Posted on 11/03/2010 8:24:15 AM PDT by Kaslin
After the 2006 midterm elections, many in the chattering class declared the GOP had been reduced to a regional party white, male, and Southern. Since President Obamas election in 2008, the Leftist mainstream media has worked diligently to paint much of the opposition to his policies as the bigoted and deranged spasms of a marginalized, racist conservative base. The tea party movement represented racism, straight up according to political philosopher Janeane Garofalo. Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich, Eugene Robinson, and Bob Herbert practically took turns writing weekly columns slandering conservatives using flagrant race baiting, including an embarrassing election-day screed from Robinson. Chris Matthews complained that the political Right was monochromatic for his taste. And the Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wondered aloud how anyone of Hispanic descent could possibly be a Republican. Then came the 2010 elections.
The midterm election not only busted the myth that the GOP is a regional party seeing Republican gains in the Northeast, Midwest and West it also puts to rest the notion that Republicans are a lily white party whose base wont embrace a diverse slate of candidates. In eight prominent contests, Republicans nominated and elected excellent candidates and fine conservatives who also happen to be people of color:
Nevada Governor In a deliciously ironic twist, a Hispanic Republican Brian Sandoval defeated Rory Reid, son of the very man who suggested that people like Sandoval dont, or shouldnt, exist. It wasnt close: Sandoval dominated Rory Reid and secured a double-digit victory.
New Mexico Governor Suzanna Martinez became the first female Hispanic Governor of a US State in history from either party. She ran a disciplined campaign, torched her opponent with one of the most devastating attack ads of the entire cycle, and won by a substantial 8-point margin.
South Carolina Governor Overcoming nasty rumors about her religion and alleged marital infidelity, Nikki Haley became Americas second Indian-American Governor. (The other, of course, is Louisianas Bobby Jindal, also a Republican).
SC-01 After JC Watts retired from Congress in 2002, the House Republican caucus lost its lone African-American member. Until last night. Republican Tim Scott, a strong conservative, won the open seat in South Carolinas first Congressional District. He pulled off this feat in the deep south, and did so in a romp winning by approximately 35 percentage points.
FL-22 Another black Republican was elected to the House last night: Conservative superstar Col. Allen West. The Iraq War hero handily unseated Rep. Ron Klein, who threw the kitchen sink at West, but to no avail. When this race was called, supposedly racist tea partiers and grassroots conservatives rejoiced across the country.
WA-03 Jaime Herrera chose not to highlight her Hispanic origins in her battle against Democrat Denny Heck for the open seat in Washingtons third Congressional District. She ran a very strong, issues-based campaign, and won comfortably.
ID-01 Raul Labrador, a Puerto Rico-born attorney, pulled an upset victory over incumbent Democrat Walt Minnick in Idahos first Congressional District. Minnick tried to boost his bleeding poll numbers by airing a dishonest, racially charged ad during the final week of the race. The tactic seems to have backfired, resulting in Congressman Raul Labrador.
Florida Senate Two words: Marco Rubio. The most celebrated rising star in the Republican Party after last night is freshly-minted Senator-elect Rubio, a dynamic Cuban-American conservative.
Close Calls: Hat tips are also in order for two outstanding House candidates who didnt quite pull through this year: Ryan Frazier in CO-7, and Van Tran in CA-47.
In an ideal world, this sort of identity politics scorecard would be utterly unnecessary. Most Americans hope the 2010 elections, including the examples laid out above, will neutralize the Right-wing racism meme the Left has so eagerly cultivated. Perhaps the day has finally come when our politics can ignore skin color and focus on what really matters: Values, ideas, and character.
Adam West--->
This is Alan West who was elected
Yeah I know :(
Tea Party racist -- right! Eat it, Magic!
and Tim ...
and Allen..
:-)
Wasn’t there a black lady Repub in Tennessee? I don’t know her district or opponent.....
Right click picture and select properties. You’s see it’s the Uber Douche Alan Grayson.
i know, i know, i know, i know.........
amazing work out program, just jumping on dumb typos.
I KNOW who he is, watched his videos on youtube and saw promise. I made a dumb mistake. Tell you what though- I post all the time in here and get little feedback unless I make a DUMB TYPO. Thanks.
Look for him to become an MSNBC special contributor.
Congradulations to those “ethnic” candidates that won, as well as those who ran but did not win.
The GOP will be wise to help them get their identities into the media, so people can see and hear them.
The GOP has never been racist.
I almost forgot we have Jennifer Carroll as lt. gov. in Florida also. She is black, and conservative. If she should move up when Scott leaves then the first black woman governor of a state (and a major one) would be a Republican. Dems all over would be in shock.
bump
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