to keep them in office. Abandoning whole cities to neglect and economic ruin is a great way to force people into survival mode, where a few sympathetic platitudes and a shout of Amen can provide a ray of false hope.
When Republicans lost to Barack Obama after running the intensely white bread Mitt Romney, they started talking about Republicanism as being a Big Tent with room for everyone, skin color and income notwithstanding. It lasted for about six weeks.
Republicans are necessarily conflicted about all of this. How are they supposed to suppress minority voters while expecting them to elect Republican candidates?
Hmm… Nobody said it was easy to be a Republican. But it sure is profitable.
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Overall, a thoughtful piece; but this sentence attempts to unite two mutually exclusive truths: "The sociological transformation of the Republican Party into a working-class party means that its base has more in common economically with the average black American than the country-club G.O.P. of yore." Yes, there has been a sociological transformation of the Republican party into a sports arena crowd; but not an economic transformation! The donor class: The Kochs, the Wilks, the Mercers, Adelson, Murdoch, Uihlein, Singer etc would be far more comfortable at a country club than a union hall. And if the base perceives its lot has fallen to the level of urban minorities it will run all the more harder in the other direction. The Republican party as a worker's party is Trump performance art.
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The only reason people pay attention to Kanye is because he is a big name in the music business. I think that the news media should start to ignore people who voice their opinions outside of their field of expertise.
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