You would think that the most qualified person regardless of gender or race would be a party’s nominee for President.  That’s not true and has never been true but for different reasons and to different degrees now than in the early history of the two major parties.

Gender and race were not an issue before 1865 and 1920 when Blacks and then women respectively gained the right to vote.  Before then only white men were eligible to vote.  And since neither slaves nor women could vote, no slave or woman was eligible for office. Even after women were granted the right to vote, social norms dictated that their vote would not be exercised independent of the male head of the household.  And Jim Crow laws saw to the continued disenfranchisement of Blacks who were technically eligible for office and to vote but who practically speaking were not allowed to do so.

In the 21st century things changed.  Women became a voting bloc to be courted . Blacks after a series of deadly skirmishes with Jim Crow increased their representation at all levels of government.  And although not as significant a demographic as white women, still, their vote counted.  Barack Obama did two terms and Hillary Clinton was nominated as the Democratic Party’s candidate  in the 2016 election.

And then came Trump.  His election represented a backlash against 8 years of a Black President.  His denigration of women brought sexism out of the shadows to which it had retreat before 2016.  Racism and misogyny were not just on the rise but cheered on by a President whose contempt for women almost rivaled his contempt for people of color.

Elizabeth Warren will be a casualty of these times.  A seasoned politician with serious foreign policy creds she might have secured the Democratic nomination.  Except that America under Donald Trump has moved inexorably not just to the right but to the alt-right.  Elector-ability, an ever present consideration in less reactionary times, is now the litmus test before ethical or policy or competence considerations for 2020.  Trump’s 2 years of race-baiting and women-hating guarantees that a woman or a person of color has no chance of topping the Dem ticket.  Nothing would guarantee Trump a 2d term as handedly as a woman or a Black person running in opposition to him.  The typical MAGA is never more than one washing machine cycle away from dawning a white sheet.  The typical I-Am-a-Christian-and-I-support-Trump is closer still.  The Dems must choose a candidate who will not push more white voters into Trump’s camp even if they cannot attract Trump supporters to theirs.