The Democratic Party has always been more diverse than the Republican Party, and though it generally leads to more people identifying with the party - though not recently - it creates a unique set of problems. The groups within the party do not always get along, and sometimes can be hostile towards each other.
Here are two current examples:
From WOAI San Antonio, evidence of tension between Latinos and gays and lesbians: Bexar County Democratic Chair Dan Ramos is in hot water after comments referring to gays, blacks, whites, and Jews outraged the community. The Texas Democratic Party Chairman, Boyd Richie, asked Ramos to resign. Richie accused Ramos of bigotry and creating chaos since his election a year ago.
On Friday, Ramos was quoted in the San Antonio Current. "He called Stonewall Democrats Nazi termites that have wormed their way into the party hierarchy," explained Dee Villarrubia, an openly gay Bexar County Democratic Deputy Chair who was elected in June. "I'm shocked and appalled," said Villarrubia. "Dan Ramos' comments are an affront to the founding principles of our democracy."
From KTRK, conflict between Latinos and African-Americans flare up over the recent sexual assault in Cleveland: On March 10, in Cleveland, there was a rally focused on the now 19 defendants accused of raping an 11-year-old girl. The event was organized by community activist Quanell X. The defendants are black and the girl is Hispanic.
Among Quanell X's statements at the event was, "How does a child get from one community to another and nobody in her home has any idea of what's going on? Stop by her parents' house and ask a serious question about how this happened from September to November and they knew nothing?"
On Monday, a group of Hispanic advocates pushed back.
"Transferring the responsibility of 19 perpetrators to the shoulders of this child's parents is unspeakable," said Yolanda Black Navarro with AAMA. "Comments made about this 11-year-old's way of dressing, her parents' supervision and/or lack thereof, is unacceptable."
