The Sorry State of Female Conservative Role Models
Do I really have to be the one who brings this up? Okay, I'll go there. I was NOT happy with CPAC this year. I was generally underwhelmed with the quality of speakers, particularly women. Then again, I haven't had the chance to go through all the speech videos yet, so maybe there's hope. Right now I just have to focus on one particular speech I viewed last night: Sarah Palin
Although this was a funny move that earned massive applause...
I'm not sure if it's just me, but I cannot get excited about Palin's speeches. To me, it's a lot of empty cliches and catchy one-liners. She made a great point about leadership, but it seems hypocritical coming from someone who has never proven herself to be a REAL leader. She resigned from her position as Chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission within a year of being appointed. She resigned as Governor of Alaska in 2009 under accusations of violating ethics laws she herself had passed, scrutiny, and frivolous lawsuits.
Another statement that struck me was this:
"If we truly believe the words of our other founding document, The Declaration of Independence, with its world-changing assertion that YES, all men are created equal, then there are no Hispanic issues, or African-American issues, or womens issues, there are only American issues."
Seriously? If all Americans WERE treated equal, we wouldn't have to have discussions about Hispanic issues or African-American issues or womens issues. But guess what? People aren't treated equally. Then again, if people stopped asking for equality while asking for separate, special treatment, people WOULD be treated equal. It's a vicious circle.
I guess my disgust lies in the fact that the spotlight is shining on the wrong women within the Republican party for the wrong reasons. I'd like to see women like Palin and Bachmann pedal their brand of crazy somewhere else. We need to focus more on women like Mia Love and Rep. Marsha Blackburn who were both speakers at CPAC this year but weren't as predominately featured. Blackburn had the brass to confront Al Gore on his hypocrisy when it comes to his environmental crusades and his wallet and Mia Love is as diverse as they come - a Haitian-American Mormon with real grassroots beginnings in politics. I would love to see more attention paid to women like them than the women in the Republican party who are more popular not necessarily because they have something positive to say, but because they're mocked by the media and that's somehow seen as a badge of honor within the Republican party.
Although this was a funny move that earned massive applause...
I'm not sure if it's just me, but I cannot get excited about Palin's speeches. To me, it's a lot of empty cliches and catchy one-liners. She made a great point about leadership, but it seems hypocritical coming from someone who has never proven herself to be a REAL leader. She resigned from her position as Chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission within a year of being appointed. She resigned as Governor of Alaska in 2009 under accusations of violating ethics laws she herself had passed, scrutiny, and frivolous lawsuits.
Another statement that struck me was this:
"If we truly believe the words of our other founding document, The Declaration of Independence, with its world-changing assertion that YES, all men are created equal, then there are no Hispanic issues, or African-American issues, or womens issues, there are only American issues."
Seriously? If all Americans WERE treated equal, we wouldn't have to have discussions about Hispanic issues or African-American issues or womens issues. But guess what? People aren't treated equally. Then again, if people stopped asking for equality while asking for separate, special treatment, people WOULD be treated equal. It's a vicious circle.
I guess my disgust lies in the fact that the spotlight is shining on the wrong women within the Republican party for the wrong reasons. I'd like to see women like Palin and Bachmann pedal their brand of crazy somewhere else. We need to focus more on women like Mia Love and Rep. Marsha Blackburn who were both speakers at CPAC this year but weren't as predominately featured. Blackburn had the brass to confront Al Gore on his hypocrisy when it comes to his environmental crusades and his wallet and Mia Love is as diverse as they come - a Haitian-American Mormon with real grassroots beginnings in politics. I would love to see more attention paid to women like them than the women in the Republican party who are more popular not necessarily because they have something positive to say, but because they're mocked by the media and that's somehow seen as a badge of honor within the Republican party.