Tag Archive for "women in politics"

Posts Tagged women in politics

The Feministing Five: Senator Gretchen Whitmer

In the latest episode of Are-You-Effing-Kidding-Me-Michigan, the state legislature has banned private health insurance plans from covering abortions unless a person has preemptively purchased separate abortion coverage. What takes the “No But Actually” cake is the fact that this law, which was just passed on Wednesday, applies to rape and incest. As this week’s Feministing Five interviewee Michigan Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer adamantly pointed out on the Senate floor, the law “tells women that were raped and became pregnant that they should have thought ahead and planned for it.”

Representing Michigan’s 23rd District, Whitmer has been a strident advocate for women’s rights throughout the state. And this past week, while publicly addressing her colleagues on the Senator floor, she revealed ...

By Alexandra Brodsky • 10 years ago

Infographic: Visualizing the gender gap in Congress

Women of the 113th has created an infographic depicting the gender breakdown of the 113th Congress, an update on a similar design for the 112th. In a way that statistics alone can’t, the chart shows how few women can be found on either side of the aisle despite gains in the 2012 election.

You can find the large original here. Make sure to explore the rest of the site for infographics on Congressional moms, party distribution, and more.

By Amy S. Choi • 11 years ago

Liberal super PAC attacks former labor secretary for being Chinese

To add to the canon of not-only-Republicans-make-stupid-racist-comments, Former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao found herself at the receiving end of a vicious attack by Progress Kentucky, a liberal super PAC in Kentucky. Her sin? Being married to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. Oh, and being Asian.

Here’s one tweet posted (and defended vigorously) by Progress Kentucky:

Despite whatever reservations one may have about Chao or McConnell’s conservative politics, this sort of attack is heinous and pathetic. Never mind that Chao was born in Taiwan, not China, never mind that she has been a U.S. citizen since she was a child, (despite Progress Kentucky’s suggestions that she “bought” her citizenship) and never mind that the allegations of ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

Nancy Pelosi talks to Melissa Harris-Perry about sexism in politics

You can always count on some real talk from Nancy Pelosi. This weekend she talked with Rachel Maddow Melissa Harris-Perry* about sexism in politics–something the former House Speaker knows a little something about. She argued that it’s hard to increase the number of women in Congress in a political environment driven by money, marked by bitter partisan conflict, and still struggling with underlying sexism. “The minute a woman gets tough in the debate,” Pelosi noted. “You know what people say about her.”

Yep, we sure do. And considering it may be another century before women have equal influence when it comes to campaign donations, the role of money in politics can’t be overstated either.

Partial transcript ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 12 years ago

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe won’t seek reelection

The long-time pro-choice Republican Senator from Maine says she’s had it with the polarization of Washington politics:

In announcing her plans, Snowe, 65, emphasized that she is in good health and was prepared for the campaign ahead. But she said she was swayed by the increasing polarization in Washington.

“Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term,” Snowe said in a statement. “So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate, which is what a fourth term would entail.”

While Snowe cites the general “partisanship” of politics as her motivation ...

The long-time pro-choice Republican Senator from Maine says she’s had it with the polarization of Washington politics:

In announcing her plans, Snowe, 65, emphasized that she is in good health and was prepared for the campaign ahead. ...