Affirmative Action GOP

Jack Hunter writes:

"Despite any minor conservative attributes, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin and Michael Steele don’t possess any extraordinary qualities or demonstrably different principles from countless other Republican governors, congressman and senators. In an era when Americans are screaming for change, Jindal, Palin and Steele don’t exactly represent a big departure from the Republicanism of the last eight years or even enough of a noticeable difference from the current administration. What the GOP seems to be trying to offer is not a new path, a renewal of principles or any new hope – but affirmative action – as they push female and minority leaders to the forefront to play identity politics in combating America’s first black president."

Jindal I don't know much about, and based on this week's performance neither I nor anyone else ever will. But Palin and (to a lesser extent) Steele are direct and deliberate insults, the Republican Party machine's spitting in the face of, on the one hand, Evangelical Protestants and conservative women, and, on the other hand, Catholics and black conservatives.

"Sure, we'll put an Evangelical on the ticket. Hell, we'll even put an Evangelical wife and mother on the ticket. But we'll go out of our way to find one who can't tie her own shoelaces or recite the alphabet. And you'll still vote for us anyway. Ha, Ha, Ha."

Well, Obama bit deep into the white Evangelical vote, which was more loyal to Bush (an Episcopalian who attends his wife's mainline Methodist church, the same denomination as Hillary Clinton's) than to McCain (an Episcopalian who at least attends his wife's Baptist church).

Meanwhile, the people who reaffirmed traditional marriage in California and Florida didn't vote Republican anyway. The people who declined to liberalise gambling in Missouri or Ohio didn't vote Republican anyway. The people who keep the black and Catholic churches (especially) going from coast to coast didn't vote Republican anyway.

And the people who abolished Affirmative Action - legal discrimination against working-class white men - in Colorado didn't vote Republican anyway, either.