Being political Hindus in the West #5: Who supports and Opposes the CRT?
11 Dec 2022 18:00:00
Critical Race Theory (CRT) has been a divisive political issue in the USA. In the previous article, we discussed what CRT is and how it can and does impact the Hindus in the West in general but specifically in the USA. In this article, we will discuss which political leaders support or oppose the said CRT. This analysis can give us a fair idea of which political parties, at least largely if not entirely, support or opposes the CRT.
In the year 2021, a republican candidate named Glenn Youngkin won the Gubernatorial election in Virginia. He was the first Republican to win any statewide election in Virginia since 2009 and only the fourth Republican to win the governorship in 40 years. How did that happen? Most political analysts agree that Glenn Youngkin won the state by opposing the imposition of CRT in education. He promised to ban the teaching of CRT in the state school from day one.
More recently, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis got reelected by a record margin in Florida. Florida, a swing state for several years, was swept by DeSantis by almost 20%. He won in spite of Trump admonishing him just a few days before voting. Apart from anti-socialist policies and rhetoric, opposition to immigrants (illegal), the main agenda of his campaign was constant rhetoric against the woke policies which include CRT, backed by the policies. These two examples have shown us that a blue state like Virginia which borders Washington D.C., as well as a purple state like Florida, can flip with a credible anti-CRT agenda by a Republican candidate. This also tells us that CRT is far from being a popular platform in US politics, as of now.
On the other hand, leaders of the Democratic party and the Congressman and Congresswomen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, Cory Bush, also known as the Squad are known for their open advocacy for the CRT. These leaders have demanded the implementation of CRT in all schools across the country to teach about Race and Racism. It is also interesting factor to note that none of these leaders are from any ‘Red’ or even ‘Purple’ district. They represent the deep blue constituencies. This means that their rhetoric and policy support is to cater to their domestic audience and not to appeal to the wider public. This is why, the same party needed, a Straight White man who is considered a moderate in the democratic party, Joe Biden to defeat the Republican party led by Donald Trump. This is how Jared Polis got reelected as the Governor of Colorado. He opposed the CRT and advocated keeping it out of schools.
This makes understanding the political positions of various leaders and parties on CRT a bit difficult. Not all Republicans are against the CRT and not all Democrats are in support of the CRT. Having said that, in the Federal elections and in most of the Statewide elections, Republicans being anti-CRT and Democrats being pro-CRT can be seen. This is because the core base of the Democrats is in support of the CRT and the Democrats need this base to get the maximum votes from the city centers. Without the city votes, Democrats can’t win any elections. Cities tend to be Deep blue areas which are generally represented by radical leftists like the Congresswomen and Congressmen mentioned above.
This is why, apart from the individual variations, as a party, Democrats will support the CRT because their base supports it and the party depends on its base. While the Republicans will oppose it as the Republican base despises it and the party needs to please them as well. This need for playing for the core vote base will determine the party's positions on the issue more than the merit of the issue. This leaves Hindus in a very precarious position as to whom to support. As the Democratic base supports CRT and CCT which is against the interests of the Hindus, while the Republican base opposes CRT but is usually a Christian fundamentalist and white supremacist group. This is the rock and the hard place that the Hindus find themselves in on the issue of CRT in the USA.