Grand Old Party? Nah — the GOP is the Same Old Party

Were Republicans’ postelection pledges to transform and modernize their party — or at least their message — really just a bizarre fever dream? You might think so, judging from the news Tuesday that the 19 new GOP House committee chairmen are all white men.

Republicans got trounced by women voters, 55 percent of whom preferred President Barack Obama, according to exit poll data. Mitt Romney won only about a quarter of the nonwhite vote. The results prompted a number of GOP officials to say that the party had to do some soul-searching and make substantive changes to stay relevant.

But for his first big decisions, House Speaker John Boehner is staying the course. All that talk of big changes? As Romney would say, “Ha, ha, ha, ha!”

Boehner might argue he’s just responding to the desires of voters who re-elected a Republican House majority composed almost entirely of white men, in contrast to the Democratic caucus in which white men are a minority. But looked at in aggregate, Democrats got 50.5 percent of the vote in House races while winning just 46 percent of the seats. Incumbency and the vagaries of district lines helped the GOP maintain control of the House, not necessarily the party’s message.

Indeed, the House majority was toxic for Romney. Members’ and candidates’ resolve to limit women’s health care choices, redefine rape and tar immigrants as freeloaders were central to Obama’s victory.

Boehner could appoint women to two minor committee chairmanships that are still open. But that would hardly change the story line: The GOP is now and, for the next few years at least, will continue to be the party of white men.

In fairness, Boehner didn’t exactly have a deep roster of nonwhites and women to choose from; there are just 28 female and minority GOP representatives, 12 percent of the total. On this front, perhaps Romney could help. Think he’s still got any of those binders full of women?