GOP Increases Diversity Among Delegates(17% minority)

[papau]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-GOP-Delegates.html

GOP Increases Diversity Among Delegates(17% minority)
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 8:36 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans point to record levels of diversity among delegates to their upcoming convention, though the GOP isn't close to matching the makeup of the U.S. population overall or the Democratic delegation that met last month in Boston.

About 17 percent, or roughly 800 of the 4,700-plus delegates and alternates to this month's Republican National Convention will be minorities, party officials have said. That's up from 10 percent four years ago and 6 percent in 1996.

``We've turned an important corner in some of our grass-roots networking and we've seen the results,'' said Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a delegate who is the first black in that state's history to win statewide elective office.

The percentages fall short of the race and ethnic makeup of the country overall. According to the most recent Census Bureau estimates, about 32 percent of U.S. residents in 2003 were of a minority background.<snip>

[Skidmore]

1. Somebody should tell these people that if you

keep turning corners, you end up back where you started. I think that turning corner thingy they are blindly repeating is the best metaphore for maintaining the status quo I've ever heard. They just keep turning corners.

[OneBlueSky]

2. yeah . . . minorities . . . rednecks, Christianoids, white supremacists .

and maybe a couple of Blacks and Asians thrown in to make it look good for television . . . wonder how many gay or lesbian delegates they'll have . . .

[cheezus]

3. 17% vs 32% -- more than half of minorites are republican????

Sure, 32% of the population are minorities, but what percent of republicans are minorities? I'm guessing a lot less than 17%!

Looks like the RNC is using quota-based afirmative action

[papau]

4. lol :-)

:-)