Unedited video of arguably the worst debate meltdown in US history.
NOT JUST RUBIO BUT #TOKENISM SUFFERS MAJOR SETBACK: When a politician implodes on national television the way Marco Rubio did on Feb. 6, 2016, the public should see it unedited and without commentary, but, after you see this historic meltdown for yourself, please consider the "#Rubot on Repeat" show from a broader perspective: tokenism.
If there is one thing that people of color dislike as much as white conservatives dislike affirmative action, it is the use of tokenism to mask systemic racism. After Barack Obama won the White House in 2008, our nation's demographic changes inspired the GOP to gut the Voting Rights Act and orchestrate a wave of voter suppression, but it ALSO inspired some introspection. One result: the Republican party decided to look for female and minority candidates for future elections.
The brightest star to emerge from this nationwide casting call was Marco Rubio. And, while his tepid 2016 campaign has done nothing to bring the Republican party into the 21st century in terms of policy, it's very possible that Rubio's humiliating debate performance will teach the Republican party a lesson about the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of tokenism.
Contrary to the racist rants of Rush Limbaugh and other conservative thought leaders, minorities in America do not like to have doors opened for us just because of the color of our skin. Affirmative action is intended to prevent those doors from closing, which is a different matter entirely.
And that is the big difference between affirmative action and tokenism. Affirmative action strengthens work environments and learning environments by adding to the diversity of ideas and experiences that contribute to a collaborative process. It counteracts the tendency to disqualify applicants based on prejudicial standards, and ensures that the alchemy of pluralism benefits our college campuses and our entrepreneurial industries, just as it has our nation's major economic centers for generations (ever ask yourself why the dynamic economies are always centered around urban areas with high levels of diversity?).
Tokenism on the other hand, is tossing out merit or any other standard in favor of a cosmetic presentation intended to mask the status quo. That is why the knee-jerk tokenism that has influenced the Republican casting process since 2008 has produced astonishingly mediocre candidates like Bobby Jindal, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, and Marco Rubio. If the only qualification is that you are a woman or a person of color willing to memorize and repeat false notions that serve the interests of wealthy white men, well, Marco Rubio is what you get.
Rubio is certainly not the only 2016 candidate who has robotically pandered to white racial resentment by bashing President Obama with the same, disingenuous talking points over and over again. But, if the Republican party thinks they are going to win over people of color by recruiting one of our own to do this, they have another thing coming.
Tokenism is every bit as disgusting to people of color as it has proven embarrassing for the Republican establishment. Soon, we won't have Marco Rubio to kick around as a presidential candidate anymore. But we will always have his disastrous debate performance to thank for putting a stake through the heart of tokenism. — @EricByler
