Kamala Harris is attacked by GOP critics because of her race and gender

Some Republicans are trying to refocus their talking points on Vice President Kamala Harris after she suddenly emerged as the likely Democratic presidential nominee and injected new momentum into the Democratic Party.

Some have made fun of her laughter. Some have made fun of her dancing. And Tennessee State Representative Tim Burchett accused her on social media of being a “DEI vice president” and then “DEI employee” in a CNN interview. He suggested that the former district attorney, California attorney general and U.S. senator was elected vice president solely based on identity politics and not on merit.

“It’s 100% a DEI hire,” he said.

“When you hear DEI, I want you to think of the N-word,” Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Florida Democrat and the youngest member of Congress, said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday. “I want you to think of racial slurs. That’s what they actually mean.”

On Wednesday, Burchett said on SiriusXM’s “Laura Coates Show” that he regretted his statement but went on to say it anyway. “Would I have liked to say it? No, but it was the truth,” he said.

Harris was also called a DEI worker by conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk. Representative from Wyoming, Harriet Hageman and former Trump official Sebastian Gorka.

Politico reported that Republican leaders in the House of Representatives urged party members in a closed session Tuesday morning to focus on Harris’ record and not talk about her race or gender.

“Their race and their gender have nothing to do with this,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a press conference the same day. “This is about who can deliver for the American people and get us out of the mess we’re in.”

DEI has become the latest talking point in the anti-woke culture war for conservative politicians and commentators, and a particular target of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

What is DEI?

The term diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is used to describe programs and policies that promote the representation and participation of diverse groups of people of all genders, races and ethnicities, abilities and disabilities, religions, cultures, ages, and sexual orientations.

DEI programs in business are designed to ensure that everyone—especially groups that have historically been underrepresented or discriminated against—are treated fairly and that differences are accepted to improve relationships and teamwork and increase cultural sensitivity. In education, DEI typically refers to strategies, policies, and practices that provide equal access to educational opportunities for all students, regardless of their background, identity, or ability.

“Companies that are diverse, equitable and inclusive are better able to respond to challenges, attract top talent and meet the needs of diverse customer bases,” said multinational consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

DEI programs grew out of the affirmative action policies introduced during the civil rights movement to combat historical and ongoing discrimination based on race, gender, or disability. Their popularity exploded during the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, especially after the killing of George Floyd.

Critics claim that DEI programs favor minorities and exclude more qualified candidates, treating them as anti-white, anti-male, and ideologically motivated “woke” discrimination. Some even say they contribute to anti-Semitism.

The anti-woke backlash of recent years, particularly last year after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action admissions policies, has resulted in the elimination of DEI programs at many public colleges. Some companies have eliminated their DEO training programs, though most companies surveyed said they would keep theirs. Conservative activists have filed a growing number of lawsuits advocating for “colorblindness” in the workplace.

What is a DEI setting?

The term “DEI hire” is short for “diversity hire,” a pejorative term that implies someone was hired solely to meet a quota or check a box in a DEI program, rather than on their own merits.

“Intellectually speaking, it’s simply the last of the best,” said MP Hageman. said on Tuesday about Harris“I think she was hired by DEI. And I think that’s what we’re seeing, and I just don’t think they have anyone else.”

Burchett said in the CNN interview that President Joe Biden himself said Harris was hired as a DEI employee.

“Biden said — first of all, he said he was going to hire a black woman as vice president, and he just skipped over that,” Burchett told correspondent Manu Raju. “What about white women? What about other groups? When you go down that path, you take mediocrity. And that’s what they have now as vice president.”

“Unfortunately, it has become common practice for some conservatives to discredit, demoralize and disrespect leaders of color by labeling them ‘diversity hires’ – or by otherwise misusing the language of diversity, equity and inclusion to serve as thinly veiled racist slurs,” Mita Mallick, author of “Reimagine Inclusion” who leads DEI at Carta, wrote in Fast Company.

DeSantis vs. DEI

Republicans are weaponizing the backlash against DEI, blaming efforts to create a more inclusive and equitable environment for everything from airline safety issues to global technology outages to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

But few have taken it on as directly as Ron DeSantis.

“This bill aims to ban some of these niche subjects like critical race theory and other types of DEI-influenced courses and majors,” DeSantis said in 2023 when he signed a law banning state or federal funding for any public university programs that “advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion or promote or engage in political or social engagement.”

“Florida is getting out of this game,” he said. “You want to deal with things like gender ideology? Go to Berkeley. Go to one of those other places.”

In response, universities and colleges across the state suspended their programs, although some resisted the move. Students and staff protested. Many critics said the shift to the right was damaging higher education in Florida and leading to a brain drain as graduates chose to study elsewhere.

DeSantis has been waging war on programs that address racial issues in Florida for years. The Stop WOKE Act of 2022 limited discussion of race, gender and other issues in state university classrooms, but also banned diversity practices and training that could lead employees to feel “personally responsible” for actions committed in the past by someone “of the same race, color, sex or national origin.”

After New College of Florida, a liberal arts college in Sarasota, underwent a hostile takeover to transform it into an experiment in higher education in environmental stewardship, new board members appointed by DeSantis have eliminated the college’s DEI office.

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