By SILVIO CANTO JR.

The Democrats in the U.S. Congress have for years repeatedly played the race card on the Republicans (GOP), and now they are at it again..

Basically, it seems, for the Dems, calling the guy on the other side a racist is what you do when you have no more rational arguments.

Inner-city schools are a mess, you say? You are racist!

Immigration laws should be enforced, you maintain? You are a racista!

The problem with indiscriminately calling the guy on the other side a racist is that, sooner or later, you will run out of Republicans to attack. Then you play the race card on your own, as we are seeing more and more in the U.S. Congress.

The following is an excerpt from the Arlington-based political website Politico:

Tensions exploded on Capitol Hill this week after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) accused (U.S. House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi of singling out women of color for criticism, as divisions linger over the passage of a $4.6 billion border bill.

Pelosi has been dismissive of the influence on Capitol Hill held by Ocasio-Cortez and three other rising Democratic Party stars — Reps. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) — the group of freshman female lawmakers with massive followings on social media.

Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks ignited a long-simmering feud with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).

CBC members, such as Clay, exploded in anger at Ocasio-Cortez for having “used the race card” and accused progressives of seeking to oust black lawmakers by endorsing their primary challengers.

The progressive group Justice Democrats, which is closely aligned with Ocasio-Cortez, is supporting primary challengers to several longtime Democrats, including Clay and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a Hispanic Caucus member.

Justice Democrats have also considered a challenge to House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), a CBC member who is viewed by many as a potential heir to Pelosi.

Like parents who never disciplined their teenagers, the Democratic Party leadership has only itself to blame.

First, Democrat leaders encouraged all of this diversity in the name of identity politics. What they ended up with is a group of representatives who hate Israel or have no appreciation for the United States, as astutely pointed out by President Donald Trump (who got reprimanded by the Dems on Tuesday, July 16, for his candor).

Who else but someone who is historically ignorant would use the phrase “concentration camps” in a totally unrelated debate?

The Democrats allowed millions of their supporters to get consumed in the Robert Mueller probe. What they ended up with is a bunch of disappointed Democrats shutting off CNN and turning on party leaders for not fighting for impeachment.

Where does all this vicious name-calling end? Not well, if you are an adult Democrat who believes that the opposition has a serious role to play in U.S. politics.

It is time for the Democrats to stop throwing around the R word and start trying to work with the Republicans to serve all the citizens of the United States, regardless of race, creed or color.

Silvio Canto , Jr. is a Cuban-born U.S. citizen who teaches English at a north Texas college. He is the author of the book “Cubanos in Wisconsin” and has a daily online radio program and blog dealing with U.S. and Latin American politics, as well as sports and historic events.