In the years since the electoral victory of President Donald J. Trump, liberals had one overwhelming accusation: he’s an old, privileged white man and a racist to boot. But as the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses closed, the left had their perfect response. They’ll send in a bunch of (mostly) old white folks as their best counterargument.

Honestly, I don’t know what the Democrats are thinking here. The latest debate was the whitest centerpiece I’ve seen in a while. What’s more alarming is that it was a supposedly liberal, progressive centerpiece. Look, I have no issue with the race of our elected officials: it’s an immutable characteristic for which we have no control. But Democrats love talking about race and diversity as juxtaposition against the Trump administration.

Granted, we had some diversity (as if that were the most important characteristic in our politics). Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar represent successful women who have climbed the Washington hierarchy. You also have Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is openly gay.

However, their overriding shared trait is that they’re all white. Again, that’s neither here nor there by itself. But whiteness affords a level of social currency that ethnic or racial minorities don’t have full access to. Ironically, the Democrats proved exactly that with this farce of a debate.

 

Losing a Critical Advantage Over Trump

Due to the left’s archaic and obtuse mechanisms for candidate eligibility, the Democrats essentially snuffed out minority voices. Furthermore, they strategized poorly, failing to rear effective, compelling candidates to go up against President Trump.

And with so much talk about race and racism, the Democrats really needed to walk the walk. Instead, the leftists showed their true colors, which was none at all. And without a candidate of color, they lose the one advantage that they couldn’t afford losing to Trump: the race card.

Sure, Elizabeth Warren could win the Democratic nomination, although that’s probably not going to go over well. Deference to the fairer sex didn’t do jack for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And putting a token minority on the Vice President ticket probably won’t change the narrative either: remember when white John McCain tapped female Sarah Palin to take on half-white, half-black Barack Obama?

What the Democrats should have done from day one was to focus on the issues. To paraphrase snubbed candidate Andrew Yang’s words, they should have focused on what got Trump elected in the first place. Instead, they went on a full-on racism witch-hunt.

Now, the Democrats look like the real racists – pandering to minorities but doing nothing to address the biased power structure. Republicans should give them an early Christmas card: the liberals handed the President a second term.