Senator Leticia Van de Putte (D, Texas District 26) tasked women to take on the challenge of increasing their involvement in politics. She was speaking at the Women's Caucus during the Texas convention.
"This election is so important because the Supreme Court is on the verge of taking away our right to privacy and to choose," she said, "Use whatever network you can. We need Demcorats in every area, from the court house to the state house to the White House!"
Conventional wisdom might say her challenge fell on deaf ears. Historically, women haven't been very involved in politics.
Representative Veronica Gonzales (D, Texas District 41) shared some of her personal experience as a politician that explained how politics can all too easily alienate women, "In a line-up, they'd run down the row calling out our names. The men were all last name, but I was Veronica." She said countless times she was "mistaken" for being a wife instead of an elected official. She also charged the media with sexism, citing the many times reporters and pundits criticized Hillary Clinton for her wardrobe and for not meeting the stereotyped expectations of how a woman should behave.
However, this year, women's participation in the political process has increased significantly. What's changed and can it be sustained?
Politics in the US is expensive; in 2004 the average cost to get elected to the Senate was $7 million and the House was a bargain at $1 million. Two years later, it cost 12% more, and now in 2008, even more. Winning and maintaining an elected seat requires constant fundraising, which means it will usually cost to get the ear of a politician. And it will cost to raise your issues to the forefront.
Historically, women were not likely to make donations. According to More magazine:
Only 27 percent of all individual political donations at the federal level come from women, according to a major new study by the Women's Campaign Forum Foundation. Of the 778 Congressional campaigners the study considered, only 27 raised more than 50 percent of their money from women. Of the 64 Senate races it tracked, none were primarily funded by women. It's true that EMILY's List, which funds pro-choice Democratic women candidates, is the country's largest political action committee. Still, only 23 percent of all money to the PACs tracked by the study came from women. This, despite the fact that women control 51 percent of the personal wealth in this country, write 80 percent of all household checks, and lead the way in philanthropic giving.
I can completely understand how that is. However, I think that More magazine has the why of it wrong when they postulate:
Yet we often fail to make the connection between political donations and policy decisions -- such as whether those programs we're supporting through all that volunteer work will get government funding. "Women are not putting their money where their politics are," says Ilana Goldman, president of the Women's Campaign Forum Foundation.
I'm willing to put my money where my politics are, if I'm sure that my money is actually going where my politics are. Personally, I find it challenging to send my hard-earned and sparse cash to a candidate I'm not really sure "gets" me or is as dedicated to my issues as I am. When I talk to other women, I find they feel similarly.
However, this year I've increased my involvement---donating time and money to campaigns. I'm not alone, either.
As the Texas Democratic Women and groups such as EMILY's List and ANNIE's List (the local Texas version of EMILY's List) show, this trend of women "putting their money where their politics are" is on the rise.
In Texas, according to Dennis Speight (Texas Democratic Party Convention Treasurer), the Texas Democratic women were the first group to purchase an ad in the convention program, and are frequently the first group to donate money when asked. He characterized Texas Democratic Women as, "always generous."
Amy Corron-Power, a Houston attorney, embodies this spirit of generosity. "I always give money to campaigns, because if we want to make a difference, we can't sit on the sidelines. Candidates need money to win."
Like many women, Ms. Corron-Power considers where and how she donates according to her beliefs, which align with the Democratic Party. Ms. Corron-Power is a Sustaining Member of the Texas Majority Builders and the Democratic National Committee.
Sometimes her donations are in support of a candidate, such as Sherrie Matula (who is running for state representative for District 129 in Texas) and sometimes it is in protest, "I donate more to my candidates every time I hear something negative about them."
She makes sure her money reaches her issues through more than just donations to candidates, "For example, I use Credo Mobile for my cell phone because they donate to progressive party issues. Buyblue.org is a good resource."
She credits her mother for her involvement in politics. Her mother, she said, is on a fixed income but nevertheless donates to candidates such as Barack Obama. But she also credits growing up in a time when it was said that politics weren't for girls. "The biggest eye opener for me was one day when Ann Richards was running for governor of Texas. I was walking down the street and heard two women talking. One told the other that women just have no place as governor," she said, shaking her head. She disagrees with the idea that politics are exclusively for men, and is active in local and higher-level politics.
"Women are more and more educated about the issues," Ms. Corron-Power said, "When candidates represent what people stand for, people, including women, are more likely to make a donation."
Hillary Clinton's bid for Democratic Presidential candidate encouraged even more women to agree with Ms. Corron-Power. Out of the $100 million Clinton raised, half came from women. Obama has the support of women too; 41% of his donations came from women. This is a significant increase from the past, when women barely accounted for a third of all donations.
Susie Blackmon (President-Elect of Texas Democratic Women) believes this increase in participation and donations can be sustained, as long as politicians and candidates involve and entrust women.
"Candidates need to make sure they let the women participate---not just stuffing envelopes and making calls or answering phones---such as networking, building up grassroots, and on up through the process. They need to consider how women have contacts, such as through education or health care."
She believes women want to and are able to be more assertive, a quality candidates should capitalize on during campaigns. These women become role models to younger women, and set an example of the place women can have in politics. Stacey Barrera, newly elected precinct chair for SD20 in Texas, says seeing women participate in campaigns motived her to become active. Barrera is one of the young voters who have become so active recently.
Like Ms. Corron-Powers, Ms. Barrera also had a political role model in her mother, who ran for the local office of county clerk.
"I saw a lot of young people volunteering on my mom's campaign, and I felt like I should get involved, too, so I started becoming aware of the issues, and I got involved with political groups."
Ms. Barrera joined a college Democrat club and also the local branch of the Texas Democratic Women. She credits these groups for getting her even more involved.
"The more involved you get, the more you find what you can do and the more motivated you become to get even more involved," she said.
She encourages young women to join the political process in any way they can, "It's not necessarily a man's world any longer, so don't be discouraged. Women have a more public sphere now."
But do women get their money and time's worth?
A group of women from El Paso say yes. All have donated money and time to politics this year, some for the first time, some continuing a long tradition.
Tammy Cagann from El Paso donated money for the first time this year after being inspired by Senator Obama, and she thinks now that she's become involved, she'll remain involved, including donating money again.
Rosa Caballero from El Paso has been active in politics since Kennedy but admits other than donating money to Barack Obama, the last candidate she donated to was Bill Clinton. She says she only donates when she's really inspired, and she believes Obama is incredibly inspirational. Additionally, she believes her money was well-spent, as was her time.
"I'm interested in many issues---military, education, grandparent---not just women's issues," Ms. Caballero said. She said Obama's positions on the issues that matter to her are exactly what she hopes to hear from a politician, which is why she is an ardent supporter, and compares his level of inspiration to that of John F Kennedy.
She also said that Obama inspires young people now the way Kennedy did for her and other young people. Citing herself as an example, she said that she feels confident that the level of energy and participation in politics will be sustainable.
Ms. Cagann agreed, and said both Clinton and Obama inspired young people and all people to get involved. She also believes people will stay active, and said she plans to, especially for Senator Obama.
Even though conventional wisdom is that women are not likely to get involved, stay involved or donate money, times are changing.
Many women at the convention---regardless of whether they were there in support of Obama or Clinton---said that Hillary Clinton's role in politics, leadership and bid for President was very inspirational and set a good example for women in politics.
Women are becoming more involved in politics, and I believe the surge that Clinton and Obama motivated can be sustained. The recipe for that success is clear: make space for women, accommodate their lifestyles instead of asking them to accomodate an outdated structure, respect motherhood and its demands, use women's skills and lifestyles because they are a benefit, and prioritize the issues that concern them most. Women can be amazing political vehicles, as either politicians or support for politicians.
Senator Van de Putte and Representative Gonzales exemplify this, but more than that, they reminded women that the face of politics is changing and encouraged them to believe there was a space for them in it.
I'm supporting a local woman (Wisconsin) who is running for state assembly. Penny Bernard-Schaber really gets it. Let's keep adding women like her to the hallowed chambers of government!
Posted by: daisy | June 09, 2008 at 12:59 PM