Identity politics are truly the coin of the realm.

In the wake of the $10 bill brouhaha, many conservatives have pointed out that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has inadvertently insulted whichever woman next graces the currency. Because the field of candidates has been narrowed by sex, so the thinking goes, the honor of gracing the currency will go to the best woman, not the best candidate. But a woman should be placed on the $10 because of her merit, not her gender.

Unfortunately, this argument invariably leads conservatives to abandon their better natures. More than a few have called for some crowd-sourced method of choosing the right candidate. Meanwhile, Treasury has been pushing the “#new10” hashtag to compile suggestions online. Close to 5 million people watched the finale of season two of Girls. That’s about the same number by which Barack Obama won reelection. In other words, the same people that twice elected Barack Obama, having already imperiled our future, will be given the opportunity to tarnish our past.

Fortunately, both chambers of Congress are controlled by the GOP, which, by the way, has had some image issues for the last decade. Congressional Republicans now have a brilliant opportunity; a government-funded GOP ad in everyone’s back pocket.

If Congress takes up the matter, it should put Harriet Tubman on the $10. If left to the people, we'll probably get Lena Dunham. This, in a nutshell, is why we have a republic, not a direct democracy.

Benjamin Parker is an intern at The Weekly Standard.