Dayton Daily News

Rising U.S. diversity worry for Biden and the Dems, too

- Pat Buchanan

Is her racial diversity America’s greatest strength?

So we are told. Yet, even before America becomes a majority-minority nation, 25 years from now, recent changes in the compositio­n of the country are going to impact both parties in 2020.

According to Brookings Institutio­n demographe­r William Frey, between

2010 and 2020, while America’s population grew by 20 million, our white population fell for the first time since the 1790 census.

White Americans fell as a share of the population in all 50 states, in 358 of 364 metropolit­an areas, in 3,012 of 3,141 counties. During that same decade, our Black population grew by 3 million, our Asian population by 4 million and our Hispanic population by 10 million.

What’s the significan­ce of those numbers? In presidenti­al elections, Hispanics and Asians vote 70% Democratic and African Americans

vote 90%.

White folks, who made up 69% of the U.S. population in 2000 when George W. Bush was elected, have fallen today to 60%.

Whites are also the oldest Americans, with a median age of 44. For

Asian Americans, it is 37, for Black Americans, it is 35, and for Latinos, it is 30.

Bottom line: The pool of Democratic voters is growing inexorably while the largest pool of potential GOP voters is aging, stagnating and shrinking.

Nor are Democrats unaware of the opportunit­y demography offers.

But Joe Biden and his generation of Democrats have their own problem.

Even as people of color make up a growing share of the nation, around 40%, they are an even larger, and still growing, share of the Democratic base.

Without the huge majorities Asians, Blacks and Hispanics give them, Democrats could not win the White House. Yet, in this year’s primaries, the six top finishers in delegates were Biden, Bernie Sanders, Mike Bloomberg, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.

All are white, as are the two top Democratic leaders in the House, Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer; the two top Democratic leaders in the Senate, Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin; and the overwhelmi­ng majority of the 47 Democratic senators and 24 Democratic governors.

Democrats may prattle on about their glorious “diversity,” but a closer look reveals a predominan­tly white senior officer corps, atop an army of minorities.

There is something else of interest here. While the statues being torn down in the revolution of the Democratic left are a variety of explorers, conquerors, missionari­es, Confederat­es and presidents, all have one thing in common.

All are white men.

The Democratic left wants to terminate the succession of white folks making the history of the country.

Thus the Democrats’ problem that comes with Biden’s choice of a running mate. Though demands are being made that minorities, who deliver half of all Democratic votes, be represente­d on the ticket, Biden is said to be leaning toward a white woman, Elizabeth Warren.

Choosing Warren would make this Democratic ticket like every other one in 220 years, save for Barack Obama’s — all-white. It would pass over half a dozen women of color and put a white woman first in the line of succession to the presidency. And Biden, 77, is promising to be a transition president.

If Biden overlooks the women of color being considered as running mates and picks a white woman, the rumbling of the coming rebellion of the minorities inside the Democratic Party will be heard loud and clear.

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