the (something) card

The act or tactic of introducing the issue of discrimination against some group, especially that of which one is a member, in order to dismiss or gain an advantage in an argument. There you go playing the race card again. I don't care if you're purple—I still think it's a bad policy! He always plays the Jewish card whenever he feels like someone is attacking him. I hate it when casual racists try to brush off legitimate criticism by claiming that you're just "playing the race card."