Women and Politics

This post was submitted by Rebecca Freedholm, WCF Communications Fellow

Earlier this week, WCF President/CEO Siobhan “Sam” Bennett appeared on Fox News to offer her expertise on how voter dissatisfaction with the current administration will affect the 2010 midterm elections.

In a segment entitled “The Blame Game,” Steve Doocy claims that constituent’s discontentment with the economy and unemployment may lead voters to turn to the GOP during this midterm election cycle. According to Doocy, Republicans and Democrats are engaged in a “blame game,” each faulting the other for the current state of the economy.

While Doocy and David Winston, President of the Winston Group and advisor to the House Republican Conference, discussed how partisan politics will play out in the upcoming elections, Bennett suggested that frustrated voters may want to turn their attention elsewhere:

“Bottom Line—the voters are mad, and you’re absolutely right: it’s all about the economy, it’s all about jobs. And, again, we’re ranked 86th in the world in the number of women in elected office. Vote for a woman and you’ve got someone that voters trust and presents a fresh face to the electorate.”

The fact of the matter is that representation of Republicans and Democrats in Congress has been relatively balanced for a long time. If voters really want change, they should focus on getting more women candidates elected. Women currently hold only 17% of the seats in Congress, even though research shows that women’s unique leadership style has a positive influence on decision making.

People who are dissatisfied with the decisions coming out of Washington these days need to concentrate less on partisan politics in this election cycle and more on ushering in “a fresh face” to Congress. Women’s different perspectives and powerful modes of leadership may likely prove to be the key to improving our economy.

As Bennett asserts, “Women are unusually well-positioned in this election cycle.” Women candidates will, however, require voters’ help in getting elected to office in November. Join WCF in supporting strong women leaders during midterm elections so that they can enact important changes in Congress.

In the past two decades, I’ve often found myself asking, “Where are all the pro-choice Republican women?”

But today, despite her second place finish in the GOP primary for Congress in KS-04, I’m inspired by Jean Kurtis Schodorf’s dedication to public service and record of defending women’s reproductive health choices. And as always, I want to thank Schodorf for running for higher office, and encourage her to run again - because we only lose when women don’t run.

In her near decade of service as a State Senator and 12 years as a school board member, Schodorf has proven her commitment to both traditional Republican values and women’s rights.

While pushing for fiscal responsibility and responsible governance, she simultaneously defended women in the Kansas Legislature by opposing legislation to limit women’s access to comprehensive sexual healthcare. This past July, Schodorf received the Planned Parenthood Republicans for Choice Barry Goldwater Award for her efforts in supporting and protecting women’s health.

Unfortunately, Schodorf has become a rarity in today’s political climate. Since the GOP’s platform turned extremely anti-choice in 1992, the number of Republican women candidates who support the entire spectrum of reproductive health choices (publicly) has dwindled drastically.

Before this, organizations like WCF were able to endorse Republicans and Democrats alike–and neither was more difficult to come by.

But as we know by today’s divisive environment, defense of choice has become an almost absolutely unacceptable quality in a Republican candidate–as we saw last year with Dede Scozzafava in NY-23.

Schodorf should serve as a role model for all women public servants–but especially for those Republicans courageous enough to challenge the party’s anti-choice tenets and stand up for women’s rights.

Schodorf is also an inspiration for mothers serving in public office. A mother of three, Schodorf served on the Wichita School Board for 12 years and is now serving her third term in the Kansas State Senate–supporting women’s reproductive health choices all the while. Now that’s my kind of Mama Grizzly.

Women’s health should not be a divisive issue in party politics. We need more candidates like Schodorf who are willing to make a difference by fighting for what is right, no matter what adversity they may face because of it. I commend Schodorf on being such a strong, persistent, and inspiring leader, and look forward to supporting her throughout the entirety of her public life.

I’ll also continue to encourage more women–from both parties–to follow her example.

Crossposted from the Huffington Post.

Ever since Sarah Palin declared herself a feminist and anti-choice conservative women began winning primaries across the country, there has been a debate raging about whether these women can be considered feminists.

I’ve made my position clear. Here at WCF, we love that more women are winning races. It helps create an environment where it’s normal for powerful women to hold leadership positions on both sides of the aisle.
I’m also glad to see that these women candidates are spurring a national debate over feminism. Allan Bradley at the Harvard Political Review commented on my Huffington Post piece after being on the Laura Ingraham Show, when I called Palin’s term of “Conservative Feminism” an oxymoron. Bradley writes:

“What Bennett should have written was, ‘We congratulate the women who have won these high-profile primaries in races across the country.  We hope that their obvious and sincere commitment to women’s freedom and equality will force them to re-evaluate their pro-life views.’”

I completely agree. In fact, that’s why after the many victories in the June 8 primaries, I wrote:

“Though some of these women don’t share WCF’s views on reproductive health choices, I am encouraged. This sudden deluge of victories has forced the country to stand up and take notice of women’s political power… That said, I want to ask these candidates one question: If elected, what will you do to advance women’s rights?”

While I understand that Bradley was not trying to defend conservative women’s definition of feminism, his uninformed criticism of women’s groups that are willing to fight for equality in all aspects of life, shows a clear bias. WCF is certainly not alone in stating that feminism is about more than just women succeeding in politics or business. That may be the end goal, but those of us who have been working in this field for years know that reproductive health choices are crucial to protecting opportunities for women to thrive.

Indeed, Bradley acknowledges at the beginning of his article that the outlook for the “Year of the Woman” is not nearly as positive as the news media would have us believe. There have already been a number of losses for women in the primary, and the vast majority of candidates in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program are men.

Although there have been a few high-profile races in which women candidates have been victorious, the fact is that it is still incredibly difficult for women across this country. And I don’t just mean for women candidates—all women are affected by the laws passed that limit women’s freedoms. The more anti-choice, anti-woman candidates we elect—regardless of their gender, or whether they call themselves feminists—hurts American women.

Women’s groups around the country are being attacked for trying “take possession” of feminism. Actually, it was these organizations, like WCF (which has been around since 1974), that helped create and build on the concept of feminism, and are still working hard today to make that dream a reality. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem has even come out against the new conservative pseudo feminism:

“You can be a feminist who doesn’t agree with abortion, would never have an abortion, but you can’t be a feminist who says that other women can’t, and criminalizes abortion.”

Regardless of what the anti-choice movement would like to believe, feminism and reproductive rights go hand in hand. I’m excited about the women who won elections in the past month, and I hope that they keep winning. But I also hope that they will choose to use their new positions to work to help—and not limit—other women’s access to opportunities and success.

Here’s the scene: I’m one of two progressive women sitting across the table from two conservative gals. We’re taping for PBS’ To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe. Despite our differences, this episode found us agreeing more often than not.

When camera stopped rolling I exclaimed, “this is why we need more women in elected office!” Research shows that women are far more likely than men to arrive at consensus, even when value systems are radically different.

But to the idea of more women running for office, one of my conservative sisters shook her head saying, “No woman in her right mind would choose to deal with the nastiness of politics and if she has kids, why would she put them through that?” I countered, “What man doesn’t run because he’s worried about his kids? None.”  Everyone nodded. “You have a point there Sam,” she said.

My two daughters, now 25 and 23, went through my two bruising Mayoral races and with their little brother, now 7, weathered a horrific U.S. Congressional race where my gender was used unflinchingly as a weapon of mass destruction against me. But in these races, I demonstrated that when half-truths, lies and innuendo are hurled, you can emerge with dignity and more political capital than when you started. I demonstrated there are things worth fighting for. I can’t imagine better life lessons to give to my children.

When I encourage other talented women to run, I’m met with, “I have projects I’m working on right now that I want to finish…and it will be easier on the kids if I wait.” But oftentimes the opportunity to make their bid is now, as the chance probably won’t be there later. Do the guys worry about projects they haven’t finished when an opportunity to seize the brass ring presents itself? No.

We women talk ourselves out of running before we even get started. Research shows that women think of running less than the guys and then, of course, end up running less.

My two rules when I ran for Mayor and U.S. Congress were:

1. A happy mom who is personally stretching herself = happy kids.
2. When opportunity comes knocking, you have to answer the call, NOW, not later. Don’t wait. JUST DOING IT makes you/your family/your kids/your supporters ready for the next opportunity.

Check out this roster of women I’ve met so far running in 2010. These are all gals who support reproductive choices and options - and are JUST DOING IT! Even if you only give them $5, give them something online now. And ask a woman to run for office, including yourself, who should run for office one day.

No more excuses, ladies. Now is the time for action.