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

[BoyInBOYCOTT]

Isn't it funny how "culture warrior "Pat Buchanan who scared any thinking adult, especially women and LGBTs and people of color to RUN from the RNC...now acknowledges the result, HE PUT IN MOTION 20 yrs ago.

[drjay79]

You are so correct. They should show the convention photos, from when he ran for president, all the hate signs that came up on the floor when he spoke.

[Stilts9]

Heavily white is so true, many Repubs look like they can't stop pounding BBQ.

[TchoupitoulasCanal]

Well, when your 'talking heads' are Limbaugh, Michelle Bauchman, and Michelle Malkin, what do you expect? A drum circle?

[realpolitic]

No, maybe a cross-burning!

[BabaLou7]

LOL!

[Ohsnap]

Oh Pat, Pat, Pat...there just isn't that many white people around anymore as there was back in the 60's.

[realpolitic]

As usual, Pat seems a little clueless!

[Tulka2]

Left-wing Democrats got Obama elected. We hit the ground running and worked our hearts out for him. He better give us single-payer health care or that's the second party everyone is looking for. The leadership of the Democratic party is a little too beholden to the money elite for most of us down here on the street to be really comfortable quite yet.

[TurnThePageGA]

Yeah that's what we need an extreme swing to the left. That extreme right wing swing is working so well for the Repubs. Let's reduce the size of the Democratic Party and kick everyone out who don't subscribe to our far left doctrine. You are either with us or against us.

[Gronkie]

And yet the leader of the party, Michael Steele, is black - can you say token?

[dragonlady620]

The certianly didn't pick him for his brains-or his scintillating rhetoric

[dubster]

Yeah absolutely. That's what they do. They think hey lets try and hide our racist policies, rhetoric, and politicians with a black chairman. But they can't stand him, since he's been elected they've been whispering quietly and at other times not so quietly about trying to oust him. They did the same thing to Senartor Martinez when he was co-charimen with Mike Duncan. They said lets give the Latinos a bone for voting more republican than they had in presidential elections prior, at Pres. Bush's request, but they quickly got sick of the Brown faced man and had him stip down after like 6 months I believe. This party (GOP) absolutely FEARS AND LOATHES ANYTHING BLACK AND BROWN. Thus, i give my vote to the party that first is in my interest to vote for but also cherishes and respects my vote, given that I'm an American of Mexican descent.

[drjay79]

They fear "different" be it color, sex or sexual orientation.

[QuasiEgalitarian]

token.

[earlyautumn]

And, Pat--not just White, but racist, bible-thumping, and a combination of rich folks, (Steve Forbes) who are always capable of having the poorest among us believe in their "trickle-down" crap.

[Gronkie]

He didn't mention the large pack of Republican moderates who have become increasingly unhappy with the far right swing of the party and are becoming independents or Democrats - Spector is the now the best known example. I used to be a right-leaning independent, and now I find myself leaning left just because I don't want to support anything that these right wing whackos want.

[Jackson Williams - Huffpost Blogger]

That's a fascinating video clip of Buchanan. He perfectly, and correctly, states the horrible stats that befall the republicans today. One after the other, every reason in the world why they are in the toilet and will be for years to come without fundamental change.

Yet he ends his litany with this seemingly opposite conclusion: "I think it'd be foolish at this point, when Obama's at his peak, really, to write off the Republican Party for 2010."

That makes no sense, yet I fear it's some of Pat's good academic training. The Jesuits do indeed teach critical thinking.

I remember the late Alston Légaré Van Ness telling me about election night in '64, when LBJ waxed Goldwater. Van Ness was in college and partying with wise elders, and Lyndon carried a whopping 44 states, while Barry took only his home state of Arizona and five deep south states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina). Dems also scored in congressional races...biggest night for a party in a national election in history, and the sense that night all over the country was that repubs were dead for a generation.

Four years later, in '68, Nixon won the White House, ushering in, as Buchanan says, five of the next six presidential elections going to the elephants.

It's great to say the repubs are becoming an anachronism (and they are, and Pat's correct), but the two political parties have a way of rising from the ashes. Diligence is required.

[WowJones]

Single issue beat the Dems in 68, and that was LBJ's escalation in Vietnam. If he had began to withdraw troops by 66, we would never have had Nixon.

[dragonlady620]

Diligence, absolutely. We must continue to take an active part in our government ot they will steal it again.

[ekoorb]

The House gained 47 Republican seats in 1966 with Jerry Ford as the Minority Leader.

[Martha12]

Yes and LBJ had lost heart, he didn't have the stomach for the presidency, he said he would not run again.

The Democrats were deflated with a leader who had given up hope, and a protracted war in Vietnam.

[breakingpoint]

good number of GOP are moving over to the Libertarians - RWC moving over to the Constitution Party

[kimk3]

If the Republicans couldn't steal elections, they would have no Republicans in office.

[Gronkie]

Excellent point - 2000 was definitely stolen, and 2004 was heavily manipulated at the very least. We should have had Al Gore for the last 8 years. I don't know how well he would have done, but it's a pretty fair bet that we would be better off than we are today.

[dragonlady620]

That's a no-brainer.

[ptgkc]

I doubt Gore would have dismissed or ignored the Presidential briefing on Bin Ladin to use aircraft to attack in US and gone on vacation.

I don't know if the right mobilization would have occured to prevent 9/11, but it's possible. Richard Clark would not have been ignored.

For certain, we don't have over 4,000 dead soldiers from attacking Iraq if Gore was in the White House. Elections matter, even if only it results in gridlock and average economics. I'd take that over bubbles, no oversight, and mass theft of wealth by investment banks over the last 8 years.

Ridicule the lockbox and boring policy wonk stuff, but we would have been better off with Gore.

[BoyInBOYCOTT]

Pat always did have the brains in the family, but to be fair, Bay has the better comb-over.

[BoyInBOYCOTT]

Stop the presses...NEWS FLASH Republicans are overwhelmingly WHITE.

They are overwhelmingly OLD, Straight, Male, and bitter too

[jinxed]

i have to question the "straight" part...too many closet gay/bi men that keep getting caught

[BoyInBOYCOTT]

Compared to progressive LGBTs the RNC is VERY straight, and the sad self loathing crud in the Republican Party, I'm not all that thrilled to claim.
Would you wany Mitch McConnell or Lindsey Graham on YOUR team?
ewwwwwwwwwww!

[dem 01]

What he forgot to say is that the R party is N.A.Z.I and R.A.S.I.S.T party.

[ThankGodhesgone]

No Pat - the Repub party is a group of scared, white Christian fundamentalists who are furious that we have a non white President and see that the young are much more tolerant, and that minorities are becoming the majortiy.

Don't worry though, we won't treat you the way that you have treated us. You don't scare us.

[lynjs]

Totally agree. Right there with you.

[ejbSF]

The 'non-white president' issue sure was apparent at the teabagger's parties a couple of weeks ago.

[Badger84]

The country is changing, without their permission. What you saw was a temper tantrum by adults. Yes, it was a white supremacist rally in the guise of a tax protest.