What's Really Wrong with the GOP

[Alan Grayson]

For a five-month period that ends this week, every single elected Republican in Congress was a white Christian.

Let me repeat that: every elected GOP Member of the House and Senate was a white Christian.

Eric Cantor is Jewish. He left office on August 1 last year. Since then, the entire elected GOP caucus, in both the House and the Senate, has comprised only white Christians.

13% of America is African-American. 9% is of mixed race. 5% is Asian. 24% does not identify itself as Christian. 0% of those groups served as elected Congressional Republicans during the past five months.

GOP motto: “We’re monochromatic!” The GOP: Is it a political party, or is it a tribe?

Tim Scott was sworn into the Senate yesterday, and Mia Love and Will Hurd are being sworn into the House today. That makes three elected African-American House Republicans, up from zero. They join 43 African-American Democrats.

Lee Zeldin also is being sworn into the House today. That makes one elected Jewish House Republican, up from zero. He joins 27 Jewish Democrats, two Muslim Democrats, two Buddhist Democrats and one Hindu Democrat.

I’m not talking about 13 years ago, when GOP Leadership Rep. Steve Scalise addressed a racist “European-American” group. I’m talking about the last five months.

The conclusion is obvious: Judging by whom it elects to Congress, the GOP is now the White Christian Party.

And that appears to dictate the GOP position on a wide variety of important public policies: Immigration reform. Affirmative action. Voter suppression. Abortion. Even marriage equality.

Which is a shame. Because pluralism and diversity are uniquely and fundamentally American values. Those are values that should be shared by both parties, and by every party, not just by one party.

Variety is the spice of life. I strive for an America where you can be all that you can be, regardless of where you’re from, what you look like, what language you speak, and whom you love.

Reach into your pocket. Take out a coin, any coin. On it, you will find the Latin words “E Pluribus Unum.” Which means, “Out of many, one.”

That’s my America. That’s America.

Courage,

Rep. Alan Grayson

[madamesilverspurs]

1. Right there with you!

More appropriately, "left" there with you.

My erstwhile alleged rep was Cory Gardner, who fit the GOP demographic quite nicely. My new alleged rep is Ken Buck, who will make sure that Gardner's departure will hardly be noticed.

Proud to be a member of the party that practices the promise of "E Pluribus Unum", I've wondered for some time when some GOPer is going to demand that we get that foreign language off our money...

[Neon Gods]

2. It's the 50's America's last gasp

I grew up in the 1950s. My hometown (in Indiana) was largely white and protestant. Everyone on TV was white and seemingly protestant. Minorities were present somewhere, but were largely invisible to almost everyone. This is still true in most central and western states and in rural heartland America -- but with the election of Barack Obama, those people woke to a new America. Oh yes, they read the news reports that by 2050 whites will be the new minority, but they didn't believe it. America is a white country. But Obama's election jarred them into a stark reality - we are a diverse country now - and they are angry as hell and will do whatever it takes (even possibly armed Resistance) to avoid giving people of color a seat at their table. The Republicans implicitly promise to keep the whites in power and for a few more election cy les we're going to see a lot of frightened, motivated whites swarming the polls, keeping white Republicans in power.

[Cosmic Kitten]

3. +1

Because pluralism and diversity are uniquely and fundamentally American values.

Sums up a big difference between the parties.

[hue]

4. I logged in to post this! K&R for a great underlying truth! Thanks Alan!

[world wide wally]

5. To use a tea party argument, where in the Constitution does it allow gerrymandering?

[stage left]

6. Tim Scott is one of my senators.

Lindsey Graham is the other one. I don't see a gnat's worth of difference between their stances on the issues. A conservative Republican is a conservative Republican.

[Fred Sanders]

7. Mia Love was elected. So it is only 99.8% white Christians/Mormons now?

[slingsam]

8. Ilegitimi Non Carborundum

translates to..............Don't Let the bastards get you down!!!

Courage!!!!

[blackspade]

9. Exactly sir, exactly

[JoeOtterbein]

10. Seems ironic that a "Christian"...

...dominated party is so against helping the poor, turning our cheek to the enemy, Good Samaritans and universal love in general that Christ taught should be our main Christian principles. The poor nuns that taught me in grade school must be turning in their graves.

[L0oniX]

11. K & R

[meow2u3]

12. Trouble is, today's teabagger-infested GOP doesn't value pluralism and diversity

Because pluralism and diversity are uniquely and fundamentally American values. Those are values that should be shared by both parties, and by every party, not just by one party.

Pluralism and diversity are American values. White male supremacy and absolute power of the wealthy are Confederate values. Therefore, the teabagger-infested GOP are not really Americans; they are modern-day Confederates who should have been vanquished during Reconstruction.

[TNNurse]

13. Just as "pretty is as pretty does",

So is "Christian is as Christian behaves". I am afraid a majority of these people believe they are Christian but have no idea what that means. They may be fooling themselves but not me or many others and probably not God, though I do not pretend to speak for Him.

[rgbecker]

14. That's my America too. I hope Alan Grayson continues to call the GOP out loud and often.

Start with the rule change setting up a cut in SS disabilities benefits. My America includes the disabled.

[SunSeeker]

15. They're all CINOs anyway---Christians in name only.

No one who professes to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ would rush to vote to clear the way for cutting Social Security Disability as their first order of business.

"As you do to the least among us, you do unto me."

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Grayson leaves out the fact that the GOP have 0 LGBT elected to Congress, Democrats have 7

gay or bisexual members of Congress, one of whom is also Asian, since that's what were are talking about. No transsexual members as yet in either Party.

[Pacifist Patriot]

17. Probably entirely irresponsible of me, but...

I rather suspect the GOP has 0 openly LGBT elected to Congress. I would be exceedingly surprised if a handful of them aren't so closeted they're hiding from themselves.

[MadDAsHell]

18. Why are race and gender always considered the most important "diversifiers"?

Why not single moms, people with a positive HIV status, veterans, the homeless, etc.?

I don't get why we're always so obsessed with the skin color or what's between the legs of our representatives, as if more people of color or more gender diversity is magically going to make Congress do what we want; aren't their life story and experiences much more important to how they'll vote than what they look like?

[Cal33]

19. The real problem with the GOP is that more and more socio- and psychopaths are filling

their high positions -- just as the top executive positions of many corporations are. It has
always been so throughout history, and this is a worldwide phenomenon.

Psychopaths are ambitious, and willing to get to the top without regard for other people, not
even for their lives. More of them than others get to the top because they are without
conscience. They seem to be winning now, but even if they do, eventually they will be
overthrown. This will happen when large masses of people finally begin to realize that they
have nothing more to lose, and also who the people causing them all this misery really are.

These are the ups and downs of history. The trouble is, we can no longer afford this kind of
ups and downs, since our technology is so advanced today. We could very well blow ourselves
back into the Stone Age.

[OnePercentDem]

20. Alan

You used to represent me, I lived in the Orlando area for a long time. I voted for you but as a Jewish American, please don't play the Jew card, this administration can't do that.