July 20, 2016 6:11 AM

The Grand Old (White Boys) Party has a party

CLEVELAND - As it officially puts Donald Trump atop its ticket this week, the Grand Old Party is rushing headlong toward an unofficial label it is desperately trying to avoid: the White People’s Party. With his harsh tone toward Mexicans, his proposed ban on Muslims from entering the United States and his seeming tolerance of white nationalist groups, the reality TV star is painting Republicans ever further into a demographic corner that could threaten their viability as a national political organization in the coming decades…. Trump’s language and positions appear to be translating into dismal poll numbers already, particularly in those states where it could matter most. In Florida, a June poll found Trump receiving 20 percent support from Latino voters compared to 68 percent for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton…. [I]n Ohio and Pennsylvania, a Marist College poll for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal released last week actually showed Trump with zero percent support among African-American voters.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be a passenger on a train about to jump the tracks, might I suggest watching this week’s Republican National Convention? It’s another data point in the ongoing devolution of the GOP into a party of, by, and for Conservative Christian White folks.

Time was…not so very long ago in historical terms…when Republicans spoke hopefully (if somewhat naively) of creating a “Big Tent Party,” a GOP that welcomed people of all backgrounds, colors, and beliefs. Turns out that “Big Tent” was- and likely will remain- White.

The GOP’s Presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has done nothing to move the party closer to being a truly broad-based national party. Despite claiming on numerous occasions to be a “uniter,” Trump has demonstrated himself to be anything but. In the words of one Huffington Post editor,

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.

Republicans, were they so inclined, could easily work to attract non-Whites. The problem, though, is that they talk about wanting diversity…but the reality is they want to do it without having to be diverse. They want to be able to claim the rainbow without actually having to wear it. The GOP LIKES being the party of Conservative White Christians…and most of the party sees no reason why they should allow others into their club. If you think I’m being unfair, consider that less than 1% of Republicans delegates in Cleveland are African-American, down from 2.1% in 2012. You’re going to have to look pretty hard to see a non-White face in Quicken Loans Arena this week.

Not that this will stop Republicans from propagandizing people into voting for them, of course. They may be racist, misogynists, and religious zealots…but they’re not stupid.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on July 20, 2016 6:11 AM.

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