Buchanan: GOP A "Heavily White Party"

Pat Buchanan acknowledged to MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall on Tuesday that his party is facing a severe "demographic problem" in the years to come -- specifically, the GOP is on its way to becoming an all-white party.

"There's a real demographic problem with the Republican Party," Buchanan said. "It is a heavily white party, quite frankly. And as a share of the electorate, that is diminishing and Hispanics are growing very rapidly, Asians are growing rapidly, and by two-thirds they tend to vote Democratic."

Buchanan told Hall that the party is losing young people as well.

"Young people increasingly are more liberal and more socially moderate, and they move away from the Republican Party," he said. "These things are undeniable, the Republican party ... is in tough shape."

But Buchanan said the party shouldn't be written off just yet, and said Republicans have made impressive comebacks from deep deficits before.

I went though the Goldwater disaster, when we were down to 140 House seats and we were dead forever, and I came with Nixon in '66 and we won 47 House seats and we won 5 out of the next 6 presidential elections. I don't think that's necessarily in the cards, but I think it'd be foolish at this point when Obama is at his peak, really, to write off the Republican party for 2010.

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Comments

[ladydragon]

Pat Buchanan is a rabblerouser, he likes to make inflamitory statements that are backhanded remarks about Blacks and other people of color. when the housilng crisis first came to light, I remember him on MSNBC insinuating that it was the fault of "poor Black" folks who bought houses they couldn't afford. I think he just says things that are ment to inflame And he believes what he says

[dmspeech]

The bad part of the heavily white Republican legislators is tthat they don't really care about the heavily white citizens that they supposedly represent. That's what's always baffled me. I live in Alabama and am just amazed by the hatred of the Democratic party by "whites" when the best parts of their lives have been brought about by the diverse Democrats.

[Mahi Joe]

Pat isn't a journalist, he is, and always has been, an apoligist for the Republican party. He is always the first one to try to rationalize any bad decision made by his party. He comes across as one sad person who seems to not even believe his own words at times.

[swancj]

I would like to give Pat Buchanan credit for abandoning his 'the Holocaust is exaggerated' views from the 1970s. But really, it was self-preservation. I truly believe that these Nixon Republicans [like Buchanan, Cheney, etc] would be political dust if we had ever bothered to prosecute Nixon for treason [his crimes during the Paris talks to end Vietnam] or had held him accountable for Watergate. If the party had actually taken those hits, they would have a different silhouette today. So would our nation. [And really, this is proof that you cannot really look forward to progress if you never resolve the problems that are currently in your lap]

[icechaos]

The Holocaust was exaggerated.

[Dibba]

Don't they ever realize how BAD Bush was? He was SO BAD, that Americans ran screaming from the GOP. They never seem to mention that. They keep defending him. Also the strategy to bring religion into the mix has backfired. Now they are basically a religious party, which put them over the top the past two elections, but has now done them in. They are between a rock and a hard place. They built a BASE of religious extremists and can't get a moderate nominated by their own base even tho one might be able to win the general election, they can't get past the rabid base. Also, they've stocked the House with rightwing extremists, who are in power in their RED states for the forseeable future and will most likely move onto the senate. They've gotten in bed with Fox and Limbaugh who are also doing them damage and can't back away from that now. What a mess they are in!

[WTF1956]

If it's not racist for minorities to band together in their groups to advance thier goals, why is is racist when white people do the same thing? Actually, the Republicans don't practice the "crabs in a bucket" philosphy as do the democrats. What ever was the ruling by the Supreme Court on the "Thrown Out" Fireman promotions? Should I find it amusing that I didn't see Al and Jesse picketing over that one, I thought they were for justice. How can you not promote qualified people, because others aren't? I pray to the almighty that if I ever have to go under the knife for anything serious the guy or gal doing the cutting, wasn't pushed through under some quota system.

[Flick08]

1956 was probably the last time the aforementioned ideas were in vogue.

[WTF1956]

So you would rather be politcally correct when it comes to medical treatment, rather than have the best most qualified person for the job.......good luck with that.

[AtheistMaximus]

WOW!!!! Racist much? Please go back to 1950 where you and your way of thinking belong.

[mikeant50]

No, the GOP only embraced this because it a bunch of white firemen. If these firemen were Black, Asian,or Hispanic, the first words out of their mouths would be Affirmative action, and how these people (for the GOP, that's a degrading term) are taking all the jobs for honest White Americans. The GOP is not above using race if it benifits them. I spent 20 years in the military and you would think that I would be a conservative, but no, because I see what the GOP is about. A party of hatred, narrowmindedness, and few ideas. As Chris Matthews once said " The GOP loves to run on their principles, but they run away from their records." That's why they hid President Bush and Cheney during the last election. Anyone with common sense can see that the major reason that the GOP opposses Obama is because he is Black. They still can't wrap it around their small minds that a person of color, be it Black, Hispanic or Asian has the skills to run this country. It doesn't have to always be an old White Guy.

[WTF1956]

and the GOP opposed LBJ, Carter, and Clinton because they were white?

[WTF1956]

So you are also for penalizing whites because the minorities involved did poorly on the tests? So basically in your opinion white advancement can only occur when minorities score as high or better on these tests? Doesn't this mean that whites are being forced to take a back seat to minorities when applying for the job, than an addition backseat when competing for promotions? Also, does it mean there can only be advancement when minorities do well?

[RadicalRepublican]

When one race dominates and the other races are at the mercy of the race in power, they have to band together to defend themselves. When the more populated race, with all the cards, band together to maintain their dominance we end up with the KKK.

[noudidnt]

Howard Dean said the same thing last year and the GOP white people lost their minds. Wonder why??

[indy girl]

Because last year the GOP didn't see any reason for changing their nearly-all-white membership. At that point (August) they probably still seriously thought they were going to win the election. It's only recently that this "whiteness" has become a serious liability. They have backed themselves into a corner by their own narrowmindedness and focus on just a few issues (stem cells, religion, abortion, immigration).....because there are only a finite number of angry, hyperchristian evangelical whites to rebuild the party with!

Also, Dean accidentally called the GOP the "White Party" which is a little different...even though that's essentially what it is.

[indy girl]

It's so funny Pat *JUST* figured this out......when any American with decent vision was able to see it on their television sets during the Republican convention last fall! A veritable sea of white faces.

[realpolitic]

Republicans are the heavily white, cocktail-drinking party, masquerading as "the folks" while promoting tax cuts for the wealthiest who sneer at multi-culturalism and inclusion, who substitute their own brand of American values with real American values, who sneer at education and science, and who feel an entittlement with inventing their own facts when it comes to any debate. It is not a party that attracts one with any ideals and solely promotes shameless self-interest as the highest virture.

[EvasDaddy]

Well said, realpolitic. The frightening reality is that the Republicans would not argue with your assessment.

Their sincere position has been one of incredible conceit; that given all the wealth, their sense of security would allow them to spend more freely, which would then benefit the great unwashed, through multiple thousands of servile jobs.

Our election of Barack Obama, has effectively turned the conservative model on its head, deflating the false premise of Republican "compassion".

Greed will never die, but we are on the verge of wrestling it back under some semblance of public control. Defanging the Republican party is an excellent first step.

[realpolitic]

Speaking of the servile jobs, they seem to always want a race to the bottom of the economic ladder. They hate unions and love stores like Walmart which brings in cheap mass-produced goods from China and puts mom-and-pop shops out of business. They are happiest when employees have no leverage in salary talks and very little security. They measure prosperity by corporate profits and not how the vast middle class is doing. Their policies promote vast inequities in wealth and disparities in society which they care little about.

[swancj]

Exactly - remember, Lynn Cheney called 'diversity' a 'liberal agenda' when she was appointed to head the Nat'l Endowment for the Arts under Reagan. She also vowed to withdraw any financial support from art that encouraged that agenda. They are proud of their bigotry and narrow-mindedness. They are reaping the results they deserve.

[realpolitic]

They think being broad-minded is being effeminine.

[Robinsong]

In terms of the mistake of "writing off the Republican Party"; The Republican party is voluntarily writing itself off. As the factions of the Democratic Party pull and claw at the Obama Administration for advantage on their narrow issues, we need to be aware that the "My way or the highway" attitudes can propel us into the same political quicksand that the Rethugs find themselves. In my view, extremism in the name of narrow ideological issues is no virtue in politics or viable democracies!

[Smirk]

Amen.

[skyglider]

Heavily WHITE ??? Having Michael Steele and Michelle Malkin ( Black , Filipino or whatever she is ... ) as a major spoke person for the "WHITE Party " and disdaining minority groups which she represents, is seriously hillarious and heavelly FLAWED !!!

[OLMEQ]

They have WHITE MINDS...

[DougNTexas]

Those two are about the only two people of color in the entire party.

[researcher]

when a nation is in the process of losing its wealth it goes through a very harsh conservative bent.

fear has set in and the repubs want to blame everyone but themsleves.

repubs see the world different than other americans.

it is a soul thing.

ie low levels of soul development.

ie selfishness, greed, and arrogance.

few will understand very few.

imperialism has a price

we are now living that price.

[tomasedison]

10 years of stagnant family incomes exacts a heavy toll on families
the average family has loss at least 20% of their purchasing power under W
no wonder the USA is no longer the place it was before the 2000 debacle in Florida
and that disasterous appointment by the Supremes

[sepiasiren]

But this is how clueless repubs are--they say it is wrong and racist that we point out their exclusion and racism. what is wrong with an all white party Some say?

What is wrong?

how about the fact that America is made up of countless minority groups--isn't something inherently wrong when a political party--which is suppsoed to cater to the interest of all Americans--only appeal to one?????

Reminds me of some repubs I knew who tried to act open minded but one day derided me for daring to think I should be able to go anywhere in America and not be hassled.

"Why would you people go where you are not wanted?" they asked.

So, America is the land of opportunity for whites and limited opportunity for others.

Clueless..

[indy girl]

Yet they view themselves as entitled....

[tomasedison]

the average income for a republican family is $50 - 55 K
not very entitled in today's America
but they do like to keep up appearances

[gopSTEALSyourTAXmoney]

It's not the same 'W H I T E ......P A.R.T.Y...
as the one in Ft. Lauderdale or Palm Springs----------

[gopSTEALSyourTAXmoney]

or Miami.........

[Sloane7]

This is not new information. Did Pat miss the GOP Convention? It was amazing to see.

[realpolitic]

Or the last one or the last before that?

[talkitreal]

The Republican Party is an all white party, and they like it that way!