but, why this republican frenzy for identity regulation now? it s not the individual identity, it s the collective identity of america. america s more diverse, and more accepting than it s ever been, and that is the identity that republicans want to suppress. it made me think of the fight around americas historical identity, that it s happening right now in virginia, at the home of america s fourth president james madison, montpelier. since 2018, montpelier had been a radical idea, it was run with active input from the descendants of its slave people who lived there, until they were essentially booted last month. some of the defendants are descended from both the enslaved and the enslavers. james french is the chair of the montpelier descendants committee, and his defense descended from both enslaved people and enslavers. here s what he told me on my washington post broadcast, on how he views the true history of the founding fathers.