When Did the GOP Get So White?

John Avlon: “The one-time Party of Lincoln boasted the first African-American, Asian-American, Native-American, Hispanic, and popularly-elected woman senators. Now polls show Romney-Ryan will get virtually no black votes.”

“But ’twas not always thus for the GOP. Dust off your history books and you will see Republicans once had a virtual lock on the minority vote — and minority elected officials. The legacy of Lincoln was alive and well until not so long ago. Which makes the retreat of recent decades both unfortunate and ill-timed.”