Following the first Democratic debate on Tuesday night, I can't tell you how many times I've heard conservative commentators utter this line: "I thought Democrats were the party of diversity! Republicans are the ones with diversity! If anyone is lacking in diversity, it's the Democrats!"
Of course, this is with regard to just the presidential candidates, which supposedly reflect the parties at large. Suffice it to say, this couldn't be further from the truth. Granted, the Democratic candidates are comprised of four white men and one white woman, while the Republican candidates include: two Latino-American men, one white woman, one African-American man, one Indian-American man, and seemingly countless white men. So, if we simply want to grade the two parties' diversity on the presidential candidates, surely the Republican Party would be the more diverse of the two. However, that's missing the forest for the trees.
In the House of Representatives, Democrats hold 188 seats, just 78 of which are white men (41.5%). There are 78 Democratic minorities in the House (41.5%) and just 12 Republican minorities out of their 246 seats (4.9%). Not only that, but in both houses of Congress, there are 81 Democratic minorities (34.6%) and just 16 Republican minorities (5.3%). When it comes to gender diversity, the Democratic Party has 65 women House members (34.6%) compared to 23 for the Republican Party (9.3%). In both chambers of Congress, there are 79 Democratic women (33.8%) and 29 Republican women (9.7%). So in Congress, over 1 in 3 Democrats are minorities and over 1 in 3 are women, whereas 1 in 20 Republicans are minorities and less than 1 in 10 are women. For Republicans to claim their party is the party of diversity and the Democratic Party is the one lacking it is almost comical, it's so ridiculous.
Not only that, but more importantly, Democratic ideals tend to be far kinder to minorities and women than Republican ideals. There's a reason why Republicans haven't won the woman's vote since Ronald Reagan was in office and why minorities tend to vote Democratic, African-Americans in particular (at least 90% or more). Democrats are typically in favor of: Immigration reform, police reform, prison reform, reproductive rights, equal pay for equal work, voter expansion, welfare programs, healthcare reform, gun control, etc., whereas Republicans are typically against all such ideas.
So whenever a conservative tries declaring that the Republican Party is the more diverse of the two parties, remember these numbers and laugh hysterically in their face, before saying, "That's a good one!" and walking away.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/breakdown-114th-congress-demographics-gender
Of course, this is with regard to just the presidential candidates, which supposedly reflect the parties at large. Suffice it to say, this couldn't be further from the truth. Granted, the Democratic candidates are comprised of four white men and one white woman, while the Republican candidates include: two Latino-American men, one white woman, one African-American man, one Indian-American man, and seemingly countless white men. So, if we simply want to grade the two parties' diversity on the presidential candidates, surely the Republican Party would be the more diverse of the two. However, that's missing the forest for the trees.
In the House of Representatives, Democrats hold 188 seats, just 78 of which are white men (41.5%). There are 78 Democratic minorities in the House (41.5%) and just 12 Republican minorities out of their 246 seats (4.9%). Not only that, but in both houses of Congress, there are 81 Democratic minorities (34.6%) and just 16 Republican minorities (5.3%). When it comes to gender diversity, the Democratic Party has 65 women House members (34.6%) compared to 23 for the Republican Party (9.3%). In both chambers of Congress, there are 79 Democratic women (33.8%) and 29 Republican women (9.7%). So in Congress, over 1 in 3 Democrats are minorities and over 1 in 3 are women, whereas 1 in 20 Republicans are minorities and less than 1 in 10 are women. For Republicans to claim their party is the party of diversity and the Democratic Party is the one lacking it is almost comical, it's so ridiculous.
Not only that, but more importantly, Democratic ideals tend to be far kinder to minorities and women than Republican ideals. There's a reason why Republicans haven't won the woman's vote since Ronald Reagan was in office and why minorities tend to vote Democratic, African-Americans in particular (at least 90% or more). Democrats are typically in favor of: Immigration reform, police reform, prison reform, reproductive rights, equal pay for equal work, voter expansion, welfare programs, healthcare reform, gun control, etc., whereas Republicans are typically against all such ideas.
So whenever a conservative tries declaring that the Republican Party is the more diverse of the two parties, remember these numbers and laugh hysterically in their face, before saying, "That's a good one!" and walking away.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/breakdown-114th-congress-demographics-gender
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