Tea Party Women Could Change the Score, Long Term

By Corinna Barnard

WeNews editor

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

GOP women are coming out of the woodwork and challenging Democrats' double-X dominance. But the game for political women is still more noise than transformative numbers. Corinna Barnard's editorial kicks off Women's eNews' upcoming campaign coverage.

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Challenge to Male Grip on Politics

Tea Party protest in Hartford, Conn. But these women--whatever their political positions--are still challenging the male grip on politics, with sometimes unpredictable effects.

In Nevada, Reid battled Angell on the topic of domestic violence, claiming that he was a more stalwart champion of women's safety. Would that have happened if the Republicans had nominated a man?

In California, a nurses' group is backing its attorney general, Jerry Brown, against Meg Whitman, seeing him--the guy--as more likely to stand up for them, a female-dominant work force.

It's the polarizing ying-yang that comes with politics, which is not, after all, a controlled laboratory experiment. You don't pour more estrogen in here and necessarily come out with day-care-for-all there.

These are hard, divisive times and the women who join this year's political fray mirror that.

This is probably not the election to bring us closer to the transformative "critical mass" of women in higher public office.

For now, the battles for affordable health care, day care, senior care, jobless benefits and environmental safety--the nurturing agenda--remain just that, battles.

All the women who are out there running their hard races are changing the overall political dance steps, just by being there.

The Palin cohort may seem machista, but that's not where their influence ends. Arguably it's not even where it begins.

Palin vs. Clinton

Palin may seem, in many ways, like the polar opposite of Hillary Clinton, politically speaking. But Clinton could also be seen as her political patroness. Would John McCain have tapped Palin for the No. 2 spot if the Democrats hadn't just showcased a dazzling multicultural, male-female power struggle? Doubtful.

When female politicians attack the traditional bloc of women's issues--the social safety net--they also open the floor for male politicians to move in new directions.

If a female rival attacks school lunch and child care subsidies for hard-pressed single mothers, her male rival no longer has to fear that supporting these programs might somehow make him seem soft and womanly.

The political rules change. Men can decide that they're the ones to champion day care and work-family balance.

It's like the counter-intuitive polarity of Richard Nixon, the hardliner on communism, "opening" the United States to China.

At current rates of progress, the Inter-Parliamentary Union estimates that women's global legislative representation will not reach 30 percent until 2025 and it won't reach parity until 2040.

This year's Tea Party female politicians oppose many things that are conventionally termed women's rights.

But if they attract more women to the game--via inspiration or opposition--they could move us closer to the long-term goal of parity, and possibly faster than anything else we could dream up.

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Corinna Barnard is editor of Women's eNews.

For more information:

Center for American Women in Politics:
http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/

Inter-Parliamentary Union: "60 Years of Women in Retrospect":
http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/wmninfokit06_en.pdf

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4 COMMENTS | Login or Sign Up to post comments

Increasingly the lines are no longer being drawn along "gender" lines but along the issues. At a Pro Choice rally there are men and women on both sides of the aisle. We cannot assume that being a woman means supporting "our" issues. We need to acknowledge, support and work with men who support women's issues. The "feminist" agenda of the future will become the "humanist" agenda.

Submitted by 16andRising (not verified) (2 years ago)

Just posted today about the fact that in New York state, the story on women candidates is very different--and far more progressive. http://16andrising.com/post/1249098751/new-yorks-year-of-the-democratic-...

Submitted by Gail (2 years ago)

This article proves one thing to me: stupidity is not gender-specific. Nor is wisdom: I'm more impressed by Rachel Maddow than by any of these women, the so-called "Tea Party Activists" - and by the way, thanks a heap, "Tea Party", for ruining what used to be a term that brought back sweet memories of my grandmother and our lunches at the Overbrook Tea Room!

Submitted by VOICES of Conse... (2 years ago)

The problem has been the lack of support for Conservative Women running for office. The Left has done a great deal of work creating a series of PACs, networks where Liberal ladies can go for electoral support. Whereas, Conservative Women have had historically no network. For example in the last 15 years Liberal women in Minnesota have increased their number by 30 to 50 % in the State Legislature whereas Conservative Women's numbers have remained FLAT.

Women are CEOs, small business owners, moms balancing their checkbooks and the young woman looking for her first job. We want to talk about the economy, taxes, business issues. We feel all women benefit in a growing economy and there is consensus on these issues. It's about time more women spoke up and make their VOICE heard. We are looking forward to election day.

VOICES of Conservative Women was formed to support Conservative Women running for office who support fiscal responsibility, limited government and the free market. We are helping our candidates win and redefining who speaks for women today. We have also raised the largest war chest every raised to help Conservative Women win in Minnesota. We are continuing to raise the funds our women need to win in November and beyond.

To learn more about us visit
www.voicesofconservativewomen.org
www.twitter.com/voiceswomen
www.facebook.com/voiceswomen

Jennifer DeJournett
VOICES of Conservative Women
info@voicesofconservativewomen.org