Are Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s comments on DEI helpful politically?

I have to admit, I laughed so hard at Rep. Crockett’s “bleach blonde bad built butch body” dig at Marjorie Taylor Greene in the Committee hearing. Replayed the clip at least a dozen times, laughed every time. It was so refreshing to see someone finally hit back at that petulance who degrades the institution of Congress on a daily basis.

I think we need fighters. We need people who won’t take shit. We need people who are enthusiastic about our message. We need people who are, let’s say, telegenic. And Jasmine Crockett seemed to check all boxes.

Though recently she dismissed concerns about DEI as being just “crying mediocre white guys.” Regardless of the truth of that statement, I wondered if this is the most helpful message in expanding our appeal as a party?

Truth be told, there are a lot of “mediocre white guys” who vote Democrat. There are even more who should vote Democrat. There are many who used to vote Democrat but voted for Trump this time. We can and should do what we can to win them back. I’m not sure calling them “mediocre” is the way to do that. Especially when “mediocre” is often a slur for “working class” (how many times do you hear about a white guy being mediocre followed up with what he does for work?).

It also wouldn’t be politically correct or socially acceptable to talk about any other group like that. Imagine if a politician said “mediocre Black people are the only ones worried about more police on the street” or “mediocre women are the only ones worried about gender pay inequality.” It would rightfully be considered racist/sexist, and would not win over any new voters from those cohorts.

I think as we reflect on voting groups we lost or did exceptionally poorly with, it’s worth considering how we become more appealing to them; not necessarily how we make ourselves feel better about ourselves. Politics is about addition, not subtraction.

What are your thoughts? Is this framing helpful?

https://www.newsweek.com/jasmine-crockett-dei-donald-trump-politics-2025745