Politics
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2009 Female Candidates List
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Political Insiders Club: No Girls Allowed!
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Tila Tequila Speaks Out Against Domestic Violence
2009 Election: Winning Female Candidates & Democrat Losses
Published November 04, 2009 @ 08:50AM PT
Yesterday's election was fraught with disappointment for Democrats. Instead of continuing the wave of "change" from just one year ago when Barack Obama was elected President, the 2009 elections delivered several big victories for the GOP: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the victory by Republican challenger Chris Christie for the governorship in New Jersey and then Republican candidate Bob McDonnell who won the Virginia gubernatorial race.
Interestingly, despite these losses, Beau Friedlander at Air America says that this shouldn't be considered a referendum on Obama, but rather an example of just how low the Republicans will go to win elections:
The GOP is racing to the bottom of its own depravity. They’ve stopped at nothing, floating racist memes and lies and distorting facts to achieve goals that are so blatantly pro-business and anti-American as to be laughable--if it weren’t for the fact that their message-making, via Fox News and talk radio, seems to find a home in the hearts and minds of many Americans.
Perhaps the most disappointing news last night was from Maine where voters rescinded the Legislature's approval of same-sex marriage. According to the Associated Press, gay marriage has now lost in all 31 states in which it has been put to a popular vote — a trend that the gay-rights movement had believed it could end in Maine.
In terms of women who won, however, there are several positive stories to break through the depressing news. Here are some of the victories of Women's Campaign Forum's Endorsed Candidates and a few others who I listed last week that ran at the state and local level:
- Carolyn Comitta (Mayor - West Chester, PA)
- Stephanie Hausner (Town Council - Clarkstown, NY)
- Jessica Lappin (New York City Council)
- Stephanie Miner (Mayor - Syracuse, NY)
- Stacey Newman (State House MO-73)
- Kathleen Rice (Nassau County District Attorney, NY)
- Jill Miller Zimon (Pike Pepper Council)
Congratulations to these ladies who won their races. Now we must move onward to 2010, which will be the bigger election year as it will involve many more races and serve as a true barometer for whether or not President Obama can be re-elected in 2012.
Friday Femme Fatale: AirAmerica.com, Airbrushing and Arms Trade
Published October 16, 2009 @ 05:35PM PT
Things were pretty calm this week around the fem-o-sphere. Apparently people were a little too caught up watching flying helium objects and making fun of the GOP.com #fail to discuss items in the realm of women's rights.
Sigh.
I, however, had a very busy week. I was not watching balloons in the sky, but rather launching a new website over at AirAmerica.com, the place where I spend most of my time when I'm not writing here at Change.org.
The GOP Has A Problem...With Women
Published October 14, 2009 @ 08:18PM PT
The GOP has a women's problem. Besides using women as props in elections and on websites, making derogatory remarks about them on television and generally looking like the party of "crazy white men" (see Glenn Beck, Michael Savage or Rush Limbaugh) - there are a lot of additional reasons why women have been running away from the Republican party in droves.
Just take a look at some of these statistics and examples:
- Unmarried women delivered a stunning 70 to 29 percent margin to Barack Obama and delivered similarly strong margins in races for Congress and the U.S. Senate. The 2008 election represented the highest margin recorded and a 16-point net gain at the Presidential level from 2004.
- Women More Likely to Be Democrats, Regardless of Age: A new Gallup analysis of almost 150,000 interviews conducted from January through May of this year sheds new light on the substantial gender gap that exists in American politics today. Not only are women significantly more likely than men to identify as Democrats, and less likely to identify as independents, but -- with only slight variation -- this gap is evident across all ages, from 18 to 85, and within all major racial, ethnic, and marital-status segments of society.
- GOP Senators Abandons Rape Victims: On the Senate floor, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) spoke against the amendment, calling it “a political attack directed at Halliburton.” Franken responded, “This amendment does not single out a single contractor. This amendment would defund any contractor that refuses to give a victim of rape their day in court.”
- In Health Care debate GOP Senator says: "I don't need maternity care," Kyl said. "So requiring that on my insurance policy is something that I don't need and will make the policy more expensive." Stabenow interrupted: "I think your mom probably did.
- Republican women are a minority in a minority: Out of 435 members of the House, just 17 are Republican women. Of 99 sitting senators, just four are Republican women.
And despite all this, it seems that Kathleen Parker has determined that in order to become relevant - the Republican party needs to start attracting, engaging and soliciting women:
If the GOP is really serious about expanding the party, it's time for the men to hush and let the pros take over. As the saying goes: If you need something done, hire a busy woman. Or, as the White House Project puts it: "Add women, change everything."
While I have to agree with her logic, there is a big chunk of methodology missing. How is she planning to change all of the statistics laid out above? While I think the "add women, change everything" motto is true - it is only effective if you're actually making a genuine effort to speak to women, meet them where they are at, and engage on their issues. So far, I haven't seen any of this from members of the Republican party - except for Olympia Snowe, one of the few female leaders in the GOP, with her vote for health care reform in the Finance Committee this week.
So then, the question becomes: could it be too late for Republicans to make a comeback with women?
The Case For Health Reform: "When Insurance Companies Win, Women Lose"
Published October 11, 2009 @ 07:00AM PT
Just wanted to make sure the Change.org readers saw this important information from SEIU about how women are discriminated under the current health care system and why it is so important to pass comprehensive health care reform WITH the public option.
Today, insurance companies charge women 48% more than men for the same coverage on the individual market.
- In 2008, 14.5 million American women purchased health insurance through the individual market. According to a recent study, these women pay up to 48% more in premiums than men
- This discrepancy is due to an insurance industry practice known as "gender rating," which permits insurance companies in most states to charge men and women different premiums for the same coverage
- In all but 12 states, insurance companies are completely free to continue this practice
Many insurance companies don't provide maternity coverage, calling pregnancy a "matter of choice" and C-Sections are a "Pre-Existing Condition."
- A 2008 study found that just 12 percent of individual market plans include comprehensive maternity coverage
- Defending the practice, one insurance official called pregnancy a "matter of choice."
- In addition, many insurance companies consider C-Sections a "pre-existing condition," while in Colorado, a subsidiary of United Health, one of the biggest insurance companies in the nation, "simply rejects" women who have had C-Sections.
Today, insurance companies are free to deny coverage to victims of domestic violence.
- In eight states and the District of Columbia, it is perfectly legal for insurance companies to deny coverage to victims of domestic violence - and insurance companies are happy to take advantage of this loophole.
- Rationalizing this practice, one health care official infamously argued that covering a victim of domestic violence would be akin to covering "a smoker who doesn't stop smoking." [USA Today, 6/2/94]
- In 2006, ten Senate conservatives voted to kill a proposal that would have ensured coverage to victims of domestic violence. [Sens. Alexander, Burr, Ensign, Enzi, Frist, Gregg, Hatch, Isakson, Roberts and Sessions; CQ Committee Coverage, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Markup, 3/15/06]
President Obama and leaders in Congress have outlined specific reforms that would end these and other abusive insurance industry practices.
The reforms being advanced by the White House and Congress would:
- Make "gender rating" illegal.
- Prevent insurance companies from denying care on the basis of pre-existing conditions.
- End "rescission," or the insurance industry practice of canceling someone's coverage when they get sick.
- Set limits on out-of-pocket expenses.
- Provide competition and choice.
Photo credit: Torsten Mangner
Friday Femme Fatale: Astronauts, Welfare & Real Women
Published October 09, 2009 @ 04:21PM PT
It's been yet another crazy week. From live-tweeting at the United Nations conference on disarmament to meeting Women for Women International founder, Zainab Salbi, to being surprised (but not shocked) at how far anti-choice lawmakers will go to take away reproductive choice - I can say with a lot of relief, "Thank GOD it is Friday."
In case you had a busy week just like me, here are some of the stories you may have missed from the fem-o-sphere. Enjoy.
- Flipping the Script on Poverty (Color Lines)
- California's Zigzag on Welfare Rules Worries Experts (New York Times)
- Dear Mom, Beck has history of sexist comments (Media Matters)
- Daylight Lessons from Letterman's Late Night Escapades (Women's Media Center)
- Universities Target Rape Prevention Through Alcohol Awareness Program (RH Reality Check)
- Sakena Yacoobi's Vision for Afghanistan (Women's Media Center)
- Army's 'Resiliency' Training Misses The Point (Nancy Goldstein)
GOP Lawmakers Want to Put Your Abortion Records Online
Published October 09, 2009 @ 08:57AM PT
In case you missed this story yesterday, yes it's true: Republicans in the state of Oklahoma are trying to mandate the collection and online publication of abortion medical records.
Here's a list of some of the items that will be published ONLINE if this law passes:
- Date of abortion
- County in which abortion performed
- Age of mother
- Marital status of mother (married, divorced, separated, widowed, or never married)
- Race of mother
- Years of education of mother (specify highest year completed)
- State or foreign country of residence of mother
- Total number of previous pregnancies of the mother
- Number of pregnancies that ended in live births
- Number of pregnancies that ended in miscarriages
- Number of pregnancies that ended in induced abortions
The law is intended to "prevent abortions" - not through accessible contraception or comprehensive sex education - but public shaming. Why not just add on another item on this horrific list that says, "Every woman who has ever had an abortion must wear a red A on their shirt" as well? Perhaps we can even get Nathaniel Hawthorne to rise from his grave and write a sequel to The Scarlet Letter.
Talk about government interfering with your privacy. This is one of the most absurd legislative attacks on women I've ever seen. It disgusts me that Republicans are actually considering this as a tactic to block women from having an abortion and move their anti-choice agenda forward.
My colleague at Air America, Megan Carpentier, gave a great explanation of this f*cked up legislation on the Rachel Maddow show last night. Check it out here.
Photo credit: quinn.anya
Arms Trade Treaty: Women, Autonomy & Industry
Published October 07, 2009 @ 10:42PM PT
Today was my second day at the United Nations learning about the development of the Arms Trade Treaty, which is still in its early stages before being presented as a UN resolution in late October.
One of the most interesting conversations I had this afternoon was with Debbie Hillier from Oxfam International who shared her insight about pursuing a comprehensive versus a universal Arms Trade Treaty and what it will mean if the Treaty doesn't get signed by a majority of UN members. It is clear from our discussion that no matter how many states sign onto final version of the Arms Trade Treaty (assuming it gets to that point), something is better than nothing when it comes to this issue.
Hillier also discussed how it would be helpful more industry players got involved - many of which are supportive of the Treaty because they want to be seen as law-abiding, credible manufacturers - a point I found interesting given the robust nature of a war-based economy.
I also got to hear from Mutuku Nguli from PeaceNet in Kenya, who discussed his perspective on women and the arms trade in Africa. He said that while women are more often victims of the arms trade as discussed in yesterday's post, they can also be conduits to the arms trade. Women in certain countries often praise the "war heros" in their community and therefore contribute indirectly to the culture of war by seeing them as the most desirable and masculine men - a "trophy husband" if you will. He also discussed how Muslim women dressed in a Burqa can transport illegal arms under their clothing, which is often unnoticed because women are rarely physically searched in these areas of the world. With these details, he demonstrated how the arms trade can truly infiltrate civil society and create a grey area, not only within the weaponry market, but also within cultural norms.
Still, Nguli said that no matter these circumstances, women indefinitely bear the brunt of the arms trade. When men go out with weapons to fight - legal or illegal - they often die or come home wounded, which puts families in a vulnerable position. Additionally, in some countries, if a husband is involved with illegal trafficking of weapons and he is caught, then both the wife and husband go to jail leaving children without a family unit. And then of course, he mentioned how guns are used to abduct women and coerce sex from them - something we have covered before here at Change.org.
