The Lesson The GOP Needs To Learn: Most People Don't Tolerate Bigots

      It's too late for Republicans to gain majority support among people from "every walk of life," as Adam Kinzinger dreamily imagined, if their current platform remains unchanged. They like to brag about Abe Lincoln, but their solutions for the American people involved nothing beyond ending slavery. My home state of Wisconsin is a prime example. 

     In 2019, Mandela Barnes became the lieutenant governor, making him the highest-ranking person of color in state history. He's a Democrat, and, just 32 when he took office, I have no doubt that he will be our governor at some point. At the national level, Wisconsin has an impressive contribution to diversity in the form of Tammy Baldwin. She was the first openly-LGBTQ non-incumbent elected to Congress, the first elected to the House of Representatives, and the first elected to the Senate.

     Baldwin is not the only one. Barney Frank was the first member of Congress in a same-sex marriage. Mark Pocan, also of Wisconsin, was the first member of Congress already in a same-sex marriage when he was elected and the first openly-LGBTQ congressperson to succeed another (he took Tammy Baldwin's seat when she moved from the House to the Senate). Kyrsten Sinema is the first openly-bisexual member of Congress. Mark Takano was the first openly-gay person of color elected to Congress, and Sharice Davids is the first openly-lesbian person of color in Congress. Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres were the first openly-gay black men elected to Congress, and Torres is also the first openly-gay Latino man elected to Congress. Jared Polis is the first openly-gay governor of a state (Colorado), and Pete Buttigieg became the first LGBTQ person to win delegates in a presidential primary and the first openly-LGBTQ cabinet member. Of the eight LGBTQ Republicans to serve in Congress, seven were either outed or waited to come out until after their time in office ended.

     It's not just LGBTQ people. Barack Obama was the first black president, and Kamala Harris is the first black, first South Asian, and first female VP. The second-highest ranking woman in American history is Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as a House Speaker. Thurgood Marshall was the first black Supreme Court justice, Robert C. Weaver was the first black cabinet member, and Patricia Roberts Harris was the first black woman to serve as an ambassador and as a cabinet member. President Biden has appointed the first black woman, Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the Supreme Court; Hakeem Jeffries is the first black House Minority Leader and Patty Murray is the first female president of the Senate. Frances Perkins was the first female cabinet member.

     Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. Louis Brandeis was the first Jewish Supreme Court justice, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first Jewish female. Elena Kagan marked a record number of women on the Supreme Court. President Biden has appointed the first Muslim federal judge. The first Sikh state attorney general was Gurbir Grewal (who was also the first Sikh county prosecutor). Deb Haaland is the first Native American cabinet member, and President Biden's cabinet has a record number of women and people of color. There are a record number of women and people of color running major cities like Boston and Atlanta.

     This barely scratches the surface. I'm sorry, but the history has been made and is being made today. Republicans have made their stance on diversity quite clear not just by expressing white supremacist views, but by taking advantage of them to bolster support under the guise of freedom of expression. Ronald Reagan was the only Republican president to break down barriers for women and people of color, and much of it was done over his veto or for political gain only. (His stance on the LGBTQ was pretty clear with his response to HIV/AIDS). Most Republicans aren't bigots, but people are put off by the GOP tolerating it, Mr. Kinzinger.