women and politics: how the rest will be won
This weekend, the RNC (Republican National Committee) hosted an all-day summit called Women Winning the West*, organized to bring together in one location, the most active and engaged GOP women from the western states.
The day’s agenda included a morning of presentations from national political players, discussing their respective areas of expertise, followed by smaller workshops addressing the important skills GOP activists and candidates need to be effective. It’s not often that one attends a full-day conference in which every presentation manages to be both engaging and informative, offering the perfect balance of both to the audience. The RNC summit, however, was exactly that.
The information provided was invaluable, and the summit was, by most accounts, a resounding success! Not only did participants gain an understanding of the status of the GOP as we move into the 2010 election cycle, but the presenters communicated the importance of women’s voices, skills, and knowledge to our country’s political discourse.
As the saying goes, “all politics are local.” Thus, the resounding message of this weekend’s summit was to reinforce the important role that each of us can play in our local communities and, by extension, our nation - provided we are only willing to step up to the challenge.
Below are a few highlights from Women Winning the West:
Linda DiVall - President & CEO, American Viewpoint
- GOP must repair its public image as old, rich, and out of touch
- For Republicans, tone and demeanor are key to effectively communicating with independent and unaffiliated voters
- Women make approximately 85% of the purchasing decisions in the U.S.
- Female candidates are perceived as having a connection to female voters, and understanding those voters’ daily lives
Gentry Collins - RNC Political Director
- Performance of federal government impacts how voters vote in state elections - even when the state is perceived to be on the right track
- Voters who have a strong opinion about president’s performance are much more likely to turn out to vote
- When political parties cannot defend their record or policies, campaigns turn negative and and personal. Stay tuned for 2010 and 2012.
Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) - website
- Republican women have a voice in congress and are stepping up to lead - but more voices are needed
- Across the country, there are inspiring, qualified candidates who are coming forward to make a difference at every level of government. Support these candidates!
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) - website
- Quite simply, the more women who participate in our nation’s political discourse, the louder and more influential their voices will be
- The bottom won’t drop out of the United States if healthcare reform is not passed this year. It will drop out if we pass the wrong thing.
- “For the Rights of All” is a documentary illustrating what one determined woman was able to accomplish in bringing civil rights to the state of Alaska. Women can continue to make important strides.
Dana Perino - Fmr. WH Press Secy. (President G.W. Bush) - Twitter
- Freedom of the press is essential to our political discourse - we must protect it
- When dealing with media, be: Composed + Smart + Prepared. Always be the most prepared person in the room
- Watch and emulate those who deal well with media. They project warmth, authority, and engagement
- Women should be mindful to speak with confidence, authority, and a strong voice
- Always respond to erroneous stories and misinformation. If nothing else, it will prove you know more than they do.
- Read and watch both liberal- and conservative-leaning media. Not only will you be more informed about the views of the ‘other side’, you might gain valuable insight that could lead to better solutions.
Check out the RNC Women website for additional summit dates in Hawaii and Ohio. And support female candidates (or become one) in your local and state races.
- tdc
*The Women Winning the West summit was hosted by RNC Chairman, Michael Steele, and Co-Chairman, Jan Larimer on Saturday, November 14, 2009.
sarah palin is not a racist: and other reasons I support her
Sarah Palin is not racist.
Though this statement actually has little, if anything, to do with this post, I wanted to put it out there. Of the many falsehoods and characterizations attributed to the former governor, the “racist” label is the one that irks me the most. In my opinion, that is not a term that should be tossed around indiscriminately – you’d better have some serious evidence to back it up, people!
Anyway, as I said, this post is not about that subject. Instead, I consider this an “unveiling” of sorts – of the reasoning behind my support for a woman I’ve never met, who lives in a place I have never been, doing things I have never done.
How has Sarah Palin drawn this Colorado girl out of the proverbial political woodworks and directly into the fray?
I’ve been thinking about this over the last few months because, since her detractors feel free to malign both Sarah Palin and her supporters, I need to have my ducks in a row – so to speak – if I’m going to go around telling people I think she’s is the bombibigity (pronounced bahm-big-it-tee). Thus, after giving it some thought, I managed to come up with the following reasons for my support of Sarah from Alaska:
Reason One: Sarah Palin has a life.
A normal one.
I believe in the value of life experience as a means of achieving wisdom. How many of our grandparents and great-grandparents missed the opportunity to attend college or even high school, but still managed to accomplish amazing things, raise wonderful families, and pass along strong values to their descendants?
Most of us have become who we are due to the challenges and successes we’ve had in the course of our daily lives. Lessons are learned in everything we do, sometimes begrudgingly, and we continue on, trying always to do a little better and be a little better the next time.
When I look at Sarah Palin, I see someone who does what so many successful people do. She takes on the work set before her – as a mother, a business owner, or elected official – and embraces the experience of it all.
Has she managed to achieve perfection in all she attempts? Certainly not. But she always and persistently seeks success in whatever endeavors she is called to pursue. And, quite simply, that is all that is asked of any of us.
Reason Two: Sarah Palin is a leader.
The kind who gets in the trenches with you.
Some people lead with a lot of fanfare and pontification. No offense to them, but I have never really responded to that type of leadership. I tend not to trust people who talk for days on end (it seems), trying to get me “fired up.”
These people may be smart. They may know what they’re talking about. And, perhaps, I should indeed be following them. All the same, I often choose to back away from these types and sidle up to the quieter person across the way – the one actually doing some work.
Maybe it has something to do with my individual learning style or personality, but my favorite leaders lead by example. Sarah Palin leads by example. But, you might say, “She’s no shrinking violet…that woman can hold court with the best of them!” And you would be correct in this statement.
But, when Sarah Palin “holds court,” she does it from the bow of a fishing boat wearing chest waders and rubber gloves. Not only do you learn what she thinks about the role of government in the lives of citizens, you get a lesson on how to score a tank full of salmon.
Reason Three: Sarah Palin makes me smile.
Kind of like when I watch my little brother, now a linebacker in college, make a great play on the football field.
I smile because I know how seriously he takes his responsibility to his team. I smile because I know how much he enjoys the game. I smile because I remember him “when”: when he couldn’t run as fast, wasn’t as big, didn’t have the proper technique…
He got better because he cultivated his natural talent with practice and time spent learning from people who had much to teach.
Sarah Palin hasn’t always been the outgoing political phenomenon she is today. According to her husband, she was quite shy in high school. How did she get here from there?
Well, she courageously entered a new field of play – that of politics – and found that she had the ability to positively contribute to her community. This gave her the motivation she needed to work at her new vocation, improving her skills and developing her technique. Even now, she continues to do more, and to learn more.
Many of us enjoy a good challenge, and heartily seek them out. But, in the face of adversity, it can be difficult to forge ahead. Sarah Palin, however, seems to thrive in this atmosphere. And in this way, she reminds us of the great rewards that can come from our toughest battles.
The best athletes are those who make the players around them better. They are uncomfortable in their comfort zone and are continuously seeking to break free from it. Sarah Palin does this in the political arena, and she has managed to encourage thousands of others to become involved as well – to get out of the bleachers and into the action.
I am among those thousands and I have the former governor to thank for that.
So, for these reasons, I will continue to support Governor Palin – the woman I’ve never met, living in a place I’ve never been, doing things I’ve never done – because she inspires me to do and act in my own life as boldly as she has in hers.
And she’s not a racist.
- tdc
**This post originally appeared on the Palin Twibe Blog on September 8, 2009**
