republicans on YouTube & the politics of whiteness

I wanted to make mention of the Republican Debate last night that was televised on CNN and sponsored by YouTube. In a “Republican Age” where Compassionate Conservatism is touted as THE way for Republicans to unite such a divided country [and those who typically support the Republican agenda], I’m not convinced that this compassion came thru in this debate. A few things struck me, however. Let me explain.

The sense of identity is always an important issue for me to consider, whether it is the identity of an organization or the identity of one who is running for public office. Last night, I watched and listened as white men sought to answer questions posed by the, largely white, public. As cameras scanned the audience during the fist bit of the debate, there I saw a crowd of white faces. Some time later, however, I did see a few colored faces, but the crowd was largely white. I believe that this indicates part of these candidates’ identities.

The question of immigration, health care, education, “terrorism”, and Iraq, I believe, are all issues that effect everyone, but it is people of color and women who are marginalized in the formation of these policies. I believe after watching the YouTube Republican debate I can say the following:

This political race, Indecision 2008, is all about White Politics

White Politics cannot be the frame of reference for this U.S. American democracy. While I’m uncertain that the hegemony of whiteness will ever be deconstructed, this certainly does not help! I do not think that the politics of whiteness is limited to the Republicans, but I can certainly say that whiteness seemed to overwhelm the conversation last night.

On the Democratic side, there are people of color who are running for the bid.  And, while we have folks like Richardson and Obama, we still have a largely white media producing what has been normative in news.  There really is no NEW news, despite having people of color and a woman in this race.  Why is that?  Why perpetuate the politics and media of whiteness?

I think this should be addressed somewhere…perhaps the media will consider my critique of the politics of whiteness…but I doubt it!