House GOP and Democratic Caucuses Show Two Different Americas

[Frodo]

White Guys Running the U.S. House Face Diverse Democrats

By Timothy R. Homan - Nov 8, 2012 4:56 PM ET

Meet Donna Edwards of Maryland, a veteran congresswoman who represents the new face of Democrats in the U.S. House.

Come January, women and minorities for the first time in U.S. history will hold a majority of the party’s House seats, while Republicans will continue to be overwhelmingly white and male. The chamber, already politically polarized, more than ever is going to be demographically polarized, too.

“One thing that’s always been very startling to me is to see that on the floor of the House of Representatives when you look over on one side where the Democrats caucus and you look to the other side and it looks like two different visions of America,” Edwards, 54, a black woman who has served in Congress since 2008, said in a telephone interview.

The visuals will be striking when the House debates whether to overhaul the country’s tax code and considers ways to keep the costs of Social Security and Medicare under control. The white males of the Republican Party will be arguing to reduce benefits while the women and minorities of the Democratic Party will make a case for keeping the nation’s safety net where it is.

With eight races still to be settled, white men had secured about 90 percent of Republican seats and about 47 percent of Democratic seats, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

[Antonio the Sixth]

So the Democratic caucus is now majority-minority? That's beautiful.

[Ogre Mage]

Recent quote from Harry Reid:

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[smoltchanov]

And not only in demographic and gender preferences. Politically - too. Polarization (already ski-high) will increase even more in 113th Congress. Democratic caucus will be even more liberal (without Boren, Ross, Shuler, Altmire and their like and Nelson in Senate), Republican (without Dold, Biggert, probably - Bono Mack and even Bass, and Snowe and Lugar in Senate) - even more conservative. The most "conservative" among Democratic freshmen will, possibly, be centrist Filemon Vela from Texas, while i don't see any even remotely moderate Republicans in their fresnmen list (Tisei and Roraback would be fine, but both lost narrowly in admittedly difficult for Republicans states, and so are some California candidates)

[Holmes]

So the Democratic caucus is now majority-minority? That's beautiful.

47% is white men. Not counting white women.

[Antonio the Sixth]

So the Democratic caucus is now majority-minority? That's beautiful.

47% is white men. Not counting white women.

Ah, I see. That makes it much less impressive.

[Marokai Backbeat]

So the Democratic caucus is now majority-minority? That's beautiful.

47% is white men. Not counting white women.

Ah, I see. That makes it much less impressive.

But still something to be proud of.

[Antonio the Sixth]

So the Democratic caucus is now majority-minority? That's beautiful.

47% is white men. Not counting white women.

Ah, I see. That makes it much less impressive.

But still something to be proud of.

Well, compared with Republicans, certainly.