I for one am shocked to find gambling going on in here.
Just a few years after the Republican Party launched a highly publicized diversity effort, the GOP is heading into the 2008 election without a single minority candidate with a plausible chance of winning a campaign for the House, the Senate or governor.
At a time when Democrats are poised to knock down a historic racial barrier with their presidential nominee, the GOP is fielding only a handful of minority candidates for Congress or statehouses — none of whom seem to have a prayer of victory.
At the start of the Bush years, the Republican National Committee — in tandem with the White House — vowed to usher in a new era of GOP minority outreach. As George W. Bush winds down his presidency, Republicans are now on the verge of going six — and probably more — years without an African-American governor, senator or House member.
That’s the longest such streak since the 1980s.
Wanted: Racial minorities to stab your own people in the back, provide cover to destructive policies. Perks include a life long association with the party of Strom Thurmond, Trent Lott, and The Southern Strategy. Inquire Within.
To be fair, the history of the dems has had it’s share of racists. I watched a debate between prospective Rep candidates and the question was something like “Hands up if you would take a beating than be rescued by a gay soldier” (possibly something similar, but I honestly can’t remember); No hands. I wonder if a word denoting race had’ve been put in how they would feel? Probably pleased in public, but they might get a bit ‘mucaca’ in private.
Oh well…. when they made Clarence Thomas I guess they broke the mold.
you are too tough on them.
Hahaha. But that is sad — no major offices. I’m curious, what do Black Conservative Pundits have to say about this?
To be fair, the history of the dems has had it’s share of racists.
Indeed. But liberals not so much. And nowadays the Dems are the relatively liberal party. Or at least anyone who is liberal and in a major party would be a Dem. It’s the flip side of racism. Not all Republicans are racist, but pretty much all racists are Republicans (if in a major party). Just ask Kathleen Parker.
To be fair, Republicans have very few (non-incumbent) candidates with a serious chance of winning this year.
Alberto Gonzales needs a job, doesn’t he?
I thought McCain was considering Condoleezza Rice as his VP.
P.S. I realize that VP isn’t the “house, senate or governor” but it is the White House.
Even the Uncle Ruckuses of the world eventually get it: The GOP doesn’t give a fat rat’s ass about anyone who is not white, wealthy, and Protestant.
The only reason Bobby Jindal has no chance of winning in 2008 is because he already won in 2007.
The problem is when asked to name a minority who is a Republican elected official the entire movement can only name one. Last decade it was JC Watts, this decade its Jindal.
SaveFarris: “The only reason Bobby Jindal has no chance of winning in 2008 is because he already won in 2007.”
I hope you don’t think one person is impressive.
What? You mean Alan Keyes doesn’t have a chance? LOL!!
No but I do think one person is more than zero persons, which was the entire gist of Oliver’s post.
I can tell you that if McCain chooses either Jindal or Rice as his running mate it should be viewed with the same cynical smirk that we in Illinois viewed the GOP’s attempt to counteract Obama with Keyes.
since Dems/libs say they favor affirmative action, why doesn’t their slate of candidates reflect their constituency:
50 % women, 25 % african american
or is affirmative action just for the little people–meaning not themselves.
the old ‘do as i say, not as i do’
It’s the Republicans’ own fault for letting Keyes slip through their fingers.
a few other tidbits:
- when did hispanics become ‘not a minority’?
i’m sure Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart would be surprised that they don’t have “a plausible chance of winning a campaign”
- 85%-90% of african-americans go democrat [and that loyalty has really played out with the great schools and low crime]. those that don’t are routinely called race traitors, backstabbers and tokens [who would that include…?].
and even if they won, they’d have to hang out with such savory characters as ’see no evil’ Barney Frank, impeached Hastings, Dolla Bill, James ‘i like to hit people’ Moran, manslaughterish Kennedy and former KKK guy Byrd. not exactly an appetizing prospect.
“No but I do think one person is more than zero persons, which was the entire gist of Oliver’s post.”
No, I don’t think it was. I think the gist of his post is…
The Republicans have been using race-baiting for so long that they’ve drummed out almost all minorities from their party. Not just at the elected level, but voters as well.
C.S.Strowbridge:
And of the people they get to run for higher office, some of them have been sports stars of one sort or another(Lynn Swann, J.C. Watts). Condi Rice did herself in. Powell went against his better judgment(Iraq).
“No but I do think one person is more than zero persons, which was the entire gist of Oliver’s post.”
No, I don’t think it was. I think the gist of his post is…
Then maybe Oliver shouldn’t have titled this post “Republicans Can’t Find Any Minorities Dumb Enough To Run With Them”, because, you know, Can’t Find Any does mean none or zero.
If you want to split hairs like an @sshole, Bobby Jindal isn’t running this year. Therefore Oliver is right.
Nitish,
Let’s deconstruct your post a little bit.
With respect to Ileana, and Lincoln, those two Cubans are about as lily-white as you can get. I mean seriously, have you ever looked at pictures of them?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ileana_Ros-Lehtinen_110th_Pictorial.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Lincoln_Diaz-Balart_(R-FL).jpg
I think when you say minorities in the Republican Party, you have to say those that can’t pass for anything other than a brown-skinned minority.
Secondly, the last time I checked, it’s always the Republicans who want to cut school budgets, payroll salaries for teachers. I should know, my father and mother have both been teachers, and it’s always the elephant party that wants to put us in the poor house by not wanting to pay a decent living wage. There’s a name for that and it’s called white-collar poverty. Blaming the Democrats for blacks troubles with crime and education is a disingenous bullshit argument, and you know it.
There’s a reason those blacks/latinos/minorities who are members of the Republican Party are called tokens, and uncle tom sellouts, and it has to do with the legacy of slavery, which most dixiecrats, who despised LBJ for his civil rights stance and fled to the Republican Party as a result of the Southern Strategy in the 1964 election, are responsible for.
As opposed to such savory characters as Tom Delay, John Colyandro, J. Stephen Griles, Jack Abramoff, Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham, his son Todd Cunningham, Jim Ellis, Mark Deli Siljander, Ernie Fletcher, Dan Druen, Lurita Doan, Dick Murgatroyd, Darrell Brock Jr., Basil Turbyfill, and Bob Adams. Oh, and let’s not forget about Bill Nighbert, James Tobin, Bob Ney, Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Brent Wilkes, Mitchell Wade, Tony Rudy, Michael Scanlon, Neil Volz, David Safavian, Mark Zachares, Adam Kidan, Robert Coughlin, Jared Carpenter, William Heaton, Italia Federici, Roger Stillwell, Tom Feeney, & Ed Buckham.
And those are just the ones who were indicted or convicted. For every Democrat you can name, I can name Twenty or more Republicans who are worse, so cut the crap.