General Discussion

Pete Hegseth is "the quintessential DEI hire, someone hired for his culture and identity rather than his qualifications" the author writes.

DEI does not mean hiring someone for their "culture and identity" rather than their qualifications. It means the exact opposite. It means hiring someone based on their qualifications despite their "culture and identity" not being straight, white and male.

"The hiring of someone for who he is and not any qualifications he might have is precisely what right wingers have been leading jihads against for years" the author continues.

No, the right wingers do not oppose hiring people who are unqualified, they oppose hiring people who are not straight white males.

DEI does not mean unqualified and never did. I guess the author thinks it's cute - "look how hypocritical Republicans are!" - and clever to turn the tables on the Republicans, but it is damaging when allies reinforce the right wing framing on issues like this article does.

One of the tricks that makes right wing propaganda so effective is that they are able to establish a context for the discussion that is implicitly biased for every issue. "DEI versus qualified" is a prime example. "Legal immigration versus illegal immigration" is another example. The environment versus jobs is another.