The current anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement is best understood as the latest incarnation of a historical pattern of political backlash to civil rights reforms in higher education. In this article, the authors demonstrate how the current anti-DEI movement relies on a playbook developed during the 1960s through 1980s: one that discursively frames equity programs and policy as a threat to the excellence of institutions of higher education and uses warnings of a postsecondary "quality crisis" as a tool for rolling back equity wins--a political phenomenon they refer to as (e)quality politics. Today's educators, administrators, and policy makers must reject the (re)adoption of an (e)quality politics framework. Doing so will allow postsecondary communities to engage in the expansive learning and political education work that is critical for achieving future equitable transformation in higher education.