By Sam Brier, ’13

There’s no shortage of election coverage detailing the massive Republican victory over the big government agenda of the Democrats. Predictably, in the days since the election, we’ve consistently heard the bitter bleating of Macalester’s sheep-like students, upset that America isn’t as blindly left wing as they are. But rather than dwell on irrelevant ideologues, I wanted to address an uplifting election story, at least, from a conservative prospective. On Nov. 2, despite liberal efforts to portray Republicans everywhere as racists and nativists, conservative voters were instrumental in electing a significant number of non-white Republicans. Newly elected Governors Brian Sandoval, Susanna Martinez and Nikki Haley of Nevada, New Mexico and South Carolina, respectively, will soon take their oath of office. The U.S. House of Representatives now includes Republicans David Rivera (Florida), Francisco Conseco (Texas), Bill Flores (Texas), Tim Scott (South Carolina), Raul Labrador (Idaho) and Jaime Herrera (Washington).

My personal favorites are two new members of Congress from Florida–Representative Alan West and Senator Marco Rubio. As a black Republican, West has endured the typical left-wing attacks on those minorities who dare to have different opinions, having been called a ” sell-out, an uncle Tom, a token and an Oreo,” according to one of his campaign speeches. Luckily, Representative West is also a retired military veteran and has withstood attacks far worse than liberal slurs on his way to elected office. Joining him is Rubio, a 39-year-old Cuban-American born to refugees, who worked his way up to become the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives before making a Senate run this year.

Their election to high office, along with other minority Republicans will show those on the left that Blacks and Hispanics are regular Americans who’ve grown tired of being treated as a voting bloc to be deceived and exploited by Democrats. Of course, as long as conservatives allow people like Tom Tancredo, Sharron Angle, Lynn Westmoreland, Geoff Davis and Russell Pierce to run their mouths, convincing minority voters to support Republican candidates will remain a challenge. But last Tuesday’s results provide glimmers of hope for those of us who believe in limited government and individual freedom, and know that support from Americans of all skin tones is essential to maintaining those values.