A Rainbow Coalition of Haters
Is sexism the Republican Party’s big-tent strategy? Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, appearing recently on the right-wing network Newsmax, dismissed the party’s losses among women voters by insisting, in language laced with stereotypes, that Black and Hispanic men would cross over to vote Republican in their place.
“This is the blue-collar realignment of the Republican Party, and what I can tell you is for every Karen we lose, there’s a Julio and a Jamal ready to sign up for the MAGA movement,” Gaetz told Newsmax. “That bodes well for our ability to be more diverse and to be more durable as we head into not only the rest of the primary contests but also the general election.”
Gaetz’s comments reveal something about an emerging Republican belief: misogyny and homophobia, especially if aimed at the stereotype of an educated, liberal, middle-class white woman (a “Karen”), can help the party win over Black and Hispanic men with sexist views. As ridiculous as Gaetz may sound, the that Democrats feared Trump’s “macho appeal” to Hispanic men.
