If a political party’s nature is reflected in who runs for its presidential nomination, it is hard to imagine a more establishment, anti-diverse gang than those running (or considered likely to run) for the Democratic Party nomination.  The contrast with the Republican Party is stark, almost stunning. 

Consider those Democrats who have announced or are considered possible entries into the race:  Hillary, Sanders, O’Malley, Webb, and Chafee – five in the race – and Biden and Warren – two who might enter.  Compare these seven with the Republicans in their tight nomination contest who are scoring statistically significant amounts: Bush, Walker, Paul, Huckabee, Carson, Rubio, Trump, Cruz, Perry, Christie, Santorum, Fiorina, Kasich, Jindal, and Graham.

If Washington is the problem – and who doubts that? – then consider the proximity of these seven to the insider hive of Washington: Hillary (New York), Sanders (Vermont), O’Malley (Maryland), Webb (Virginia), Chafee (Rhode Island), Biden (Delaware), and Warren (Massachusetts.)  

Where do the Republicans live?  All over America, really: Florida (Bush, Rubio), Wisconsin (Walker), Kentucky (Paul), Arkansas (Huckabee), Maryland (Carson), New York (Trump), Texas (Cruz, Perry), New Jersey (Christie), Pennsylvania (Santorum), California (Fiorina), Ohio (Kasich), Louisiana (Jindal), and South Carolina (Graham).  The geographical spread is as broad as our nation itself.

The average physical distance between the state capital of these seven Democrats and the state capital of these fifteen Republicans is dramatic.  The Democrats, on average, live 283 miles from Washington, while the Republicans, on average, live 820 miles from Washington.  This understates the relative physical proximity from the Beltway, because those Democrats who nominally live farthest away from Washington live very close to New York and Wall Street.  Not a single Democrat lives outside the Beltway.

Compounding this distortion is the political offices the Democrats and Republicans hold.  Six of the seven Democrats served in the Senate (in addition to living very close to Washington).  Five of the fifteen Republicans also served in the Senate, but seven were governors, and three (Carson, Trump, and Fiorina) have never held elective office.

The ethnicity of the Democrats is equally anti-diverse.  All seven are “white,” even if Warren lied about that fact to get favored treatment.  In contrast, almost 30% of the Republicans contenders are members of a racial minority: Hispanic (Rubio, Cruz), black (Carson), and Asian Indian (Jindal).  None of the seven Democrats is a member of any minority at all. 

(This, perhaps, understates the divide, because Governor Haley, another Asian Indian, and Governor Martinez, a Mexican Hispanic, are real possibilities for the bottom of the Republican ticket.  It is hard to see any ethnic minority who might wind up on the bottom of the Democrat ticket.)  

The careers of virtually all of these Democrats were formed in the public sector, and four of these seven Democrats are lawyers: Hillary, Biden, O’Malley, and Warren.  Five of the fifteen Republicans are lawyers: Rubio, Cruz, Christie, Santorum, and Graham.  But the other ten Republicans built careers in a wide range of areas, including much more private-sector experience than the Democrats.  Two were physicians (Carson and Paul), and three were business leaders (Trump, Fiorina, and Kasich), while one was a pastor (Huckabee) and two hand significant military experience (Perry and Graham).  Bobby Jindal is a Rhodes-scholar academician administrator, and Walker is not a college graduate. 

Perhaps the starkest contrast is the age difference.  Only one of those seven Democrats is not a senior citizen, and O’Malley, the “spring chicken,” is 52 years old.  The average age of these seven is 65.9.  The Republicans are spread all over the place age-wise but are on average much younger.  Four of the fifteen are in their forties: Walker, Rubio, Cruz, and Jindal.  Four are in their fifties: Paul, Huckabee, Christie, and Santorum.  And seven are in their sixties: Bush, Carson, Trump, Perry, Fiorina, Kasich, and Graham.  The average age of these Republicans is a full decade younger at 56.0 years. 

The anti-diverse Democrats offer nothing but old, established, lily-white Beltway lawyers who served in the Senate, who have never met a payroll in their lives or even had to balance a state government budget.  This is a theme that Republicans need to turn into a mantra from now until Election Day: the best Democrats can offer are pampered, spoiled elitists who live wholly in the Never-Never Land of the Beltway and have no new ideas at all.  Democrats are institutionally incapable of solving the grave problems we face.