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Bill Maher, ‘Republicans have the same problem as the Beach Boys. Their fans are dying.’
By: Jason EasleyNov. 10th, 2012more from Jason Easley
Bill Maher perfectly summed up the GOP’s biggest problem, ‘Republicans have the same problem as the Beach Boys. Their fans are dying.’
Maher said,
I bring this up because the background of this election was, let’s be honest, Republicans have the same problem as the Beach Boys. Their fans are dying. But to the Blacks, Asians, and Latinos, as you power and population grows, I’d line to say I’m one of the good ones. I’m tired of living with the stereotype that all honkeys are a little racist and retrograde and will only vote for members of our own white tribe. You know, someone who can really rock a pair of Dockers. Now, I have long believed that if the different ethnic groups want to be treated equally they have to stop voting for candidates just because they look like them. And yes, I’m talking about white people. Like these two (picture of Romney and Kid Rock), who obviously have so much in common besides pigment.
But hey, the good news is Obama won. The bad news only 39% of whites voted for him. And that is a pattern, white people vote for white people like it is going out of style. And like most things white people do, it’s going out of style. And it’s a shame, Caucasians have accomplished so much as a race. We’ve given the world Ugg Boots, and Cirque du Soleil, Ultimate Frisbee, turkey burgers, renaissance fairs, and the golf ball washer.
But when I look at the election returns, I am embarrassed at how far we haven’t come. I cannot deny that Barack Obama is a two term president whose had four elections in his life, and he only won the white vote once. When he ran for the Senate against another black guy. And the only thing that makes white voters more uncomfortable than choosing between two black politicians is getting the check at a Thai restaurant and trying to remember which waitress was yours.
With white people it is always one step forward and two steps backward, or as we call it dancing.
The average Fox News viewer is 65 years old. The average Rush Limbaugh listener is 66. When Republicans bellow about taking their country back, what they really mean is going back to a time when white people dominated the electorate and the positions of power. The Republican Party did everything they could think of to try to turn white people back into the majority in 2012, and it didn’t work.
Minorities and Democrats early vote in greater numbers than Republicans, so they attempted to slash early voting in Ohio, and did cut early voting in Florida. Minorities, students, and the poor especially in Democratic urban strongholds are less likely to have photo ID. So after Republicans won several swing state governorships in 2010, they passed voter ID laws.
Yes, it was about winning an election. But at a deeper level Republicans were trying to hold off progress and rig the game, because they can’t win anymore by just showing up and being white. After Obama became the Democratic nominee in 2008, the Republican Party rebuilt itself on the fly to become the party of older white fear and anger.
Maher did oversimplify things a little bit. According to Washington Post polling, 56% of Democrats voters were white. Forty four percent were non-white. While an astonishing 89% of the Republican vote in 2012 was white. Only 11% of Republican voters were non-white. Obama’s support was 56% white, 24% black, 14% Latino, and 4% Asian.
There are plenty of older white Democrats in the party, but their age group is nationally chocked full of old white Republicans. The worst news of all for the Republican Party is that a vast majority of young white voters tend to vote Democrat. The GOP doesn’t just have a race problem. They also have an age problem.
Bill Maher was correct. The Republican Party is literally dying before our eyes. If their brain trust can’t quickly figure out how to reverse their voting trends, the GOP will become a regional party and cease to be a force in national elections.
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joyce ford
Nov. 10th, 2012 at 10:53 am
I am astounded to learn that the Republican Party has a “brain trust.” Surely that is sarcasm…
marilyn logiudice
Nov. 10th, 2012 at 11:23 am
Your calculations of who voted for Obama’s re-election were wrg according to the Washington Post.As yrs go by,your statement probably will be true that you thnk the majority of votes for him came frm minority grps, or white for white and blk for blk because the whiite people are not having as many chidren as the minority grps.This was a race against race in my opinion, but what killed the Repubs was their nastiness,lies,racial remarks,hatred,etc and the fact that what they say is always right when wrg.There is no doubt in my mind that God intervened in this election choosing someone who cares about ALL the people which the repubs DO NOT!!!If so, the superpak who threw billions away,could of helped the people who got hit with the storm financially giving them what they need to survive without the bat of an eye or missing any part of their money.They still can’t except they lost! The writing is on the wall for all that voted for Obama.They just don’t give a shit about anyone who isn’t in their league and people heard and listened this time around.Karma dug a big hole to bury them in! They created their own grief and deserve all they got. There is no color in people as I see it when you’re voting for your rights as a blk person,wht,latino,or anything else.What’s right is right and wrg is wrg.Republicans are in denial and I don’t feel the least bit of empathy for them just like they don’t care for anyway but themselves-the wealthy!
Jon H.
Nov. 11th, 2012 at 4:32 am
A) Your English makes my brain hurt. Learn to use proper spelling, syntax and grammar; perhaps you won’t be taken as an idiot prior to two sentences into your text. It reflects badly on you, and even worse, it reflects badly at the ideas you are trying to represent. What you wrote cannot possibly be taken seriously.
B) A quick research of the numbers (via Wikipedia, statista, politico, and so on) shows that the numbers in this article are accurate.
C) The fact you so highly contest in the article, about white vs. minority votes for Obama, is actually exactly what the article said. You are arguing about something you agree.
D) The culmination of A-C means that (optimistically) purposefully use bad English to make a point, which is a terrible thing to do, you have bad reading comprehension, and most of all, that you’d rather argue than make your opinion based on facts. In short, Maher is not aiming at you. This is the equivalent of LGBT comments in a pro-Gingrich forum; it’s futile, annoying, and generally misguided.
Reynardine
Nov. 10th, 2012 at 11:33 am
Hell, I’m LXIX, I vote on Election day, and I’m the same flaming pink liberal I was at XXIX (and have millions of animals, and am a terrible slob)
Gindy51
Nov. 10th, 2012 at 11:54 am
All they had to do was to read the data from 1996 about what the country was going to look like demographically in 2012 and beyond. They would have seen the shrinkage of the white segment of society and the growth of the Asian, Hispanic, and black segments. Extrapolate to beyond 2025 and it will get much “worse” for whatever is left of the GOP.
Johnee
Nov. 10th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
I like Maher but sometimes his nuance goes out the window when he patronizes people. I agree about Romney’s far right, racist base. However, look at the numbers for Clinton both times, and look at the numbers for Gore v Bush. These were all white guys v white guys.
There was going to be a large number of Republicans that would vote for a Republican no matter what. Maher’s conclusion of white voting for white lacks proportionality and is over simplified in the extreme.
That being said, I agree 100% with the title of this article. The country IS moving forward and the Repubs are refusing to see the writing on the wall.
John Cowden
Nov. 10th, 2012 at 5:16 pm
I thought the Beach Bots were Repugs?!
AlabJoneseth
Nov. 10th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Jeez, don’t throw the Beach Boys in with those clowns. One HUGE difference between the Beach Boys and the Republicans is the Beach Boys made a contribution to America and will be remembered after they are gone.
Mike Holmes
Nov. 11th, 2012 at 10:33 am
Bill Maher is correct – of the eligible White voters, only 39% voted for Obama. Note that 72% of the electorate is White, therefore it may be that 56% of Obama’s votes came from White people. Similarly, 93% of African Americans voted for Obama, but their share of the Obama vote was obviously much smaller, since they only make up 13% of the electorate.
Johnee
Nov. 11th, 2012 at 11:49 am
Yeah. See that’s a little more perspective. Plus Obama won in a sluggish economy! Some of those whites were voting for the “other guy” to see if he could (in their minds) do better.
Mike Holmes
Nov. 11th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Race is a factor in American society and one cannot say with any conviction that it will not be part of the voting process. That said, I think that Maher is trying to make a larger point. His point is that Republicans are constantly taking positions that only finds support among Whites, and in fact White men and older White people, since it is only in these categories that Romney led (e.g. even a majority of White women,i.e. 55%, voted for Obama). Republicans do not represent the views of the majority of women, young people, or minorities (approximately 75% of Hispanics and Asians also voted for Obama, and I believe two-thirds of voters below the age of 30). Therefore, Republicans are clinging to an antiquated world view and will only become more irrelevant unless they change.
Vincent
Nov. 11th, 2012 at 4:48 pm
When the Republicans got into bed with the South as a way to capitalize on white Democrats’ anger over civil rights legislation being passed, they should have realized it would eventually catch up with them. You can’t change the backward South; it will remain as fundamentalist as ever…and the stench will rub off on you.
Somewhere, Lyndon Johnson — who had the courage to sign the Voting Rights Act, even though he correctly prophesied what it would lead to — is laughing at Richard Nixon, and what his “southern strategy” hath wrought.
Lana Hunter
Nov. 12th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
Big surprise that the same guy who doesn’t believe in God hates the band that wrote/sang God Only Knows. I do appreciate hearing that I’m 23 and dying, especially considering I’ve been living with a life threatening illness for the past 10 years. Jerk. People like him and their ridiculous statements shouldn’t be famous, much less have their obsolete opinions (Donald Trump?) make headlines.
Shiva (Moderator)
Nov. 12th, 2012 at 6:42 pm
I think Bill meant the original fans of the Beach boys are getting pretty old. Like me. I love the Beach Boys and am 62. I dont think what he said applies to you.
Congrats on making it to 23.
Johnee
Nov. 12th, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Their later so-called “innovative” stuff like ‘Good Vibrations’ is great too. Brian Wilson is a genius.