When Geraldine Ferraro and Shirley Chisolm were national political candidates, the country was not at all ready to welcome a woman into the White House. Now in 2008, it has been interesting to see the excitement generated on diverse ends of the political spectrum, by the entrance of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin into the national spotlight.
Sarah Palin is rousing support by her socially conservative convictions that fit so well the culture of Utah and much of the western United States. At the same time, she is praised for the courageous handling of entrenched political power brokers in her own party and the special interests who were accommodated in Alaska state government.
Whether or not she is a candidate prepared for presidential responsibilities, her history should be looked at with interest in the state of Utah. She came to her office as governor describing herself as a "Hockey Mom", doggedly dedicated to ethics reform in state government. She saw closed door deals, politicians enjoying campaign gifts and financing from Big Oil or other special interests, and various ethical problems in the state. Her success in handling these problems is making national news. This should send chills through the Utah Republican Party.
Moderate republicans, as well as democrats, have been calling for ethics reform in the Utah legislature for years. Well-managed leadership in the State Republican Party has, however, held them at bay. As long as incumbents could recruit enough friends to become delegates to the county conventions, voters would have no say about their party nominees. The Democratic Party, hobbled by progressive national politics, could not elect a legislator in Utah County as well as much of the state, and the republicans ceased to worry about campaigning against them. As a result, the ethical questions have gone unanswered.
Unable to heal the Party from within, many traditional republicans and unaffiliated voters are looking to the Democratic Party for a "bulldog" to stir up the questions.
Thank you, Sarah Palin, for making this cause a popular one in Utah! Women's ability to take on this problem is certainly now proven. Now I just need to get a little more consistent with wearing lipstick.
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3 comments:
As a women I feel no more empowered or enabled to do anything by Sarah Palin if anything I feel more constrained. And as though there is more to prove. I don't think being a "hokey mom" is any sort of real political platform. And she didn't answer most of the questions given to her in the debate. Wither it was because she didn't understand the question or just didn't know the answer doesn't really matter. She still didn't answer the questions. Do you support Sarah?
Who are you voting for?
My blog post was composed during the stir of the announcement of Governor Palin as the VP choice. But you are absolutely right about one thing -- her actions didn't provide the first proof that women can take on issues of ethics in government (Eleanor Roosevelt would be a better choice). She was just riding the current wave of excitement. And the topic she brought with her, ethics in state government, is timely for us in Utah.
While I personally question Sarah Palin's qualifications as a canditate for the 2nd highest political office, I think Deon makes a good point here.
Palin has used her candidacy to make her voice heard on a number of issues that are important to her, such as ethics reform, energy, and families. I don't support her candidacy per se, but I do applaud her for bringing these issues to the forefront.
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