Race, Gender, and Politics

As I was sifting through the daily news stories, I encountered one that I found really tantalizing (link). The GOP political machine is endorsing a candidate for a congressional race in Utah, but not just any republican contender  - a black, female, self-proclaimed Mormon. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much it related to some of the themes we've discussed this year: race, gender, religion, token minority characters, etc.

It's not something that's often seen in the political arena these days. In fact, if she gets elected, Mia Love would be the first black woman to serve in the US house of representatives. That being the case, it should come as no surprise that the Mia Love is in the cross hairs of the republican establishment, being declared one of the top ten most important races in 2012. The GOP has had a long history of not welcoming minorities with open arms, and as anyone could guess this was a scarce opportunity. 

So here's the plan. Spend lavishly in the election, and create the perfect token minority character. Fool the people into believing that republicans have the same appeal to minorities as the democrats. Build the party where it matters most and construct an image of diversity, while simultaneously pandering to a crucial voting block.  And the next time some democrat utters the word "racist", you've got the perfect comeback: Mia Love.

There is no denying this. In fact, when asked about this inconvenient truth, Love replied very cryptically, and resorted to the usual political shenanigans: "It's not because of a pair of heels that I was able to go in, and cut spending" she replied, trying to maintain a smile. What does that even mean? Please answer the question, Mia Love.

In 2008, the republicans got eviscerated when it came to galvanizing key demographics. According to this breakdown, a staggering 95% of blacks voted for Obama, while 56% of women voted for Obama. So in the same way that TV shows use token minority characters for higher viewership ratings, Mia Love couldn't be a better candidate to get republican minority engagement up. Throw the people a bone to chew on. That's certainly what appears to be happening.

But really, this isn't even the real problem. The problem is that politics continues to be one cat fight after another. The problem is that the two parties are so desperate for votes that they would go to any extremes to successfully pander to the right demographic. The problem is that Americans still care about race and gender. The fact that the republican establishment cares so much about this election indicates that as much of a facade as this is, people pay attention to these attributes. Believe it or not, a black, female, Mormon standing at the forefront of the GOP could actually play an imperative role in garnering votes.