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Alaska Governor Sarah Palin made history once again when John McCain announced Friday afternoon that he had chosen Governor Palin as his running mate, making her the first Republican female vice presidential candidate in history. Two years ago, Palin, a mother of five and former mayor, was elected as the first female governor of Alaska on a reform agenda to end the corruption of the Republican Party in Alaska.
Shortly before McCain’s announcement, Governor Palin’s fan page on facebook had just under 3,000 fans. As I write this, her fan page now has 30,506 members (growing at a rate of about 10 fans per minute).
Editorial boards for newspapers across the country have a spectrum of opinions on McCain’s pick ranging from calling her “perfect” to questioning her “lack of experience”. However, they all seem to agree that it’s a bold move. As the Chicago Tribune put it: this changes the game.
Now it’s your turn: What do you think? Was Palin the right pick for McCain? Do you think this “changes the game”? Voice in and let us know what you think.
Posted by April Green
August 31st, 2008
State Representatives Rosemary Mulligan and Ruth Munson are proposing legislation to inject some accountability into the State grant process and ensure that our tax dollars are well spent. According to the Chicago Tribune:
“The legislation follows a July 20 Tribune investigation that exposed how the state squandered taxpayer money on after-school grants, nearly half of which rewarded campaign workers and donors of West Side state Sen. Rickey Hendon.”
As a result of the findings, a package of reforms are being introduced by a group of Republican legislators to stop the abuse of the state grant system and spend tax dollars more responsibly. The Tribune reports:
“One of the new bills, sponsored by Rep Rosemary Mulligan (R- Des Plaines) requires that any state agency awarding these grants spell out what is required, confirm that the recipients are qualified and monitor the expenditures and performance.
Another bill, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Munson (R-Elgin) would require grant recipients to disclose if they donated to or did political work for the state lawmaker sponsoring their grant.”
It’s refreshing see these women taking the lead to introduce some common sense reforms – especially at a time when our state could use a serious dose of fiscal responsibility.
It’s a small step, but definitely one in the right direction.
Posted by April Green
August 4th, 2008
Over the past several years, the Women’s Campaign Federation has been conducting an ongoing research project examining the financial contributions of women to political candidates and committees (or lack there of). They recently published the latest version of the study called, “Vote with Your Purse: Harnessing the Power of Women’s Political Giving for the 2008 Elections and Beyond.” What they found offers some revealing insights on the political donations of women, including:
• Though women make up over half of registered and active voters, women account for less than 30 percent of political contributions.
• Women are leaders in charitable giving but don’t associate political contributions with the social change of charitable contributions.
• Values that motivate women to give are: impact, inspiration, information, inclusion and interaction.
In the past year, articles in the New York Times and More Magazine have addressed the same issue. It seems that, though women are more likely to register to vote, vote, and volunteer on a campaign than a man – they are less likely to give money to a candidate or political committee.
My question to all of you is: Why is this? Why don’t more women make financial contributions to political candidates and committees and what would get them to change their minds?
Posted by April Green
June 16th, 2008
Last week the New York Times “Week in Review” ran the feature article She just might be president someday examining what type of woman America’s first woman president will be – assuming that it won’t be Hillary Clinton. Though the article contained some interesting information highlighting potential female candidates and the involvement of women in state legislatures, it painted a rather gloomy picture of what it is to be a woman in American politics:
“…Many feel dispirited by what they see as bias against Mrs. Clinton in the media — the ‘Fatal Attraction’ comparisons and locker-room chortling on television panels. ‘Who would dare to run?’ said Karen O’Connor, the director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University. ‘The media is set up against you, and if you have the money problem to begin with, why would anyone put their families through this, why would anyone put themselves through this?’ For this reason, she said, she doesn’t expect a serious [woman] contender anytime soon…”
Just a few days later the Wall Street Journal published Sex & the Sissy, an op-ed by Peggy Noonan detailing the triumphs and struggles of three women prime ministers of global acclaim: Great Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, Israel’s Golda Mier, and India’s Indira Ghandi. Noonan’s lament was exactly the opposite: “The charge of sexism is…ultimately, undermining of the position of women.”
From Noonan’s perspective, women painting portraits of themselves as victims of political sexism are, in fact, the greater problem. By highlighting Thatcher, Mier, and Ghandi, Noonan points out, “They did not use guilt to win elections — it comes up zero if you Google ‘Thatcher’ and ‘You’re just picking on me because I’m a woman.’ Instead they used the appeals men used: stronger leadership, better ideas, a superior philosophy.”
So my question for all of you is — what do you think? Are women today really, as the New York Times suggests, victims of political sexism? Or has history proven, as Noonan suggests, that not only is their little truth in current claims of political discrimination, but the women who overcame much greater struggles on the path to leading their countries never got anywhere by complaining about them?
Posted by April Green
June 2nd, 2008