“We’ve never been the party that was about checking boxes or identity politics, but the difference is we have women that are qualified to be chairs, and I don’t

“We’ve never been the party that was about checking boxes or identity politics, but the difference is we have women that are qualified to be chairs, and I don’t know why there wasn’t one who was able to become a chairperson of a committee.” Why indeed. The answer: because you are the party of checking boxes and identity politics. It's just that the box is labeled "male", and your identity has to be that. "Identity politics" is dogwhistle for "My identity is important and yours isn't". When people who share an identity tell you they're going to decide based on "merit", you will discover that their identity is a merit, and you don't have it. And since you're letting them be the only ones who can play "identity politics", you're not in the room when they're playing it. They tell you it's because you don't have enough merit, and all you can do is nod your head. Meantime, the leopard goes looking for some more faces.