First Ohio governor since 1962 to have an entire Cabinet without any racial diversity

[liberal N proud]

Ohio Gov. John Kasich's 20 Cabinet appointments so far lack diversity

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. John Kasich is on pace to be the first Ohio governor since 1962 to have an entire Cabinet without any racial diversity.

Every one of Kasich's 20 full-time agency director hires so far has been a white person. Four are women.

The Republican governor is unfazed by critics who charge that he is ignoring diversity in such important public positions. Kasich says he has a tough job, and he has the right to surround himself with whomever he wants to help him get his agenda accomplished.

"I don't look at things from the standpoint of any of these sort of metrics that people tend to focus on, race or age, or any of those things," Kasich told The Plain Dealer. "It's not the way I look at those things. I want the best possible team I can get, and hopefully we will be in a position that we are fully diverse as we go forward.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/01/gov_john_kasichs_cabinet_lacks.html

[atreides1]

1. So what's his agenda?

Hoods, robes, and burning crosses? Because it sure isn't jobs!!!

[liberal N proud]

2. Killing jobs and cutting more taxes seems to be his primary goal

[ncteechur]

37. Screwing over people of color.

[CreekDog]

3. And Pawlenty says he'll bring back Don't Ask Don't Tell if elected President in 2012

you know, i don't know what these guys like, but it's pretty clear what they don't like.

[svsuman23]

4. how did he pick these people? did he racially profile to get all whites?

[liberal N proud]

5. He's not saying

Welcome to DU

[CreekDog]

9. yes, by picking Republicans

he eliminated most nonwhites from consideration. :o

[svsuman23]

16. would a democrat pick repukes to become more diverse?

[CreekDog]

20. Racially? No, of course not

to become politically more diverse --possibly.

Kasich has done neither to be more diverse.

[Bill McBlueState]

26. You'd almost have to racially profile

If you, without any regard for race, pick 20 cabinet members from a state that's 87% white, the odds of every one of them being white are only about 6%. Not impossible, but not something you'd bet on.

[goddess40]

6. All the best people are white

according to Kasich.

[safeinOhio]

7. There are people of color in

the Ohio Republican party. Mostly the color orange.

[JustAnotherGen]

23. n/s

:rofl:

[svsuman23]

8. is there an off chance he knows this quote?

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

[tkmorris]

10. LOL yeah, that is surely the reason

Welcome to DU. Live long and prosper. Or something.

[svsuman23]

13. lol I'm just throwing it out there.

But no one knows the reason for it correct? Just assuming?

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[EFerrari]

12. Probably but he apparently doesn't know what it means. n/t

[HughBeaumont]

21. Is there an off-chance you know any quote by Martin Luther King besides THAT one?

[svsuman23]

29. well yes, but thought this one fit pretty well.

[Rage for Order]

52. Like a pane of glass

:dunce:

[pampango]

11. Read this in the Dayton paper, too. 16 white men and 4 white women. Welcome to the 1950's, Ohio! n/t

[NeedleCast]

14. That's Unpossible! Only the South has Racism!

[svsuman23]

15. impossible...

[Gold Metal Flake]

24. ...

[Doctor_J]

17. The November election results will prompt the wingers to

throw off the cloak of civility. They no longer have to pretend to believe in america.

[HughBeaumont]

18. Fuck this guy.

Kasich the Fascist, unfortunately, is going to return us to the Golden Age of TAFT.

If you run Ohio like a business, as business currently runs (profit first, workers can suck it), how are jobs going to be created? Moreover, how will he handle Ohio's budget when 40% of the state's revenue comes from their income tax? Eliminate that, where's the cash going to come from to, you know, keep this state operable?

This guy is nothing but a balloon-juice-spewing CON.

[BrightKnight]

22. Imagine the outrage if an African American, Hispanic, or female did that.

All Hispanic women with four Hispanic men. Rush Limpy would wet his pants.

[svsuman23]

25. after reading the comments and thinking..

It reminds me of the fire fighters in CT. Is there is no racial diversity, does it mean that they person picking the people is racist or did they just pick the most qualified?

Is it better to have a racially diverse group or the most qualified?

[Bill McBlueState]

42. the most qualified, certainly

But it's highly unlikely that the most qualified people to fill 20 positions are ALL of the same race. I think Kasich just didn't look very hard for the most qualified people. Limiting the pool to your friends and associates is much easier.

[unblock]

27. missing...point: "the right to surround himself with whomever he wants", "i want the best ... team"

of course, being a republican, he has to shift the standard.

no one is talking about his RIGHT to appoint whites-only.
the concern is that it reveals both bigotry and insensitivity.

by the standard he evaluates people, somehow, so far, whites won 20 times out of 20.


he has the right to choose whites only.

but he is complaining about OUR right to draw the obvious conclusions.

[BrightKnight]

28. He may not have the right to discriminate when hiring for government jobs.

I do not know the Ohio and Federal laws but he might have some legal problems.

[unblock]

31. i would be amazed if such high-level government positions weren't exempt

i know congress exempts itself from a bunch of employment laws, for instance.

don't know about the ohio law regarding executive branch hiring, but i very much doubt anything would come of it legally even if it were nominally against the law. who exactly would enforce it? by the time it made it through the court system, at least half the term would be over and i'm sure he could find someone to replace with some other race if he were forced to.

besides, he hasn't finished making all of his appointments. i'm sure when he gets around down to the last few, he'll appoint a token non-white to a trivial job.

[svsuman23]

30. you said "the concern is that it reveals both bigotry and insensitivity."

What proof do you have that he is being a bigot and insensitive?

[tkmorris]

32. It is impossible to "prove" bigotry

Unless of course the subject issues a blatant statement of their intentions. Normally bigotry is made clear by observation of the actions of the subject over a period of time. I'd say that the good Governor is well on his way, wouldn't you?

[svsuman23]

33. yes he is on his way there!

I just have a hard time saying this is him being a bigot W/o any proof. I want facts to prove it not opinions..

[unblock]

35. but you do have facts! 20 whites out of 20 appointments!

i'm not saying that these facts are conclusive, yes, of course they should be weighed against as large a set of relevant facts as possible to draw any kind of an informed conclusion.

but just because you can't "prove" bigotry outside of exceptionally fragrant cases doesn't mean it makes sense to dismiss the evidence you do have.

moreover, it's not a matter of whether or not he actually *is* a bigot. politicians and statesmen should at all times be sensitive to the appearance of their actions. they go out of their way to avoid the appearance of impropriety, they go out of their way to return contributions from unseemly organizations, and so on. it's important not only to *be* on the up and up but to *appear* to be on the up and up.

similarly, it's not only important not to *be* a bigot, but it's important not to *appear* to be a bigot.

that's the insensitivity part. he's allowing his actions to appear as if he doesn't care about minorities, thinks less of them, etc. perhaps he doesn't, but he's letting it appear that way.

and as the old saying goes, nothing in politics happens by accident.

[svsuman23]

36. so he must put african americans in his cabinet so he doesn't look like a bigot?

Do you think that if in any group there isn't an african american in it that a bigot put it together or that the group won't come up with the right answers?

Must there be an african american or any other minority in a group to make the right decision?

[unblock]

38. politicians must do a lot of things for the sake of their image

they must avoid being alone with known prostitutes unless they want people wondering if they're a john.
they must avoid being seen too many times raising a glass unless they want people wondering if they're a drunk.
they must avoid being seen with known terrorists unless they want people wondering whose side they're on.
they must avoid taking money from neo-nazis unless they want people wondering if they're too extreme.

and yes, they must occassionally hire a black person unless they want people wondering if they're racist.

every politician knows this. this is why there's a so-called "black seat" on the supreme court.
this is why presidents have long made sure that there's a black guy in the cabinet, and a woman, and an hispanic.

hiring to cabinet-type positions is not just a matter of capabilities, it's also a matter of appearance, what constituencies you are representing, what your agenda is, and so on. governors and presidents think carefully about whether or not they want to hire "career politicians" or "outsiders" or "wall-streeters" or people from this or that area of the state or country and so on. they are not oblivious to the appearance.

and he's creating the appearance that he's a bigot. that doesn't mean he necessarily *is* a bigot, but he's most surely aware that that's the impression he's giving.

but he obviously wants that image. if he didn't he would have made hiring a minority a higher priority. then the questions would never have been raised. he knows the way it works, and he's getting exactly the kind of press he wanted.

[svsuman23]

39. so just look the part. spread lies to make everyone like you.

[unblock]

44. well, if you *are* a bigot and don't want to be preceived as such, then yes.

although it's a whole lot easier to just not be a bigot in the first place.
people who aren't bigots tend not to wind up in situations where people wonder about whether or not they're bigots because they just hired 20 white people in a row.

[Bill McBlueState]

45. there are other types of people besides white ones and black ones

It's not about missing people of some specific race; it's about the unlikelihood that the best possible cabinet has members of only one race.

[Pancho Sanza]

47. How about the best possible basketball team?

:D

[dsc]

53. actually I don't know of a single NBA team with an all black roster

[KamaAina]

34. He couldn't even find a job for Whitewell?

:wtf:

[Yavin4]

40. So, No Asians, No African Americans, No Latinos, No Nothing But White Guys

Wow. Good luck with that Ohio.

[dsc]

41. I am so tempted to compare the comments in this thread

to the comments in my threads stating that Obama should have appointed a gay cabinet member. I would be willing to bet that at least one poster has a way different opinion here than in my thread.

[svsuman23]

43. I'm curious..

[Pancho Sanza]

46. We need a federal law that mandates the minimum percentages

in any governmental entity: So many African Americans, Native Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Gays, Short people, Left handers, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Caucasians, Sight impaired, Crappy Golfers...my god, think of the possibilities, by the time all the minorities are represented, unemployment will be just a bad memory in this country!

edit to fix an m error

;-)

[xor]

49. " by the time all the minorities are represented,"

I read that as 'micronorities' at first. Now I wonder if that term has ever been used before.

[Pancho Sanza]

51. I'm pretty sure you can claim its coinage!

Well done, logical one, :D

[sarcasmo]

48. Same as a tea party rally.

[madinmaryland]

50. +1000