Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Democratic Palin?

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is a Democratic woman (although she'll be replaced by a Republican man should the GOP pick up 39 seats this fall).  The Secretary of State is a Democratic woman.  So are thirteen U.S. senators (compare to four Republican women).  So are 56 members of the House (compare to 17 Republican women).  So are three associate justices of the Supreme Court (compare to zero Republican women), including the two most recent appointees.  So are 17 percent of state legislators (compare to seven percent who are Republican women).  So are 50 statewide elected executive officeholders (compare to 20 Republican women).  But what Democratic women really need, according to Anna Holmes and Rebecca Traister, is a failed vice presidential candidate who can babble incoherently at rallies, on television, and on Facebook.

I don't get it.  Neither does Jonathan Bernstein, whose rebuttal is excellent.

2 comments:

Zoe Bartlett said...

I am glad to see through your post that you do not support what Holmes and Traister have said. The Democratic party clearly does not have a problem supporting women, for there are more Democratic women who hold important government roles than Republican women, as you have proven through statistical information above. Anyone who thinks that Democratic women require an outside means of conveying their intelligence and potential is mistaken. Holmes and Traister's article is offensive to both Democratic AND Republican women and I think that they should greatly reconsider what they have said in their article/the New York Times should remove the article altogether.

Seth Masket said...

Thanks, Zoe. I agree with what you've said. I'm sure the Democrats could do more to recruit and help their female candidates. But saying Democrats need a Palin equivalent really seems insulting to all the women Democratic officeholders out there.