Why there are so few female Republicans.

main

Politico just ran a pretty intriguing story speculating on why there are so few women in the Republican party, and it definitely rang true for me. A few weeks ago, I went to a GOP lunch at the National Press Club sponsored by the RNC.

The main speaker? A fiftysomething white guy in a suit. Who proceeded to talk nonstop for the next 30 minutes about his impressive political connections (yawn—does he think we know who these people are?), the dire need for volunteers that weekend for a tight race in Pennsylvania (dude, we live in D.C.), and the strange predicament of women not being attracted to the GOP (hmm ...).

I was by far the youngest and had the least respectable job—not a lawyer, doctor, or entrepreuneur but a member of the mistrusted media. At one point, it dawned on our host that I must know how to use Facebook! I could start a Facebook page for this group! It was a genius idea! It would attract women all over the country! I bit my lip and nodded noncommitally.

The women I know who have gotten into politics aren't motivated by power. They're motivated by a desire to tackle specific problems in their schools and local communities. At this lunch, the women I talked to didn't care so much about some race in Pennsylvania or the opportunities that could move us up the political ladder as about the issues that we're confronted with every day in the newspaper headlines and routines of life: school vouchers, high taxes, national security, or abortion.

My take is that there are some good reasons for women to be Republicans: True republicanism is a platform where local communities are empowered to solve their own problems. It's a good model for women, who like to accomplish tangible change in specific situations. But until the Republican Party can articulate what it stands for and how it's going to bring those ideals about, I'll probably keep on bringing my own lunch to work.

Tags: Facebook, Republicans

VIEW THIS CONVERSATION

Abigail Pilgrim Documentary film producer and freelance writer.

Comments

تحميل برامج تحميل برنامج

By: beckham_250 | Sun, 09/20/2009 - 08:01

تحميل برامج تحميل برنامج تحميل برامج نوكيا برامج
تحميل ماسنجر تحميل موبايل موقع دليل مواقع

sesli

By: cacala | Thu, 08/13/2009 - 18:26

sesli sohbet
sesli chat
sesli panel
sesli chat
seslichat
tatil otelleri
ucuz oteller
tekne
kiralik tekne
tekne kiralama
kiralık tekne fiyatları
ajans
oyuncu
evden eve nakliyat

Parties Confuse Politics With Team Sports

By: Then She Said ... | Fri, 05/15/2009 - 10:58

A few Thanksgivings ago, my husband's junior high age cousin asked him what political party he belonged to. He must have responded well, because the kid threw up his arms and said "Yay!" as if his team had just scored a goal. There was virtually no difference in his reaction than there was to my reaction when the Cowboys scored a touchdown later that afternoon. It's a simplistic example, but the speaker the author encountered sounds a lot like my husband's little cousin.

I've noticed for a lot of people, advancing the party has become the goal, and issues such as how best to approach tax policy, the legality of abortion or gay marriage, and the continueing conflict in Iraq and Afganistan are little more than pages in the playbook. We'll win more elections if we talk this game. A speaker trying to get volunteers to cross several state lines to volunteer for an election isn't trying to offer a solution to a societal ill, he's trying to win this week's game. This phenomenon is by no means localized to Republicans though. My husband and his cousin are both Democrats. ;)

Men also aren't Republicans

By: lawyer-mom | Thu, 05/14/2009 - 15:17

Given that only 21% of the population currently self-identifies as Republican, I think it's safe to say that attracting men is also a big problem for the Republican party.

think locally, politick globally?

By: PGofHSM | Thu, 05/14/2009 - 14:33

I think these two are not quite consistent:
1) women are "motivated by a desire to tackle specific problems in their schools and local communities"; and
2) women care about "the issues that we're confronted with every day in the newspaper headlines and routines of life: school vouchers, high taxes, national security, or abortion."

Surely national security isn't a local issue (I mean, "national" is right there on the label, and it's generally referring to global threats), nor is abortion law (made at the state and federal levels and largely warred over with regard to judicial nominations). National security and abortion certainly command the big newspaper headlines, but they're not really something that can be addressed in the local community.

However, they can make for hot-button issues that a local candidate can manipulate, as in Sarah Palin's run for Wasilla mayor: she did nothing in that office relevant to abortion or gun control, but she successfully campaigned in part on her pro-life and pro-gun social conservative credentials. It is very tempting for both male and female candidates to latch onto popular concerns, even if they can do nothing about them at the level of government for which they're running.

I do agree that women much more than men tend to get their start in politics by a focus on dealing with specific concerns affecting their community; one of my favorite young female politicians, Emily Couric (sadly no longer with us), began as PTA president. I think political parties should be looking more at organizations like the PTA in recruiting candidates for local politics who then can be groomed for higher office. Hopefully the GOP will start doing so and thereby increase the number of women they're fielding for elections.

Why Women Aren’t Republicans

Comments

تحميل برامج تحميل برنامج

By: beckham_250 | Sun, 09/20/2009 - 08:01

sesli

By: cacala | Thu, 08/13/2009 - 18:26

Parties Confuse Politics With Team Sports

By: Then She Said ... | Fri, 05/15/2009 - 10:58

Men also aren't Republicans

By: lawyer-mom | Thu, 05/14/2009 - 15:17

think locally, politick globally?

By: PGofHSM | Thu, 05/14/2009 - 14:33

DoubleX

The Root

The Big Money

Good Morning America

Washington Post

Newsweek