Chuck Todd: 'Democrats wish they had the diversity' of Republicans

NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd on Thursday suggested that Democrats "wish they had the diversity" that the GOP was showcasing at this year's Republican National Convention.

During a discussion on MSNBC about vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's Wednesday night speech, host Joe Scarborough noted that far fewer Republicans from the South had addressed the convention than in previous years.

"By the way, Democrats wish they had the diversity of speakers and deep bench to show America," Todd asserted. "When you think about the Democrats finding -- they wanted a keynote speaker that was Hispanic and they had to dig inside a red state to find an Hispanic mayor, where last night [New Mexico Gov.] Susana Martinez [spoke]. Before that, we had [Nevada Gov.] Brian Sandoval, [Florida Sen.] Marco Rubio, [Texas Senate candidate] Ted Cruz."

"One thing the Republican Party has is a lot of elected officials to help deal with this issue of going against the grain on the fact that they're mostly a white -- their support base is a white, southern part of the party," he added. "The face of the Republican Party -- the elected leaders -- Democrats wish they had that diversity."

Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall called Todd's comments "painful" to watch.

"[T]his has to rank as one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard anyone say," Marshall wrote.

According to the Congressional Research Service (PDF), Democrats have overwhelmingly more women and minorities elected to Congress than Republicans. Of the 74 women serving in the House, 50 are Democrats and 24 are Republicans. Only 5 of the 17 women serving in the Senate are Republicans.

Democrats make up 42 of the 44 Africans Americans in Congress. And 22 of the 31 Hispanic lawmakers are Democrats.

Watch this video from MSNBC's Morning Joe via Mediaite, broadcast Aug. 30, 2012.