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Politico had a great article today on women in the Tea Party movement.
It’s clear that woman have been a driving force in this movement, probably more than ever before on the Right. It can be attributed to a lot of things, not the least of which is, as Darla DeWald said in the Politico piece, is the “mama bear” instinct that kicks in when women feel that their children are at risk. Now that it’s clear that the issues at hand are going to effect every child in this country, the maternal instincts are kicking in. Mothers will fight for their children.
This potentially points to a greater problems for Democrats in upcoming months. Women have largely swung toward the Democratic party for ages. The reasons have been hashed out over and over, but here are some quick bullet points:
- Women as a whole make less money. Therefore, they are generally in a tougher spot when they are single/divorced. Democratic platforms are all about a safety net for when one is vulnerable.
- Abortion. The idea of it being outlawed is a sticking point for many women, who feel threatened at the idea of losing that option. In addition, a majority of the modern feminist movement bases their entire existence on trying to fight those evil Republicans that are trying to “police their wombs”. Or something. Which is funny when you consider the health care legislation they were so excited about getting rammed through.
- The Democratic party has worked to paint themselves as the champions of the downtrodden. Poor people, minorities, and women have long been beholden to the false sense of security that the Democratic party strives to provide. See: first pullet point.
So what’s changing now? The fact that, despite claiming to provide a safety net, Democrats are losing popularity. They have passed legislation that the Left has been fighting to pass for 50 years. They have control of the House, Senate, and White House. They should be riding high… but they’re not. And this is in no small part because of the women that are becoming a loud, fierce voice in this battle.
Nancy Pelosi, as the highest ranking female elected official in the country, has tried to spin nearly every issue as a women’s issue. She did it withclimate change. She did it with health care. And let’s face it, in the past, this has been a winner for the Democrats. The ladies, however, aren’t buying it.
Maybe it’s because some of those women who have been chanting “hands off my body” for 40 years finally realized that government involvement means that they’re involved when it’s inconvenient too. Maybe women on the left are realizing that they are more than their uterus, and that there is more to “women’s rights” than abortion. Maybe it’s because those same women want freedom for their daughters. Who knows. The bottom line is that some of the biggest political players on the Right in the past year have been women, and that is likely to continue. Some of the most passionate, effective activists and minds springing up out of this movement have been women. Smart Girl Politics has been on the forefront of the conservative women’s movement, and has provided a unique outlet for women to connect, learn, and mobilize locally. The beauty of all this? Women are drawn to other women in leadership, and the effect has been a groundswell of new female voters, candidates, and activists on the Right.
Nancy Pelosi’s thinly veiled attempt to make this health care legislation a win for women’s rights was laughable. Just a reminder from RedState’s Lori Ziganto of how this bill actually effects women:
Because a quick search of the product classification databaseshows just how much women, and particularly Moms, will be punitively taxed. Tampons will be taxed; we are hereby punished not just by our monthly visitor, but because of it. Breast pumps will be taxed. Those of us who are “punished by a baby”, will now truly be punished monetarily by Congress for choosing (so much for choice!) to breast feed our children. What happened to wanting women to have it all? You are punishing women who work and need to pump to provide the best possible sustenance to their infants. It’s organic; I thought y’all liked that? Or is that just another thing to which you merely pay lip service for political expediency and “cool” points?
Birth control will now be more expensive as well, including
