Identity politics generally works to the detriment of societal advancement

James Delingpole, writing at Breitbart, makes an observation on the resignation of token Muslim woman Sayeeda Warsi from the UK Prime Minister's cabinet that is pretty universally applicable:

The problem with appointments based on political correctness is that they can come back to bite you. If you've been promoted on the basis of talent, then you will stand or fall on your abilities and success when you are in post.

But if you've only been promoted because you fit the right sexual/racial/religious profile, you're really under no obligation to be anything better than perfectly useless at your job - because the appointment was never about your skills but merely about the convenient accident of your birth.

What a parlor game one could play with stateside examples of this phenomenon.