Howard Dean has put …

Howard Dean has put his foot, nay leg, in his mouth again, this time calling the Republicans “pretty much a white Christian party”. Where to begin?

One caller to Bill Bennett’s “Morning in America” talk show this morning (a black Republican) put it this way, “Black people live much more conservative than they vote.” He noted that the term “conservative” still has racist connotations in the black community in general, which is why many still vote Democrat. Years ago, my sister and one of her black co-workers were discussing an upcoming presidential election. My sister suggested that the co-worker, who was planning to vote for the Democrat, go to one of those web sites that asks you questions about your positions and tells you what candidate is the closest to your point of view. The co-worker took her up on that, and it turned out that she was quite solidly in the Republican camp. Despite this, however, she couldn’t bring herself to vote that way. To be sure, the Republican party needs to do more in reaching out to black voters and work with the concerns they have, but at the same time it needs to rehabilitate the term “conservative” in those circles and let people know what it really means. (Some of what that term means has been lost during the George W. Bush administration, I’ll admit; smaller government, less spending, more personal responsibility. While Dubya has put forth good conservative ideas in some areas–personal accounts for Social Security, tough on terrorism, tax cuts–he does need to do more.)

By the way, I wonder if the 44% of Hispanics and 44% of Asians who voted for Bush in the last election consider themselves “white”. I’m guessing not.

As to the Republican party being the one with more church-goers, guilty as charged. But then, religious people are more likely to donate and volunteer their time in the community, which is something the Democrats are always saying they do more. Is it so bad to have a party that has people in it who care more about their neighbors? That Dean would disparage the Republican party that way ought to speak volumes about his values and priorities. I do understand that his remarks were an attempt to persuade folks that the Republican party is mostly monolithic, but #1 he’s wrong, and #2 this ought to make Democrats wonder why they can’t attract the most caring people in society.

By the way, I wonder if the 25% of of Jews who voted for Bush in the last election consider themselves “Christian”. I’m guessing not.

Yes, the white evangelical Christians are solidly in the Republican camp (78% at the last election), but of those that don’t fit that demographic (3/4ths of the country), Bush still got 43% of their votes. That’s not monolithic by any stretch of the imagination. Howard, and anyone else inclined to believe his pronouncements: it’s time to put aside your stereotypes and move on.

Cross-posted at Blogger News Network. Comments welcome.

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