My colleague Sabrina has written about the growing number and prominence of Republican women candidates. Last night, several of these women took the next step toward office, leading Drudge to write the headline “Republican Women Dominate.”
It’s great to see so many women getting involved in politics and policy debates. I hope that the increase in women candidates on the Right will open the mainstream media’s eyes to the fact that women aren’t a voting monolith and aren’t all represented by groups like NOW. Too often, the media seems to accept the presumption that women are all liberal and are most concerned about so-called “women’s issues.” That’s just not the case. Today, a growing number of women are concerned about the growing deficit and the expansion of government, which is why so many are involved in and leading the tea party movement.
Jessica Valenti recently wrote protesting Sarah Palin using the term “feminist.” IWF responded, reminding readers of feminism’s roots as being focused on equality, not just promoting women as a special interest group seeking favors from Uncle Sam.
Maybe the term feminist is too tarnished as a synonym of big government liberal to be salvaged. That’s hardly an issue worth worrying about. After all, American women-like men-are worried about big issues, like our struggling economy and the threat of terrorism. The good news is they are doing something about it by getting involved and even running for office. Our country will benefit from this new activism.