What is more important, a government that actually represents the American people or whether those lawmakers reflect diversity, a policy liberals believe to be essential? Judging from comments made on Thursday by Chris Hayes, host of the All in weeknight program on MSNBC, he would definitely go with the latter.
Hayes made the remarks during a media panel at Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network convention, when he called the Republican Party “essentially a segregated entity” but praised their Democratic counterparts for representing “all of the diversity of America.”
The liberal host began his comments by reflecting on what happened back in January, when he attended the swearing-in ceremony for members of Congress on Capitol Hill. He noted that new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had made a change to the rules so more family members could be in the photographs.
That “was quite a scene,” he stated, and “I have to say … it brought home the stark reality about American politics at this moment. It’s something that I think is very clear just even as the candidates for the Democratic Party come through this room.”
He then noted that half of the American political party system is “essentially a segregated entity,” a claim he described as “just a factual thing.”
Next, he asserted that one of the two parties “is almost entirely all white.” It’s obvious which one he was talking about.
Nevertheless, Hayes went on:
So America is a diverse place, it’s a place with people from all kinds of different backgrounds and all kinds of different life experiences.
On one side, none of that is apparent, and then all of the diversity of America is on the other side.
He also asserted that Congress “is even more diverse than America” because “it’s double the representation,” a remark he meant to be a positive thing.
Hayes then laughed a bit before noting: “And that to me is one of the things that is just inescapable about American politics at this moment, and I think it operates in terms of the coverage in having a press corps and a media that reflects the same diversity that you see in this new Congress.”
Of course, it’s not surprising that this MSNBC host has accused President Trump of wanting to build a wall on the southern border because he and his political base are racists and want “an ethnically pure America.”
