Women and Politics

A woman can either be a prude or promiscuous. Too pretty or too masculine. A shrew or a doormat. As women try to tip-toe somewhere in the middle, we find that one small move can send us plunging straight into one of the extremes.

And of course, politics is not free of these dichotomies: Sarah Palin is hot. Hillary is mean. Martha Coakley is a Jezebel.

But lately I’ve noticed a new double standard arising: Women candidates either have too much money or not enough.

Let’s look at two different races: Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner running for U.S. Congress and Linda McMahon running for Senate in Connecticut.

From the beginning, Jennifer Brunner has been told she shouldn’t run for Senate because she’s such a good Secretary of State. They need her there. This is one of the most classically lame “reasons” given to women as to why they shouldn’t run for higher office.

On top of that, she’s now being assaulted by her own party about her fundraising. Bob Menendez of the DSCC is threatening not to support her until she raises more money—despite the fact that many are saying she’s the only hope for a Democratic win (Lee Fisher reportedly lost his last two campaigns, despite outraising his opponent).

Unfortunately, we all know that fundraising is a necessary component of political campaigns. (That’s a whole different rant for a different day). However, I have to ask—would Menendez be pulling support from the more viable male candidate who wasn’t raising as much as his less-viable opponent?

Now let’s look at Linda McMahon. The former chief executive of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), she apparently has too much money. Though hundreds of male candidates have self-funded their way to elected office, McMahon is being accused of trying to buy the seat.

Again, all personal feelings about campaign financing aside, I have to say that it’s nice to finally see a successful woman using her wealth to run for office. Men have been doing it for decades, so for better or for worse, seeing a woman have that same ability gives me some sense of satisfaction.

But I do wonder what kind of double standard women in politics will face next. I’m sure 2010 will unfold some new gems for us, as well as reignite some old classics.

Friend and endorsed candidate of WCF, Ohio Secretary of State and U.S. Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner knows that we need more women running for office. She also knows that women have unique and valuable skills and experiences to bring to the table. On her blog for Women’s Equality Day, she writes:

Many women’s life experiences have honed skills that are exceptional for holding public office-like multi-tasking, being good communicators, listening skills, collaborating, being task driven when there’s not enough time in the day.

She also echoed Gloria Feldt’s thought about how women may vote, but we’re still not represented.

In recent years, women have voted in higher percentages than men. So, when I hear that many women don’t run for public office because they have “doubts about their qualifications” or because “no one asked them to run,” I say that this is precisely why more women need to run.

The voices and concerns of women are still widely underrepresented in the halls of power from the Statehouse to the halls of the U.S. Senate.

Jennifer also made a key point that I think is overlooked: because of their unique experiences, women in office will support issues such as health care, the environment, and reproductive choices. It’s the women who will stand up to fight for things like equal pay and health care reform that helps women.

This post was submitted by Jamie Bence, one of WCF’s Summer 2009 Fellows.

Women Count Radio spoke to WCF-endorsed Ohio Secretary of state and 2010 Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner on Thursday night.  To listen to the show, click here.

Secretary Brunner is the first woman in Ohio to hold her position, and seeks to become the state’s first female senator.  The show points out how much work Brunner has done to reform the state’s election system, and how she sets herself apart from other candidates by making her goals for Ohio clear.

“If we tell our daughters, and girls and young women that they can be whatever they want to be, then somebody ought to prove it to them,” Brunner said during her interview.

Brunner was also featured in Elect Women Magazine this week.  Read “Breaking Up the Boys Club” here.

WCF-endorsed candidate Jennifer Brunner currently leads her Republican opponent in the upcoming Ohio senate race, according to a recent Public Policy Polling Survey.  The current Secretary of State will face a primary election on May 4, 2010.

For more on Jennifer Brunner’s Campaign, visit her website and read what WCF President Sam Bennett has to say about her.

Celinda Lake, Sam Bennett, Jennifer Brunner

WCF held a fabulous (if I do say so myself) Rooftop Reception in DC last night. Thanks to IBEW and Rick Diegel, we had an amazing rooftop venue to officially introduce our new president, Siobhan “Sam” Bennett to the community. The turnout was amazing, and we had the honor of meeting some great candidates, elected officials, and members of top sister allied organizations working for women.

Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners introduced our sister organization, WCF Foundation’s Vote With Your Purse update. The common theme throughout Celinda and many of the speaker’s remarks was that the increase of women’s political giving is essential to achieving gender parity in this country.

Ohio Secretary of State and WCF endorsed US Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner gave an inspiring speech - noting how WCF was one of her first national endorsements that really made a difference for her. She said she runs because, in the end, it’s all about public service and making a difference. She’s the first woman to serve as Secretary of State in Ohio, and her state has never had a woman governor or Senator.

Amy Philips from the Girl Scouts delivered amazing remarks, which were truly an inspiration to everyone - even the women in attendance who she looks up to:

“In 2006, only 16 percent of Congress was made up of women. Now in 2009, Congress is made up of only 17% women. At this rate, I’ll be 100 before gender parity is reached. The odds are stacked against me, but with leaders like Sam Bennett, I believe that the percentages in women’s favor can rise rapidly.”

Edie Fraser and Sam Bennett

Sam and WCF staff were thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Edie Fraser, Feminist Majority Political Director Alice Cohan, WCF endorsed candidate for VA House of Delegates Jeanette Rishell, Hon. Debra Carnahan, PA-16 Congressional candidate Lois Herr, and Rep. Dina Titus (NV-3).

Also, a lot of great organizations were represented, including: Rachel’s Network, Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Women & Politics Institute, League of Women Voters, Women’s Information Network, National Women’s Political Caucus, DC Youth Advisory Council, Women’s Action for New Directions, DCCC, ProgressiveBlue.com, Democracy in Action/Wired for Change, National Network to End Domestic Violence, and many more.

Thanks so much to everyone who came out - make sure you check out our pictures! We look forward to hosting similar events in the future and bringing together these great leaders and organizations to make a difference in our country’s political landscape. Stay tuned for video from the event!

UPDATE: Check out this fabulous review of the event by Sanam Toosi on Ask Miss A.

My name is Sam, and I’m the new President/CEO of WCF. Having been a candidate myself, I hope to offer some insight and realism to the dialogue about women and politics in this country.

To start off, I’d like to tell you about my rude awakening as I was running for mayor of Allentown, PA. The first stump speech I ever delivered was interrupted by the Chair of a Men’s Democratic Club:

“Sam, I was lying in bed thinking about you and I wanted to ask you what every man in this room is wondering…just what are your measurements?”

This didn’t happen in the 1950’s - it was just nine years ago. Clearly, we have some way to go before politics is blind to gender. But more on that later.

I’ll be sharing more of my stories and blogging regularly to give you an inside look at WCF, our candidates, and the political landscape for women.

Today, I’d like to tell you about Jennifer Brunner - Ohio Secretary of State and candidate running for the U.S. Senate.

Brunner is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy 2008 Profiles in Courage award. She won the award for her successful reform of Ohio ’s troubled electoral systems, which were highly questioned in 2000 and 2004. This past election - under Brunner’s steady, intelligent hand - everything went smoothly.

Right now, lots of folks are trying to talk Brunner out of stepping down from Secretary of State. As a former party leader myself, I get it. Party leaders are nervous with reapportionment and redistricting right around the corner. They know Brunner could do a terrific job making sure that redistricting will be fair, equitable and non-partisan. But it begs the question: how often have high-performing women been kept in their place versus their male counterparts?

Brunner is exceptionally talented, and we need her in an even higher office where she can do great things for our country.

But to get there, Brunner needs money. She honestly acknowledges she needs to raise more, and we agree.

However, Brunner says that traditionally, she starts off slow, but builds revenue steadily quarter to quarter. We’ll see how she does, and support her campaign along the way. While Brunner recognizes that her opponent will likely raise more than her, both she and Roll Call point out that this won’t necessarily translate into him winning.

The Jennifer Brunner I met and have spent time with has a direct, unassuming, “just the facts ma’am” personality. We need her in U.S. Senate. We need her to rise.

Jennifer Brunner’s experience and outstanding tenure as Secretary of State will make her a better U.S. Senator - a Senator that will be good for Ohio and good for our country.

One of the big stories this week has been around anti-choice conservatives blocking confirmation of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). She has over 20 years of experience and has been elected in Kansas four times - yet once again, anti-choice dogma is getting in the way of progress. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delayed the vote yesterday.

WCF PAC endorsed candidate Jennifer Brunner spoke up in support of Sebelius today:

“We must ask ourselves-why is her nomination being stalled? She is an expert on health policy, a strong advocate for health care reform and has a proven track record of increasing access to affordable care. She has a solid record of supporting common-sense prevention policies that help keep families healthy. And she has an impressive record of supporting a woman’s right to choose.”

Take action here to tell the Senate to confirm Sebelius by April 30th.

And to paraphrase John Stewart responding to the GOP’s recent objections over, oh, just about everything: you’re not in power anymore. It’s not supposed to feel good. This is what happens when we have pro-choice leadership.

Speaking of pro-choice victories - the FDA approved over-the-counter Plan B access to 17 year-olds. This is a big step in the fight to put science and women’s health before politics.

Amidst the Plan B and Sebelius chatter, we also learned that Ellen Moran decided to step down from her White House Communications Director position. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post wrote an interesting article about what this means, and doesn’t mean.

And to leave you on a high note before the weekend, check out Sec. of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks about reproductive rights in her congressional testimony yesterday. As TAPPED, The American Prospect’s blog says: this is what a feminist secretary of state looks like. Love it.