Ohio cabinet all-white for the first time since 1962!

[Landslide Lyndon]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_01/027559.php

Ohio is a pretty large, diverse state. Someone probably ought to let its new governor know. (thanks to reader R.S. for the tip)

    John Kasich, like any other chief executive, deserves an essentially free hand to choose his Cabinet and inner circle. After all, voters elected Kasich as Ohio's 69th governor, and they will judge will him on how well his administration performs.
That said, it is disconcerting -- in 2011 -- to look at a composite of the 20 permanent state agency heads whom Kasich has hired so far and see only white faces and barely a handful of women.

Kasich, a former congressman, Wall Street executive, and Fox News personality, has hired 20 full-time agency directors to make up his cabinet. Of the 20, 16 are white men, four are white women. No African Americans, no Hispanics, no Asians.

Keep in mind, in the last half-century, Ohio has had 10 governors, most of whom have been Republicans. All of them had at least some racial diversity in their cabinet -- until Kasich, who's the first Ohio governor since 1962 to have so far picked an all-white cabinet.

It's always best to be cautious before throwing around casual accusations of racism. That said, Kasich's move is hard to understand, especially given the size and diversity of a state like Ohio.

    Today, enlightened businesses and the U.S. military push their personnel officers to find candidates who reflect the robust racial, ethnic and gender mix of modern-day America. They understand that a workplace -- from top to bottom -- that includes people of many different backgrounds and experiences is a lot more likely to come up with the kind of creative, break-the-mold thinking that Kasich promised Ohio when he ran for governor.

    Kasich quite correctly says that he wants the world to know that Ohio is open for business. But surrounding himself with department heads who don't even look like Ohio -- where the Census Bureau estimates that 15 percent of the population is nonwhite -- let alone the United States or the global marketplace, has to make that a harder sell.

For his part, Kasich insists he doesn't pay attention to "any of these sort of metrics." As far as the governor is concerned, he has jobs to fill, and he went out and looked for the best person for the job. But given the results, I'm curious: how hard did he look?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I've never heard anyone refer to Kasich as a rascist in any way, shape or form.

"For his part, Kasich insists he doesn't pay attention to "any of these sort of metrics." As far as the governor is concerned, he has jobs to fill, and he went out and looked for the best person for the job. "

I'm just going to take him at his word until it can be shown it's not true.

[Franzl]

I think it's a sign of racism on the parts of people that criticize Kasich that they pay attention to race enough to complain about this.

[Capitan Zapp Brannigan]

I think it's a sign of racism on the parts of people that criticize Kasich that they pay attention to race enough to complain about this.

Agreed.

You appoint those you feel are most qualified. If Kasich feels that all his positions are filled by the most competent individuals that's all that matters.

[Brittain33]

I very much doubt Kasich intended to exclude minorities from his Cabinet and any argument about whether he is racist is a cul-de-sac to be avoided. He just didn't notice he hadn't chosen any non-whites (and few women), which means he likely doesn't have any minorities he works with or is friendly with on a professional level, because then he would have named them. This is a hazard of being a Republican, but one would think that even if it was unintentional, he would have identified this as a problem and should have noticed, and now it's too late to fix so he can't be open about it... I don't tend to buy the argument that "I looked for the best people, and they all happened to be white," loads of people are qualified to do these jobs in different ways and that's a justification for a situation which emerged for different reasons. As soon as there's a vacancy, I'm sure he'll appoint a qualified candidate who isn't white.

[Brittain33]

I think it's a sign of racism on the parts of people that criticize Kasich that they pay attention to race enough to complain about this.

That's a cop-out. Politics isn't color-blind; it's still hard for minorities to get elected or achieve prominent positions in statewide politics. Obama and Patrick are the exceptions that prove the rule. As long as the majority can blithely pretend race doesn't matter when they benefit, and that it does matter when they are threatened, it's not the obligation of the minority to unilaterally disarm. Also, I'm totally convinced that the people who think Kasich is doing the right thing here would not see anything wrong if Obama had appointed a cabinet entirely composed of African-American men and said they were each one the best and only possible candidate for each post.

I was worried that when this happened, some people would see it as a good thing and a sign of meritocracy, when it's a sign of many other factors, some neutral, some with bad consequences.

[Brittain33]

You appoint those you feel are most qualified. If Kasich feels that all his positions are filled by the most competent individuals that's all that matters.

Cabinet positions aren't filled by people taking a test of their competency and the person with the highest score getting the position. They're filled based on who the executive knows, is comfortable with, and feels can do the job; also, who is popular among constituencies he has to please. I am certain that for any cabinet member in any state, there are always plenty of other people at or above their level of competence who could have done the job better but who didn't network with the right people, maybe is too unattractive, or in some cases, hasn't been taken seriously at a crucial stage in their career because of their gender or race.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I think the bottom line is px75 put this up for shock value/outrage, and it's just not there.......

[Free Palestine]

I think it's a sign of racism on the parts of people that criticize Kasich that they pay attention to race enough to complain about this.

[Landslide Lyndon]

I think the bottom line is px75 put this up for shock value/outrage, and it's just not there.......

Isn't it bizarre that in a state as big and diverse as Ohio, Kasich could only find white men qualified enough for a cabinet position?
Or the fact that it happens for the first time in 50 years?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I think the bottom line is px75 put this up for shock value/outrage, and it's just not there.......

Isn't it bizarre that in a state as big and diverse as Ohio, Kasich could only find white men qualified enough for a cabinet position?
Or the fact that it happens for the first time in 50 years?

I thought the article said there were some women too.........listen px, no one here believes Kasich hates blacks or browns.....k?  Thx.

[Landslide Lyndon]

I think the bottom line is px75 put this up for shock value/outrage, and it's just not there.......

Isn't it bizarre that in a state as big and diverse as Ohio, Kasich could only find white men qualified enough for a cabinet position?
Or the fact that it happens for the first time in 50 years?

I thought the article said there were some women too.........listen px, no one here believes Kasich hates blacks or browns.....k?  Thx.

The article says nowhere such a thing.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I think the bottom line is px75 put this up for shock value/outrage, and it's just not there.......

Isn't it bizarre that in a state as big and diverse as Ohio, Kasich could only find white men qualified enough for a cabinet position?
Or the fact that it happens for the first time in 50 years?

I thought the article said there were some women too.........listen px, no one here believes Kasich hates blacks or browns.....k?  Thx.

The article says nowhere such a thing.

"Kasich, a former congressman, Wall Street executive, and Fox News personality, has hired 20 full-time agency directors to make up his cabinet. Of the 20, 16 are white men, four are white women. No African Americans, no Hispanics, no Asians."

If you're going to post sh**t, at least read it. 

[Landslide Lyndon]

I think the bottom line is px75 put this up for shock value/outrage, and it's just not there.......

Isn't it bizarre that in a state as big and diverse as Ohio, Kasich could only find white men qualified enough for a cabinet position?
Or the fact that it happens for the first time in 50 years?

I thought the article said there were some women too.........listen px, no one here believes Kasich hates blacks or browns.....k?  Thx.

The article says nowhere such a thing.

"Kasich, a former congressman, Wall Street executive, and Fox News personality, has hired 20 full-time agency directors to make up his cabinet. Of the 20, 16 are white men, four are white women. No African Americans, no Hispanics, no Asians."

If you're going to post sh**t, at least read it. 

I meant the second part of your answer, about hating blacks and browns.

[Free Palestine]

I honestly have to wonder: would a black governor be criticized for hiring all-black people for his or her cabinet?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I think the bottom line is px75 put this up for shock value/outrage, and it's just not there.......

Isn't it bizarre that in a state as big and diverse as Ohio, Kasich could only find white men qualified enough for a cabinet position?
Or the fact that it happens for the first time in 50 years?

I thought the article said there were some women too.........listen px, no one here believes Kasich hates blacks or browns.....k?  Thx.

The article says nowhere such a thing.

"Kasich, a former congressman, Wall Street executive, and Fox News personality, has hired 20 full-time agency directors to make up his cabinet. Of the 20, 16 are white men, four are white women. No African Americans, no Hispanics, no Asians."

If you're going to post sh**t, at least read it. 

I meant the second part of your answer, about hating blacks and browns.

The second part of my answer was me saying no one here on the Atlas truly believes what you're implying by your post.

[tpfkaw]

I honestly have to wonder: would a black governor be criticized for hiring all-black people for his or her cabinet?

Yes, probably, but this is ridiculous anyhow.

[Zarn]

I think it's a sign of racism on the parts of people that criticize Kasich that they pay attention to race enough to complain about this.

That's a cop-out. Politics isn't color-blind; it's still hard for minorities to get elected or achieve prominent positions in statewide politics. Obama and Patrick are the exceptions that prove the rule. As long as the majority can blithely pretend race doesn't matter when they benefit, and that it does matter when they are threatened, it's not the obligation of the minority to unilaterally disarm. Also, I'm totally convinced that the people who think Kasich is doing the right thing here would not see anything wrong if Obama had appointed a cabinet entirely composed of African-American men and said they were each one the best and only possible candidate for each post.

I was worried that when this happened, some people would see it as a good thing and a sign of meritocracy, when it's a sign of many other factors, some neutral, some with bad consequences.

Stop insulting minorities! You're the type who keeps making an issue out of race.

-Minority

[Landslide Lyndon]

I honestly have to wonder: would a black governor be criticized for hiring all-black people for his or her cabinet?

Yes, he would.

The second part of my answer was me saying no one here on the Atlas truly believes what you're implying by your post.

I don't imply anything. FTR, I don't believe he is racist. Just that there is a dearth of minorities at the Republican party.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I don't imply anything. FTR, I don't believe he is racist. Just that there is a dearth of minorities at the Republican party.

Not news......but thanks.

[Хahar 🤔]

I honestly have to wonder: would a black governor be criticized for hiring all-black people for his or her cabinet?

Uh, yes.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

If he picked people whose names ended in "os" "as" or "ou", px would be doing backflips. 

[Antonio the Sixth]

I honestly have to wonder: would a black governor be criticized for hiring all-black people for his or her cabinet?

Yes, almost certainly. And rightfully so, I must add.

[Landslide Lyndon]

If he picked people whose names ended in "os" "as" or "ou", px would be doing backflips. 

Not really. Just look what a dumbass Tenet proved to be.

[Gustaf]

A representative sample would have had 3 non-whites. Taking into account that whites are better educated and connected and so on, maybe 2 is more realistic. So it's not as if 0 is extremely shocking. Ohio isn't actually that diverse.