There's a womens' insurgency in this year's politics

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: A Gender Insurgency In Politics
By David S. Broder
Sunday, October 15, 2006; Page B07

Men have been making policy in Washington for as long as most of us can remember. But much of the political future rests in the hands of women.

In the narrowest terms, with Democrats needing 15 seats to capture a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives, there are 17 highly competitive districts with female candidates.

More broadly, much of the voter mobilization effort in both parties -- and their allied groups -- is aimed at women, especially those who normally vote in presidential years but skip the midterm elections.

That this election could result in placing a woman, Nancy Pelosi, in line to be speaker of the House for the first time in history only emphasizes the growing role of women in setting the political course.

Dennis Simon, a Southern Methodist University political scientist who has studied female candidates for Congress, has issued his statistics describing filings for 2006.

He reported last week that women made up 16 percent of the candidates running in this year's congressional primaries, an all-time high and the ninth consecutive election cycle in which that proportion has increased....(M)ore Democratic women are in competitive races than Republican women. There are 39 Democratic challengers to incumbents, compared with 14 Republicans. In the open seats, 12 Democratic women and six Republican women are running. Simon credits the disparity largely to the work of groups such as Emily's List....Backing these candidates is a grass-roots effort to draw more women to the polls. A number of groups, both left and right, are engaged in the campaigns. I bumped into one unusual program, sponsored by the AFL-CIO last week, called "Stirring the Pot." Small groups of women, half a dozen to two dozen, met on Tuesday evening for living-room conversations about health care, education and job security and to encourage each other to vote....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301416.html?nav=most_emailed

[spag68]

1. Women in politics

I've said for years that we men have screwed up things for so long, that it is time for women to have the reins. Further it should be about the best and brightest, not gender.

[Captain Hilts]

2. Everywhere but at the WashPost where ALL Outlook authors are male!

The Outlook section of the Post is nearly always all male writers, and their op-ed page is the most male of the major papers.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. But this conservative male writer, is, at least this once...

putting the spotlight on women in politics -- and even highlighting the Democrats' greater numbers.

Funny -- their talented fashion writer, Robin Givhan, won a Pulitzer this year!

[Captain Hilts]

5. Givhan's an idiot.

Givhan perpetuates the stereotype of women being judged by their clothes more than men.

And, last week, she praised metalic-looking stockings. They looked like leg braces! She also wrote a column critical of the oxford shirt.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. You know, that's the fashion world. It's actually a big business...

and a lot of women are successful in it. And if some women want to follow fashion, I think that's their right. Fashion is covered as a business, and also just for some fun.

But, I admit, Mookie, just for your ears, that I'm a bit too close to that world, and to some intelligent women in it, to be objective. (I will say that Robin Givhan, a real smart Princeton grad, is no idiot.)

ON EDIT: And I agree -- I think she, and all the fashion press, called it wrong on Ghesquiere's leggings!

[noamnety]

4. 16% is dismal

It's discouraging that that's considered something to write home about.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. I had the same thought. Making progress, but a long way to go...

considering we're more than 50% of the population.

[OzarkDem]

8. Agree, it should be at least 35 or 40% by now

And its partly accidental. The only reason so many women are in races is because establishment Dems had written off many of these races and let the women run instead. The tides have turned and all those races previously considered unwinnable are now competitive. Dem women are willing to take risks and run in races that are considered "lost causes". They're also more willing to run with little funding, they don't give up easily.

On edit: this is another area where Dem leadership has failed us badly.

[CTyankee]

9. You have just described Diane Farrell's race against Chris Shays

here in CT. This Diane's second try against the once hugely popular Shays. Now it is a virtual dead heat and Shays is shook up, saying off the wall things he would never have said in the past elections. He represents a pretty sophisticated bunch including Greenwich and other tony suburbs in Fairfield County (also Bridgeport which is a disaster economically). They have got to be wondering what has gotten into him!

Diane is a comer. Watch her if she gets in. She will have national signficance in the Democratic Party, I predict. She is smart, very articulate and persistent. She is now (or was) First Selectman of Westport, a chi chi town where Paul Newman lives. Go, Diane!

I wish I could vote for her but I am very happy to be represented by a woman, Rosa de Lauro, in New Haven. She's a good liberal Dem and is a shoo in this election.