From the Washington Post opinion page by Washington Post opinion columnist Jennifer Rubin:
The census reminds us America isn’t static. The GOP needs to deal with it.
Opinion by Jennifer Rubin, Columnist
Today at 10:00 a.m. EDTThe 2020 Census shows that while Whites remain the largest ethnicity group in the United States, the demographic decreased by 8.6 percent over the past decade. …
America is never static. … Indeed, that is the essence of America — a country not defined by racial or religious identity.
So, forget that stuff in the Preamble about the point of the Constitution being the general welfare of “ourselves and our posterity.” That got abrogated by Emma Lazarus’s poem.
That reality has, of course, freaked out a significant share of White Christians who do not see “their America” as predominate. It was never “theirs” to begin with, and the assumption that something is amiss if White Christians are not in charge is the essence of white supremacy and Christian nationalism. It is also fundamentally un-American; our country is defined, as President Biden rightly says, by an “idea.”
It is easy, then, to understand why a political party based increasingly on its appeal to White Christians has adopted so many anti-American traits. …
The GOP is so dependent on the right-wing media generator of White angst and resentment, and so fearful they will lose their grip among Whites, that they have chosen instead to try to hold back the demographic and cultural tide washing over them.
… However, unless and until Americans in rural areas demand responsible governance, embrace the true “idea” of America and reject the temptation of racism and authoritarianism, little will change.
In the meantime, urban Americans, who constitute a greater share of the population than ever before, will lose patience with anti-democratic techniques (e.g., the filibuster, voter suppression) designed to give rural Whites disproportionate power. Demography may not be destiny, but it brings the weaknesses of American democracy into focus.
