By Andrew Reinel
Last week, when U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) questioned the contributions of non-White “sub-groups” to civilization, he ruffled quite a few feathers. But he also revealed a twisted logic that remains a dangerously effective way of retaining power in the United States of America today, even if this logic may well threaten his party in the long run (if you have not seen the debacle by now, click here).
At an MSNBC panel, Charlie Pierce, writer-at-large for Esquire magazine, tries to make the point that sooner or later, the Republican Party is going to have to change their tone if they want to attract ethnic minorities and women to their ranks. He expresses regret and disbelief that this time has not yet come, noting that, on the first day of the Republican National Convention, the halls were “wired…with angry White people.”
The growing number of “minority” voters and the problem this poses to the GOP is a subject that many pundits have touched on. Author Steve Phillips goes in depth in his work “Brown is the New White,” where he demonstrates that a “New American Majority,” totaling 51 percent of the country’s electorate (23 percent being progressive people of color, and the other 28 percent being progressive Whites) already exists, and that this new majority is only getting larger by the day.
On the MSNBC panel, Pierce alludes to these mathematical truths, and King responds with a crackpot attempt of a history lesson. Why? Putting aside the question of the validity of King’s premise momentarily, is it a sound argument, within the context of our democracy, that, because people of color have not contributed as much to “civilization,” we should not be taken into consideration by the establishment that he belongs to? Can that establishment really dismiss a segment of the population already totalling approximately 39 percent of the whole, and growing?
That reasoning does not fly. I categorically reject the notion that people of color have somehow contributed less to world civilization as we know it, but even if we were to entertain the idea, it does not address the census math, and the trouble it spells for the GOP.
In this context, Rep. King’s statements seem completely illogical. Yet because it personally serves him well to perform these racist antics, it makes a lot of sense. In spite of, or most likely because of a long history of saying dehumanizing things about minorities and women, King has been comfortably winning re-elections to serve in congress since 2003, in a district that is solidly White (hovering around 95 percent) and reliably Republican. There are nowhere near enough people of color or allies to challenge his appalling viewpoints, or hold him accountable. He is up for re-election this November, and this incident can be chalked up as a campaign stunt to impress his constituents back home.
Steve King’s racist remarks—like those of his party’s current standard-bearer, Donald Trump—should be rigorously scrutinized, but it is also worth realizing that they know exactly what they are doing. Racism is about power, and because these men do not have much to offer in the way of true public leadership, they are toying with people’s anxieties and prejudices in order to amass influence.
We may never completely eradicate prejudice, but it is our duty to deconstruct the kind of White supremacist thinking that allows people like King and Trump to attain such power. We can start in the realm of education (after all, is Steve King’s perspective on world history much different than what our textbooks implicitly or explicitly tell us?), and at the ballot-box, where we can make our numbers count.
Andrew Reinel is a community organizer living in Baltimore, Maryland. He holds a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Michigan. His current work includes efforts in South Central Pennsylvania to engage immigrants and Latinos in civic action.
This op-ed was originally published by OnBckgrnd.com, on July 26, 2016.