Comparing Diversity at the Republican Convention to the Democratic Convention
By Anh Phan | September 11, 2012
To read the full column, click here.
Washington, D.C. — The Democratic and Republican conventions showed two different displays of diversity: The GOP remains dominated by predominantly white males while Democrats are consistently driven by people of color and by women. In fact, the way GOP members behaved at their convention questions whether they care for communities of color at all.
From Ann Romney suggesting that Latinos “get past their biases” to giving a nod to Latinos by giving speeches from immigrant rags-to-riches stories while flaunting a legislative agenda that would deny such an opportunity, it is clear the policies of the GOP leadership and actions of its delegates revealed a party that stubbornly clings to a past identified with institutionalized discrimination and misogyny.
Furthermore, the Republican convention also proved to be hypocritical towards women. Gov. Mitt Romney spewed numerous stories about women—including how he employed a woman lieutenant governor and chief of staff in Massachusetts and how motherhood was very much a career compared to his own—yet he still refused to take a position on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would ensure women with equal pay for equal work), and bluntly opposes expanding health care for women.
All this was in sharp contrast with the Democratic convention where diversity was not only displayed in the number of delegates and speakers that took the stage but policy concerns, such as immigration reform and health care, that affect communities of color were directly addressed.
The racial diversity that the Democrats showed and that the Republicans lacked at their conventions points to the future of the ethnic makeup of America in the future. Demographers predict that by the year 2050, America will be a majority people of color nation. If this is the election year that Republicans will try to win by capturing at least 61 percent of all-white voters, it will be their last attempt. Democrats, on the other hand, seem to have understood the significance of this trend and are campaigning accordingly. What remains to be seen is whether Republicans will, in the future, try to repair the damage that their peanut-throwing, tokenism-driven, tone-deaf convention has caused their party.
To read the full column, click here.
To speak to CAP Action experts on this topic, please contact Laura Pereyra at [email protected] or 202.741.6258.
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