House GOP Committee Chairs Are All White Guys

Fetch the binders full of women!

Republicans aren't doing much to squash the post-election meme that theirs is the party of white men.

House Speaker John Boehner has made public his recommendations for chairmen (and in theory, chair-women) in 19 of the 21 House Committees, and not a single woman or minority made the cut, reports Leigh Ann Caldwell at CBS. As Caldwell notes, these are important positions that "set legislative agenda and priorities in respective issue areas," so they've got more than a trifling amount of symbolic value.

But Boehner's leadership team, Caldwell observes, actually departs from this lack of diversity by managing to include some women. Namely Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash; Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan; and Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. Still, that's merely a drop in the pluralism pond when compared to the GOP's opposite.

"For the first time white men will not make up the majority of [the Democratic] caucus when the new Congress assembles in January," writes Caldwell. "Republicans have a long way to go to get to that point."

Via CBS. H/T to Politix user PNWest.

Would you like to see more diversity among GOP House committee chairs?

[Jeff_Woehrle]

And we know that being white and male is a crime.

[jamie91]

Not a crime, but it does not make them superior, nor a representation of the population they are supposed to represent.

[Zoe2012]

@jamie91 "Not a crime, but it does not make them superior, nor a representation of the population they are supposed to represent."

Who said it did? Could it be they are more qualified? I don't care what color they are. Why would you want someone who is not able to do a job as well? Good grief, this should be a law suit!

[Jeff_Woehrle]

@Zoe2012 I'm calling for racial quotas in Congress! I don't care about elections, we need a certain number of minorities to be represented! Qualifications be damned, this is important!

[Zazziness]

@Zoe2012 If they were so "qualified," why are the results of their decisions so bad?

[Jeff_Woehrle]

@Zazziness That's your opinion.

These folks were duly elected by their constituents. If you have a problem with them being white and male, then I'd say that's YOUR problem.

[stepped_in_it]

I know I'm asking for utopia, but, why can't we look at population breakdown and "chair" accordingly to that breakdown? It seems that "we" either try to appease with all minority or it's "chaired" with all the majority! Equality means equal.

[Real4WheelDrv]

Because then a few more people like me with chairs of our own might get in...and you normals will rue the day!!! Muahaha!

[methinks]

Oh, so now we need Affirmative Action in Congress? Give me a break!

[Capt_Morgan02]

Because that is stupid. If we are ever going to move past race, gender, etc. being a problem it has got to stop being a consideration. The best person for the job should get the job.

[marine1]

I could gives a big rats azz less as to what color a person is, i just wish we could find some folks that knew how to work togeather and do what the hell is best for the paople they represent.

[bsking]

whats with the war on white guys? are they trying to start something bigger?

[Cheenoguy]

"War on white guys"? Really? That's what you got from that?
Your party has a reputation for two big things; serving the rich and being old white guys. Now obviously both parties are guilty of serving the rich more often then not and there are a few non-white guys in your party. But that reputation doesn't help with making the voters believe you represent them.

[blue_yahoo]

@Cheenoguy So how can I believe a party that divides us up into groups and then promises each group to back what they want? I'd much rather have a party that looks beyond groups of people and does what is best for the whole.

[bsking]

@blue_yahoo ABSOLUTELY!
the left think the way do because they ARE the subgroups...they have become the "victims" as a direct result of their party's divide and conquer stratedgy.

ask cheenoyguy and he will say hes "latino-american"
ask someone else...they are "afro-american....or asian..

or whatever...ever hear ANYONE SAY "I AM WHITE AMERICAN...NO.
but it works for the dems...makes them "feel" special...while the party screws them...

[Cheenoguy]

@blue_yahoo
You, like the king of BS, are missing the point of both the article and my comment.
I am not saying the Republican Party is being racist here. Many people view your party as only representing rich white guys (I maintain they care about all rich guys regardless of race.) Only putting white guys in committee chairs does little to diminish that belief. Doesn't confirm it, but it doesn't diminish either.
Maybe they really are the best choices, I don't know. The article was simply saying (and I tried to dumb it down for BS) that this reinforces that perception.

[Cheenoguy]

@bsking
I'd be a liar if I said I was Latino American. The majority of my heritage, which I am proud of, is Hungarian Gypsy. It's not who I am though.
Here in the MidWest I hear a lot of people who are proud of being white. Doesn't bother me any. Hate it when any race thinks they are better for being that race, but I'm all for being proud of who you are.
We all want what's best for our community and our family and consider that while voting. The reality is that for so long most people were of European descent that they didn't bond as a community based on common heritage as much because it was to large a community to bond. Not bad not good just irrelevant. Persecution is also too long gone to really stick to much in the cultures of the Irish and Italians. It was severe for the current older generation of blacks and it is constant amongst Hispanics and Arabic people in our society now. Attack makes people bond.

[Rapn21]

Congress is supposed to represent all the people of the nation. How can it do that if only one group is represented?

[blue_yahoo]

So why divide us into groups? I'm an American and I vote for the ones that want the best for all of America not just some "group" I got stuck in.

[Capt_Morgan02]

I would love to see more diversity in the Republican Party. The problem is that when they nominate minority candidates the left lambasts those candidates for being traitors of some kind and the dems poor tons of resources into being sure they don't get elected ie Allen West and Mia Love. They cant afford to lose the point of view that they are the accepting diverse party even though they are more hateful in many cases.

[Denizen_Kate]

I don't know about Mia Love, but Allen West did more to defeat himself than the Democratic party ever thought to do. The guy is a nutbag, which he made obvious every time he spoke.

[Capt_Morgan02]

@Denizen_Kate he isn't crazy, he just says what others fail to say because of political correctness. He is a patriot and a war hero in my book. He is the kind of no nonsense leadership we should be glad to have on either side.

[VVP]

Yes, we live in the first time in American history where it is bad to be white, heterosexual, christian, male or any combination.

Cant worry about it too much, population growth will resolve the white. Women will emasculate men to the point men no longer exist. It will eventually work itself out. It is in fact already started. Have patience.

[Zazziness]

Everyone knows the Republican Party only serves rich old white guys. Why does this even rate a story?

[Realthinker]

How many female committee chairs have the Democrats named? Isn't this based on seniority? How many women do the committees have available? Wouldn't that be the result of the voters chosing a man over a woman on the local level, if a woman even ran?
This is not the simple "Republicans are being discriminatory again" issue Politix is making it out to be. The msm is going to trash conservatives no matter what they do. This is a perfect example of the bias Democrats never have to deal with.

[Denizen_Kate]

"This is a perfect example of the bias Democrats never have to deal with." Isn't it possible that the Democrats don't have to deal with this particular form of bias because they don't suffer from it? Just sayin'.

[Realthinker]

@Denizen_Kate They don't suffer from media bias, that is the truth.. Nobody answered my question about seniority. It is my understanding that committee chairs go to the longest serving member. Am I wrong?

[Denizen_Kate]

@Realthinker - Seniority counts in the Senate, but usually not in the House, so you're wrong, and you're right. :)

[Realthinker]

@Denizen_Kate I'm pretty sure it counts in the House too. I may need to do some research in the future, and by that I mean after Christmas. I have a daughter ready to download grandbaby number 7 any day now. Political discussions aren't very important at times like these.

[Denizen_Kate]

@Realthinker - "download" LOL! As if it were that easy!:)

[Corey]

It doesn't matter what their race or sex we need leadership and if they're all white men who can deliver so be it. We need to stop playing the race card so much and take care of business.

[TeresaJ]

The liberals and media are quite sad. The only reason they push about color and gender is to maintain division, while claiming to be upholding diversity. I don't care if they are purple as long as they can do the job. Neither should anyone else, but people are petty and wicked like that. Not to mention, the reality is different from the spin. Even in this article, mentioning the GOP women appointed and then just like, eh, as if the democratic party had "diversity" knocking over it's doors. Such hypocrites and liars.

"How dare the GOP base base its leadership decisions on qualifications and seniority rather than gender and skin color!... I HATE IT. I HATE politicians (many of them female) who think they are entitled to hold a certain position or receive certain recognition just because they were born with two X chromosomes. I’ll admit, I’m jealous of men in some ways — they can pee standing up, for example. But the fact that men will now hold all of the GOP’s major committee chairmanships isn’t one.

Is the Republican Party anti-woman? Hardly. President Barack Obama himself only has a single female among his top advisors and his administration pays women less than their male counterparts, but I don’t hear Daily Kos screaming about it...

The GOP just named four women to its 2013 party leadership team. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash) is the new House Republican Conference Chair; Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kansas) is conference vice chair; Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) is conference secretary; and Rep.-elect Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) will represent freshman members in party leadership.

The Left’s problem with the GOP is not that its anti-women, it’s that it’s not pro-liberal women. Each one of these very capable ladies represent broken barriers of the gender politics of the past, yet their contributions and positive examples are overlooked simply because their name is followed by an “R”.

So spare me the phony outrage. It’s time we all directed our outrage toward something a bit more worrisome." -Meredith Jessup: excerpts from "Liberal Outrage du Jour: GOP is Still Anti-Women!"

[Denizen_Kate]

" ... The only reason they push about color and gender is to maintain division ... " IMO they push for diversity because white males have held most of the power up to now, and look at the shape we're in as a nation. Perhaps a little diversity will result in some new ideas?

[TeresaJ]

@Denizen_Kate

Corruption knows no skin color. We're in this shape because we have become corrupt, not because of a person's DNA.

[Russell797]

What are the odds that only white men are the best qualified for these positions? Rather small I would think. There is more than a little bias on display here.

[Hireman]

Why is color of skin any kind of qualifier or disqualifier? First, it is the voters who decide who gets elected based on their own qualifying checklist. Second, I think someone famously said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". In this, I'm constantly stupefied that so many people who claim that person was so great fail to agree with one of his most defining points. Diversity is now a bogus term.

[DARSB]

Its not just a DC issue. http://goo.gl/9Dp2b

[Laradian]

All I can say is the good news of Jesus Christ is at war with old racial perceptions of the past. This good news helped to abolish slavery.

When the righteous sword of Jesus Christ strikes a man, it will either kill him outright or cleave open his heart so that his conscience is stricken to do what is right in the eyes of God.

The Democrat Party with it emphasis on racial diversity at every level seems to be doing the right thing more so than the Republicans.

[YourIQfitsU]

Doesnt surprise me at the GOP convention all you saw were a sea of white faces. What does the GOP committee know about struggle or diversity? Does no one remember the report about the CNN camera woman(black) being attacked at the convention by having peanuts thrown at her and told "this is how we treat animals". No i definitely would not support such a party id be embarrassed for saying i hang with the likes of such hate filled people.

[Fishbone345]

I would like to see these binders.

[Denizen_Kate]

LMAO! Yes, I'll just bet you would, ya perv! ;-)

[Fishbone345]

@Denizen_Kate Merely a scientific endeavor, I assure you good Madame. ;)

[DogLady_1]

Just an FYI: 20% of the senate is now female. 15% of the House is now female. There are a total of 41 congressional committees (20 in the House and 21 in the Senate)

[woodtick57]

and the chairs of those committees go to the most senior members, by tradition..

[DogLady_1]

@woodtick57 - Among the top 21 seniority of the senate, one is female, and she is not a committee chair. Among the top 20 seniority of the House, none are female. In the senate, it does appear that chairmanships go to seniority... not so in the House... In the House, only 3 of the top 20 have chairmanships. The lowest ranking chair we have currently is #208th in seniority, and is male.

[woodtick57]

@DogLady_1

yes, women haven't been in the House or Senate as long as men have, traditionally.

do you think they should change their rules due to the representatives' gender?

[DogLady_1]

@woodtick57 - The first woman ever in congress was in 1917... men have been in congress since 1789... and I said nothing about wanting to change any rules... you got me mixed up with someone else... I delivered facts, not opinion. Personally, I don't think the gender of the person matters when it comes to representation... a congressmember is supposed to represent ALL of the people in his/her state/district, not just those who share a similar life experience, political philosophy, or physical trait...

[Thunderchicken]

House GOP Committee Chairs Are All White Guys

Uh, so are hockey players.(I think) Those who can, do.

[Denizen_Kate]

Are you comparing our august lawmakers to a bunch of overpaid, brawling athletes? Oh ... wait a minute ... never mind ... ;-)

[PoliticalSpice]

Good. use posters of the gop hose team with text reading "no women, blacks, hspanics or asians need apply" during the 2014 house elections to get these roght wingers out.

[Thegrif]

So what, now you wanna put a black guy in that position just so there is color. I guess only white guys are senior enough or qualified, is my assumption.
If some other color wants the job then pay your dues and earn it. Its that damn simple!

[DogLady_1]

How could we find out if the chairmanships are truly going to those most qualified?

[Denizen_Kate]

"So what, now you wanna put a black guy in that position just so there is color." How about doing it in order to get a few new ideas into congress? It couldn't hurt, might help. The same old white dudes haven't been doing us much good lately.

[Thegrif]

@Denizen_Kate white dudes aint done to bad as we sit here on our iphones texting away, or watching TV on out flat but big screens. Seems lime life aunt to bad to me. Point was let them earn their way on whatever board they want on, because you are not white, we are not giving anything, earn it, however that us done