Paul Blair, Guest Columnist
Ideology: Conservative | Writing from: George Washington University

Today, women hold more seats in Congress than ever before. That, however, is not as significant as the number of women who may serve as statewide office holders after Election Day.

In 2008, the almost-success of Senator Hillary Clinton in the politico-rigged Democratic presidential primary campaign was seen as a significant step for women in the United States. Not only had the wife of former President Bill Clinton nearly secured the nomination to face the Republican candidate in November, but she had done so with a well-funded political machine, nationwide. That was, until the significance of having the first black President, a well-spoken Messiah of sorts, came and crushed all of her dreams. (At least we can’t blame the white man anymore.) When we all thought that the significance of the 2008 presidential election came to an end for women, Senator John McCain selected then-Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. If President isn’t possible, second runner up works, right? As we know, Barack then crushed the dreams of another woman.

The year 2008, a year in which women were nearly elected to the highest two offices in the land, brought with it a revamped conversation about feminism and a new conversation about our ruling class. Would any of this have mattered if Sarah Palin went away, disappeared and was never heard from again? Not at all. Plagued by lawsuits and an inability to effectively govern, Governor Palin resigned as the governor of Alaska and did what all common-sense conservatives do: She went to make some cash-money in the private sector. A book tour, similar to that of a candidate on the countrywide campaign trail, brought Palin back into the conversation about politics in this election cycle. Seen as perhaps selfish, self-promotional and a thorn in the side of liberal women everywhere, Palin made millions with her #1 New York Times best seller Going Rogue.

The book tour, however, was not the end of the campaign trail-esque journey of Sarah Palin. In the first six months of the 2010 election cycle, SarahPAC raised over $3.4 million. Not bad for the governor of Alaska. A majority of this money was spent on consulting and funded her nationwide search for Mama Grizzlies to fight for common-sense constitutional conservatism in US state capitols and Washington, DC.

So, is 2010 the year of the Republican woman? Nikki Haley, Carly Fiorina, Sharron Angle, Susana Martinez, Mary Fallin, Meg Whitman and Sarah Palin sure think so.

In California, corporate women have finally come of age and can now do what many men have done since time immemorial: buy their way into office.

In South Carolina, it was Palin’s endorsement that pushed Haley over the top in the midst of a potential scandal.

In Nevada, it was an outside group that had previously endorsed Angle that helped her defeat another potential female Senate candidate in the Republican primary to go on to run against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

In Oklahoma, we have two women facing off against each other, one a Democrat and one a Republican. Either way, Oklahoma, like California (more than likely), will elect their first female governor.

In Georgia, Palin’s endorsement may have pushed Karen Handle to become the frontrunner and first-place vote-getter in the Republican primary for governor. The race now goes to a runoff.

Nationwide, women are becoming a part of the political discussion in a way never seen before. Women outnumber men in this country and since the 19th Amendment have had the right to vote. Why now? Why today? Some would argue that once women got to the national stage it was only a matter of time before feminism succeeded in electing women at the same rates as men. Others take a nuanced approach: the Tea Party movement.

Let’s set something straight about feminism. At its core it is NOT about reproductive rights. Progressivism has hijacked the gender gap and gone on a self-promotional tour for over four decades. If you truly believe that the goal should be to make women a part of the national political or economic debate, you would support all women of all political ideologies at all opportunities. Thank God for Sarah Palin, who for the first time is a fundamental figure in the conservative women’s movement. Palin happily accepts the feminist label and at a speech given to the Susan B. Anthony List said that there was, “a new conservative feminist movement” with an “emerging conservative feminist identity.”

“I kinda feel a connection to that tough, gun totin’ pioneer feminism… For far too long, when people heard the word feminist, they thought of the faculty lounge at some East Coast women’s college,” she said. “And no offense to them, they have their opinions and their voice and God bless ‘em, that’s great, but that’s not the only voice of women in America.”

So, the Tea Party movement? Undoubtedly we are in financial ruins. On top of complete incompetence in Washington, DC, and spending/deficit levels that we have never seen, people are waking up. And when they began to open their eyes this past fall, what did they see? They saw thousands protesting for low taxes, limited government, regulatory reform, opposition to health care and opposition to a fundamental progressive change to this country. To a class of people who never really cared about politics before, there were two options: agree with the situation and support the “fundamental changes” or be pissed off at the administration and leading Democrats. An organic movement that was not the doing of the Republican Party has transformed the dialogue altogether. It is not about the social issues; it is not about foreign policy; it is about our pocketbooks.

Now, where do women come into play? The future of the family. For women, like my mother, who really have never been political activists yet perhaps have had a political interest, there is just something that inspires anger, frustration and worries. 

“People feel that conservative women are more like them; that they know how to multitask, how to get the homework done in the evening, get the lunches ready for the next morning and have dinner in the oven before they go to work,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) a member of the Republican leadership in the House, says. “Voters are looking for people who can get results, who can help the government get better organized. Those are all inherently women’s skills.” I will not disagree here.

Jobs and the economy are the top issues for women and all voters in this year’s elections. The future of this country is grim if we continue down the path towards expanded government control of our economy, unchecked by a system of failed checks and balances and no money to pay for any of it. This is at least the argument that tea party activists and Republicans have been putting out there, and it seems to be working.

Suburban women supported Democratic control of the House by a 24% margin in 2007. According to a June 2010 Wall Street Journal/ABC poll, they favor Republican control by several points.

Independents supported Democratic control of the House by a 16% margin in 2007. According to the WSJ/ABC poll, they now favor Republicans by 8 points.

Independents, women and even the youth have all become engaged in the Tea Party discussion. The fierce partisanship and racial accusations fuel the support of change from the current status quo more and more every day. But it is women, who traditionally run the household and keep the family together, that truly are coming of age. Not only are they succeeding in corporate America (ex. California), but the fear for the future has forced them into the activist mentality of a need for…change.

2010 is the year of women, not because we will be electing a couple more women into office, but because they truly are engaging in our political discussion like never before. As they hold signs in protest, contribute to political campaigns and perhaps successfully run for office, they are involved like never before. Hilary Clinton famously said in June of 2008, in her concession speech, “Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it.”

Women have already broken one of the remaining unbreakable tiles in the glass ceiling – the one over there on the right.

The writer is a junior at The George Washington University, majoring in Political Science. A registered Republican, he currently interns at the Club for Growth and is President of GW Mock Trial.

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