GOP and Diversity

You've seen this, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiQJ9Xp0xxU

Being a Republican is something anyone should be ashamed of (given the party's recent history of shameless crime, lying, and hypocrisy), but especially so for minorities who selfishly seek material benefits for themselves while allying with a party that has made a pact with social conservatives to drive homosexuals back into the closet, prevent women from having access to reproductive choice (not just abortion, but also birth control), and denying that racial problems exist in this country.

So yes, the shame is well-deserved.

"Does anyone know how hard it is to be a someone that is not white and male and be a Republican?"

Maybe instead of chastising those who are incredulous at how someone could join a party that doesn't think they deserve equal rights, you should be asking why it's so hard to be a person of color or a woman or a gay person and also be a Republican. When it really comes down to it, Republicans don't like you if you fall into those groups. They may want your vote, but they don't like you. Dems? Yeah, they like you, they are you. Now, to be clear, I don't think all Republicans are bigots. I just think that if you're a bigot, you've really only got one party choice out there.

Honestly, how are the GOP going to "reach out" to these groups? Hey, we're gonna take away control of your body, not let you marry the person you want to, leave "your area" of the city without enough funds for education, and then send you to prison! But don't worry, white straight men's money will trickle down, we promise.

Once I saw a liberal defined as someone who was so
interested in defending the interests of others, that they would not even bother to defend their own.

Perhaps this is the way black Republicans feel--- they chose the GOP because of certain principles, but are reviled by other blacks for going against the interests of the group as a whole. I think it is important to vote on your own principles, but I also don't think you can blame 90% of blacks for voting for the party that reaches out to them.

If the GOP reaches out mostly to white, Christian males, and their policies mostly benefit that group, it should be no surprise that their party lacks diversity.

I am forever amused when the same right-wingers who love nothing more than to caricature liberals as wanting to sing Kumbaya to every enemy turn right around and whine so piteously when -- horror of horrors -- those same liberals take their advice and don't sing Kumbaya to their enemies.

Dennis, I have news for you. I have opinions. Some strong ones, in fact. I'm not afraid to state them, and that includes the heckling of self-hating gay Republicans on parade floats that their party uses for the purpose of demonizing gay people. If your feelings are hurt, well, that's what heckling is all about. Grow a thicker skin.

I think your point is a good one Dennis. I think true conservatism is legitimate and embraceable by people of any color, sexual orientation, etc. But to me the problem is that the Republican Party is no longer truly conservative, along the lines of Buckley or Goldwater, for instance. It has metastasized into a party of intolerance, Christianist extremists, and lowest common denominator fear brokers, whose only real goal seems to be gaining and holding power at any cost.

It's why Andrew Sullivan's work has been a compelling read for me since before his final break with the Republicans - he has never broken from conservatism.

Are you speaking of African Americans who mock black Republicans? Or white liberals mocking black Republicans?

Also, there is an important distinction between Black Conservatism and blacks who happen to be conservative. I think Michael Stickings made a point about this a year ago. The former insists on self-reliance and refusal to embrace "handouts." It actually has a somewhat separatist component to it and is widely respected in the black community. It values the black church and black business leaders for following the law, working hard, and getting ahead.

Interestingly enough, for many Black Conservatives Barack Obama is a role model (as is Colin Powell). He got ahead through hard work and intelligence and he shows that blacks can succeed if they stop blaming everything on racism.

The latter category, however, has a more dubious past in the African American community. These are folks who traded their ties to white political and business leaders for personal improvement - at the expense of the black community. They distance themselves from the black community, often in shame.

In the late 19th century a few black Democrats (yes, the Dems and GOP were completely reversed on race) voted that way for the patronage or because of personal loyalty to former slaveholders. The almost entirely Republican black majority reviled these black Democrats as sellouts.

Note that Booker T. Washington fits into the former category and is rightly respected in black history.

Interestingly enough there is a black, gay Republican character in Spike Lee's "Get On The Bus." He exemplified Black Conservatism. Contrast him with the corrupt black car dealer who votes Republican because his customers do.

I was going to comment on this, but it's hard enough getting past the idea of modern day republicans referring to themselves as "conservative" (whatever that means anymore) much less the idea of republican women and minorities feeling put upon because democrats might be a teeny bit incredulous about why they belong to a party that has traditionally sidelined them for so long. Sure, parties can change and try to become more inclusive, but the fact is, democrats are called a big tent party for a reason; the label has been earned, not pasted on as an afterthought. Are they perfect? Far from it. Have they advocated for women and minorities rights more than those folks across the aisle have? For decades.

How many black elected officials are there in the GOP on the federal level? How many have even won a primary -- especially in a heavily GOP district? How many gays? How many Hispanics? Heck, how many federal level Republican politicians have there been in the last 40 years who were either black, Hispanic, or (openly) gay? I'm not talking appointed officials, I'm talking elected ones. Maybe I'm forgetful, but I can't think of any.

One might try to argue that minorities can't win as Republicans because they don't have identity politics on their side. But isn't that supposed to be the whole point? That's certainly the argument -- everyone should be treated equal regardless of race, culture, or orientation -- but it's hardly the reality. It's more of an excuse.

It seems to me the only "minority" that has gained anything close to parity in the halls of the GOP are females. They've done pretty well in that regard. You can be a female politician and rise up through the ranks. But if you're a member of any other minority you'd be well advised to try to rise up through the Republican ranks in some other way besides politics, because Republicans won't vote for you until you prove yourself really exceptional. Unless of course you're openly gay. If you are you're SOL regardless.

I heard the inane GOP-bashing remarks about the convention and what it implies falsely about the GOP and have to ask aloud, what about the exploitation for ages, in particular since the 1960s, of minority groups (and hyping of "oppression" and other complaints often without any factual basis), and bribing by entitlements, by the Democratic Party?

[sounds of crickets chirping]

DLS: what about the exploitation for ages, in particular since the 1960s, of minority groups (and hyping of "oppression" and other complaints often without any factual basis), and bribing by entitlements, by the Democratic Party?

Why should it matter when it comes to who the GOP decides to throw up the candidate flagpole? The fact is, they don't. And that's a problem that exists only within the GOP itself. And I argue that they can't because they first have to come to grips with the fact that oppression has a basis in reality.

@DLS - I hear you, and your victimized, "poor me" GOP words, and your straw man argument. It's par for the course for what we've come to expect from the GOP and anyone who would support them: demonize, proclaim yourself as victim, deny facts and reason and ignore the lessons of history, and appeal to the worst instincts in people. We're sick of your kind. Grow up or crawl back into the cave you came from.

Let's see, are you asking me why I don't respect a political party who openly hates my lifestyle? Who openly supports and presses for laws to make it illegal to marry whom I love? Who wants to suppress my rights to choose and I don't presume what's right for me must be right for everyone.

I want the right to marry (call it civil unions if you want) the one I love so I'd know he's taken care of if something were to happen to me or that he can make choices I want if I was incapacitated in the hospital. I want the right, just like Sara Palin's daughter, to CHOOSE life because personally I am "Pro-life" but I wouldn't FORCE it onto others.

Dennis, I'm not mocking your choice of being a Republican. More power to you if you can change the party for the better. I'm mocking the party that actively hates me yet wants me vote come election day. I'm not a battered-wife.

If the GOP wants to diversify their membership, they need to build bridges instead of burning them. Go back to core principals and abandon the narrow ideology that turns off so many voters. There are good reasons why Democrats have successfully constructed a big tent of Hispanics, gays, blacks, women, atheists, etc etc.

I think instead of attacking minorities for intolerance of Republican values, your party should examine the values themselves and see why they cause so much polarization.

Will, what can I said?

Let see why the Republican Party is the party of white males or better known as the WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestants).

when it came to women, they opposed comprehensive sex education, opposed contraceptive for women, opposed providing fair pay, opposed paid maternity leaves, opposed social services for women and children, and basically opposed laws that would make the lives of working class moms lives easier, believe that a woman place in the home or the kitchen, often critique any women who don't support anti-women laws, call women feminazis, opposed a woman right to her own reproductive organs

When it comes to homosexuals, the conservatives opposed gay rights, opposed gay marriage, support laws that would discriminate against gays, and bring up the gay marriage bans every single election years just to attract the social conservatives just like prehistoric bees attracted to homophobic honey, don't believe that crimes against homosexuals should be a made a hate crime.

When it comes to minorities, they opposed civil equality, social justice, liberty. they put a horse trainer guy in charge of FEMA and then said that the horse trainer guy failure to response is evidence of incompetence, they are more tolerance of white racists, opposed the civil right act, spend little money in inner cities school, stereotypes black women as welfare queens, stereotypes black man as violent racist rapist anarchies, stereotypes all blacks as lazy, dumb inferiors to that of white men, held the racist belief that Latinos will overtake America, advocate that in order to stop crime rates one must abort all black babies (bill bennet), was slow to response to Katrina, opposed immigrations of Latinos, and Asians are inferiors, destroyed lands that belong to native americans, choose money over the environment,

when it comes to religious minorities, they support religious intolerance by the right wing church, allowed right church to practice discrimination on people of faith or religious affliction in the faith base initiative, accused black churches of racial terrorism, rarely provided sufficient money to black churches in the faith base initiatives, believes that Israel must be supported so that Jesus can come back to rule for a thousand years and the Jews that don't convert will spend an eternity in hell, don't believe that Catholics are real Christians (pastor hagee), and believes that religious minorities should not be able to held office, especially Muslims like Keith Ellison

What more can I said?

And the conservatives wonder why minorities, women, and others don't support the GOP or that the is limited diversity in the party

or it could be that the GOP just doesn't tried to reach out to the women, religious minorities, and others because they spend too much time telling the white men that the are the party of white people?

Dennis,

Form the commnets above, you can see that the Republicans have zero chance of appealing to non-heterosexual whites. If people believe that inner schools are underfunded when they are really some of the best funded schools in the U.S; when people believe that separate and unequal college admissions, hiring, practices, and government contracting are examples of support for equal rights; and when people believe that believing that the government should not ask you what your sexual orientation is is considered bigoted but awarding special government benefits based upon sexual oreintation is equality, then trying to appeal to them based upon smaller government, lower taxes, and greater freedom is a waste of time.

The better question is what will happen to the Democratic Party as it becomes the one, dominate party and blacks, homosexuals, and Hispanics realize they have little in common other than trying to get special benefits from the government.

The comments here are full of half truths and just pure hate, it's quite scary. So much for unity politics from the left.

I guess 45% of women must be self-hating to be Republicans same must go for the 5 Senators, 20 Congresswomen who consider themselves Republicans.

Heaven forbid they have a difference of opinion than liberal women.

As for blacks, gays and Hispanics. Well I can't really argue with the policies the GOP has been making lately. But is it better to just give up and continue to have only one party speak for you? The Republicans were the ones that stood up to Southern Democrats and helped pass the Civil Rights Act. A good way to reform a party is from the inside or as Dems did by having Southern Dems hold less power (that and unfortunately the GOP accepting them into their ranks). But if reformers are met with just vile hatred it will never change. Democrats sometimes have taken advantage of this by not passing real reform for their minority groups instead just use them as voting blocks.

BBQ-

Your comment is misleading. You know full well that those Southern Democrats became Republicans after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and that is why the South is solid red today. Admit also, that TR and Lincoln would not recognize their party today, and would probably be Democrats!

what is your point superdestroyer?

that women, minorities, and homosexuals should vote against their own self interest for the benefits of the white men.

government had been granting special rights for the white men for years yet you see this as a positive.

i guess being a white men, these special rights granted to you is more important then helping the poor, women, and minorities.

I said in my comments "unfortunately the GOP accepting them into their ranks".

As for TR and Lincoln, your probably right. But I doubt Truman would be a Democrat today nor would Woodrow Wilson.

lgrf4evr,

I believe the point is that for all the talk about blacks, Hispanics, and Women voting out of a sense of justice, what they are really voting on is a sense of greed and revenge.

If public schools were any measure, blacks would have stopped voting for Democrats long ago. Look at the Baltimore High School that HBO profiled. Baltimorre is in the most Democratic city in one of the most Democratic states yet the schools are horrible along with a high crime rate, no jobs, and a government that does not support economic growth.

I would expect blacks, Hispanics, and women to get something in return for the votes except the backside of the hands of elite white progressives.

I am confused by your argument. Although the Democratic Party may not have done their best to help all inner cities school, at least they tried. Beside, if you had been paying attention for the last decades or so, republicans was the one who was in charge of the white house thus they are the one who appointed individuals to be in charge of the department of education.

African Americans who live in the inner cities had seen the effect of what a republican presidency had done to their inner cities school. No child left behind (Bush II), where the majority of money is given to more prosperous school while taking away money from poorer school. It even goes back to Reagan and Bush I. The only time that African Americans had ever experience a form of compassion was when Bill Clinton was president, which is why African Americans respect him so much. So don’t blame the failure of school on the Democratic Party, if you want to be more accurate, blame it on the republican presidents, Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II and their appointments of anti-public school individuals to be in charge of the department of education.

African Americans had already seen the disgusting and disasters effect of republican policy on their school, why would they vote for a republican president so that their school can be even more disasters. At least the democratic party reach out to them, go to their inner cities school, and try to make the school a much better place. At least democrats support policy that would make the inner cities school a much better to go to. Democrats believe in the power of education and try their best to provide funding. Former President Lyndon Johnson allocated millions of dollars to help inner cities school, President Carter tried, President Kennedy reach out to Martin Luther King during the civil right movement, and yes Bill Clinton is the most love by African Americans of this era.

African Americans are not stupid; they know what party has their interest at heart. Although the Democratic Party had not been successful because of the lacks of funding approved by republican controlled congress during Clinton or anit-public school individuals appointed to be in charge of the department of education during republican presidency even if the democratic control congress approved too much funding for the public school.

Beside, the republican presidents was in charge for 12 years under Reagan, Bush I and they had not overturn Roe vs. Wade and Bush II was in charge for 8 years and he had not overturn Roe vs. Wade, so according to your argument, people who opposed abortion should stop voting republican? No, they continue to do so because the republicans bring out abortion every election to get the right wingers to vote.

I believe the point is that for all the talk about blacks, Hispanics, and Women voting out of a sense of justice, what they are really voting on are a sense of greed and revenge.

That is disgusting, because African Americans, women, and minorities already why they vote for democrats.

Women, or feminist in general actually have a lot of compassion for the poor and dying. Have you ever hear of the social gospel? In order for Jesus to come, you must make life here heaven on earth by helping the poor, weak, hungry et al? Who do you think outlaw slavery; it sure wasn’t the conservative south but the progressive north.

Who do you campaign for a woman right to vote, outlaw child workers, provided clean air, water safe to drink, a basic standard of living, decent housing laws, public housing, welfare, social services and many more you can think of. Liberals and progressive did these things, it just so happen that these progressive and liberals left the republican party to join the democratic party because the republicans was being overtaken by the conservative south. It sure doesn’t see selfish to be, in fact those that opposed federal funded social programs are the selfish one because they care only for themselves.

If public schools were any measure, blacks would have stopped voting for Democrats long ago. Look at the Baltimore High School that HBO profiled. Baltimore is in the most Democratic city in one of the most Democratic states yet the schools are horrible along with a high crime rate, no jobs, and a government that does not support economic growth.

The reasons why there is a lack of jobs is because many of these good paying jobs had been ship overseas thanks to NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO, and other free trade legislation that the republicans had supported.

There are no longer any jobs that provided a decent salary that allowed a man to bring home the bacon anymore. Beside, many of these jobs are ship overseas is due out of greed or the love of money. The Walton family is republicans, and they donate to the Republican Party yet all of their products are made over outsource labors. Why would any person with a brain vote for republicans when the republicans are in bed with the Walton family. Maybe the republican should examine their choice of supporting free trade if they want the inner cities votes, especially minorities who factory jobs are the first to be ship takes to free trade laws.

How could you get a job when all the good paying job had been ship oversea? So that the Walton republican family can live like kings and queens?

I would expect blacks, Hispanics, and women to get something in return for the votes except the backside of the hands of elite white progressives.
The majority of wealthy people are republicans, Eric prince, ann. coulter, rush Limbaugh (20 millions a year), Sean Hannity, bill o’reilly, the ceo and shareholders on wall streets. Although they don’t agree with the conservative south on social issues they still come out and vote in doves for the republicans on economic issues. The middle class, those that make less then 300,000 a year are mostly democratic with the exception of a very small few of eastern or western rich liberals.

As for homosexuals, there are rich homosexuals that vote republican but the majority of homosexuals don’t vote republican because they are not rich but more then that, the republican brings out the gay bashing thing every single year to get the social conservatives to vote. Justice Scalia went to a dissert about how dare you not make homosexuality a crime after Lawrence vs. Texas was overturn, a famous conservative leader, Senator Sanatorium compare homosexuality to bestiality, and republican senators in the senate spend two days on the marriage amendment that was supported by bush in 2006 so that their base can see how homophobic they are while the military commission act went though in less then a day.

BBQ- Truman would have been a Democrat because he was solidly against graft by defense contractors during WWII and called them out on it when he was in the Senate. If he was a Republican he would have tried to dismantle FDR's New Deal-especially social security, which a lot of Republicans at the time considered socialism.

He did stand up to Communism and started an unpopular war , but so did JFK and LBJ-both Demcrats.

lgrf4evr

I see you are one of those cafeteria liberals where everything every done that was positive you attritube to the current Democratic party. Blacks in inner cities have had Democratic mayors, councilmen, and Governors for decades and yet, the inner cities are still bad. To blame the failure of Detroit on Republicans is laughable. Look at NYC in the 1970's when the mayor, governor, and president were all Democrats. NYC was a lousy place to live.

I expect blacks, Hispanics,and single women to vote for Democrats because Democrats say that they will tax the rich (read middle and upper middle class married whites) and will give them the money. Democrats have been consistent in accepting every failed pathology from the inner city and try to pay off the failures with tax payer money (See Affirmative Action, minority set asides, 8A contracting, blacks being overrepresented in government employment, and quotas). Even in 2006 the Democrats stilled supported forced busing in Louisville and Seattle not because it would help educated but because it would punish middle class whites who were too poor to send their children to private schools.

Also, the richest zip codes in the U.S. are overwhelmingly Democratic. Republicans are the middle class and the Democratic party is the party of the rich, the poor, the university set, minorities, and government workers. Of course, this results in bad Democratic politices such as open borders and unlimited immigration because it creates more government jobs to deal with the problems caused by illegal immigration.