I don’t buy that. People might like to claim it was the economy, but it’s about making themselves feel like they’re not being passed up on the socioeconomic ladder, especially by a black woman.

It’s better for their won ego to vote to keep a white man at the top, even if he committed treason, than to see someone they perceive as below them go past them. For many, it even works to keep their same group down, because it can feel like a personal failure to not achieve more (such as women who would rather vote for a man).

This is one of the truest quotes there is, and it can be generalized to all people, not just white men:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lbj-convince-the-lowest-wh...

I'm also against identity politics in theory, but it's the one thing that binds everything together neatly. In fact, your example is evidence of my point. Who are these people that think the economy is good versus those who think its bad? Why does it cut more strongly across racial lines than it does against economic lines? It's because it's not really about the economy. The economy is simply a proxy to vote against -- it's a dog whistle. Just like Haitians eating dogs, or kids becoming cats at school, gun control, and even abortion.

What the Republicans are good at, and how they've convinced you that they're the right choice is they openly attack certain positions they feel they have strength in and know that Dems need to defend. Like trans people. Dems know that sticking up for trans is a losing proposition, but they also know that this is what they do -- they stand for those who are most oppressed. Gay marriage 20 years ago was the same thing.

And what Republicans do with a relatively loud dog whistle is indirectly attack identity. Go and look at relatively mainstream conservative forums and search for the term "DEI hire" or "DEI admit". The actual qualifications don't matter. They aren't requesting nuance, it's simply "black = DEI hire" and "white male = merit hire". Look Trump's cabinet. Conservatives say not a peep about their qualifications and routinely disparage others. Another example is crime. I'm sure you've seen the online memes about "well, well, well" or "13/50". It's a way to disparage black people in the context of crime. The fact that this stuff floods social media can only be attributed to widespread empathy for this position or bots.

And you're right that Dems do flail about identity, because they are actually trying to address the elephant in the room. But they need to do better to make it focused more on the subtext. Rather than advocate for LGBTQ rights, fight for universal parental leave rights.

Trumps legacy will have very little to do with the economy except for a failed attempt at mass scale tariffs (which honestly aren't nearly as good nor bad as people narrate -- but its just narrative). It will be around identity issues. It will be his attacks on removing identity from history, his attacks on higher education, his disenfranchising minority voters, his deporting of immigrants (legal and illegal), attacks on birthright citizenship. Plus some non-identity issues, which mostly relate to his power: war in Ukraine and prosecutions of enemies.

So make no mistake that while Republicans don't flail about identity (because they're much better at being on message), it is absolutely that tie that binds. It is the foundation. Everything else about small government, states rights, etc... all those principles fall apart. Identity is the one thing that withstands scrutiny. We both prefer it weren't so, but it is.