Sunday Shows 2/21/10

NBC Meet the Press

General David Petraeus, Commander, U. S. Central Command; Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN); E.J. Dionne, Columnist, Washington Post; Peggy Noonan, Columnist, Wall Street Journal; Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), Chairman, House Republican Conference; Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chairman, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

5 men, 1 woman

ABC This Week

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), Gov. Edward Rendell (D-PA), George Will, Donna Brazile, Arianna Huffington and Matthew Dowd

4 men, 2 women

CBS Face the Nation

Gen. Colin Powell, Former Secretary of State

1 man

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

1 man

CNN State of the Union with Candy Crowley

Governor Jim Douglas, Deval Patrick, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN)

3 men

Total: 14 men and 3 women, 82% men, 18 % women

Sunday Shows 2/14/10

NBC Meet the Press

Vice President Joe Biden, David Brooks, Rachel Maddow, Fmr. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN), Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), Deputy Republican Whip

4 men, 1 woman

ABC This Week

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, George Will, Peter Beinart, Paul Gigot and Jane Mayer

4 men, 1 woman

CBS Face the Nation

Vice President Joe Biden

1 man

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace

National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones

1 man

CNN State of the Union with Candy Crowley

National Security Adviser General Jim Jones and Senator Jon Kyl

2 men

Total: 12 men and 2 women, 86% men 14% women

Sunday Shows 1/31/10

NBC Meet the Press

David Axelrod, Senior White House Adviser; Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), House Republican Leader; David Brooks, Columnist, New York Times; David Faber, Anchor and Reporter, CNBC; Eugene Robinson, Columnist, Washington Post; Mort Zuckerman, Editor-in-Chief, U.S. News & World Report

6 men and 0 women.

ABC This Week

Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown, Fox News' Roger Ailes, George Will, Paul Krugman, Arianna Huffington

4 men and 1 woman

CBS Face the Nation

Governors Haley Barbour (R-Miss.), Ed Rendell (D-Penn.), Jennifer Granholm (D-Mich.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) discuss partisan politics. Plus; a roundtable with Politico's Jim VanderHei and Washington Post's Anne Kornblut. And; Bob Schieffer on what Americans really want.

5 men and 2 women

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.); Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.); Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.); Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.); journalists Bill Kristol, Mara Liasson, Charles Krauthammer and Juan Williams join this week's panel.

7 men and 1 woman

CNN State of the Union with John King

Interview With Governors Barbour, Patrick; Interview With Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

3 men and 0 women

Total: 25 men and 4 women, 86% men 14% women

Sunday Shows 1/24/10

NBC: Meet the Press with David Gregory

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky [R] and senior White House advisor Valerie Jarrett. Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne. BBC News America Washington correspondent Katty Kay.Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan. NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd.

3 men and 3 women.

ABC: This Week (with Terry Moran)

Senior White House advisor David Axelrod. Senator Jim DeMint [R-SC]. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Senator Robert Menendez [D-NJ]. Roundtable discussion with George Will, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, and political strategist Matthew Dowd.

6 men and 1 woman.

CBS: Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer

Senator John McCain [R-AZ]. Senator Richard Dorbin [D-Il]. Roundtable discussion with CBS News correspondents Nancy Cordes and Jan Crawford discussing the controversial Supreme Court campaign ad ruling.

2 men and 2 women.

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Senator John Cornyn [R-TX]. Roundtable discussion with Fox News Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume, NPR and Fox News contributor Mara Liasson, the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol and NPR’s Juan Williams.

5 men and 1 woman.

CNN: State of the Union with John King

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Senator Robert Menendez [D-NJ]. Senator Orrin Hatch [R-UT]. Senior White House advisor David Axelrod. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta will discuss the latest developments from Haiti. Pollsters Celinda Lake and Neil Newhouse will discuss the Massachusetts Senate race upset and more. The last word goes to Senator Richard Shelby [R-Alabama].

6 men and 1 woman.

Total: 22 men and 7 women, 76% men and 24% women.

Cheers to NBC and CBS for featuring the same number of women and men!

The Press Release I Wish We Had Issued

Then There Were 18: Martha Coakley’s Victory in Massachusetts Means that More Women than Ever Before Now Serve in the U.S. Senate

Washington, DC – American University’s Women & Politics Institute (WPI) applauds Massachusetts voters and Martha Coakley for making history. Coakley, the attorney general in Massachusetts, will be the first woman Senator from Massachusetts and the fifth woman ever to join Massachusetts’ congressional delegation. Coakley’s election brings the total number of women in the U.S. Senate to an all-time high of 18.

Dr. Jennifer L. Lawless, Director of the Women & Politics Institute, recognized the significance of Coakley’s win, but tempered her enthusiasm by reminding us that U.S. political institutions are dominated by men. “Martha Coakley’s victory is an important step forward for women’s representation,” Lawless said. “Yet when Senator-elect Coakley is seated, 82 percent of the members of the U.S. Senate will still be men. Eighty-five nations surpass the United States when it comes to the percentage of women in the national legislature. We can and must do better.”

***

It's hard not to be disappointed by Martha Coakley's defeat. If only...

The good news? Last night's election reinvigorated discussions about the state of women's political representation. Search the web and you'll find articles and arguments from all kinds of sources: from Politico to the Daily Beast, Mediaite to Newsweek, and many more.

Many people are shocked to learn that there are only 17 women in the U.S. Senate. "Don't women make up more than half of the population?" a friend recently asked. I reminded him that women also vote more regularly than men. "17? Really?"

Yep. Only 17.

Thanks to the media coverage that Massachusetts attracted, a few more people out there now know that startling statistic.

If we want more women to serve, we need more women to win because when women run, they are just as likely as men to win.

Martha Coakley might not be number 18, but some other woman out there most surely is. Are you out there number 18?

Sunday Shows 1/17/10

NBC's Meet the Press: Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Deputy Director of US Southern Command and Head of the Haiti Task Force Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah and a roundtable with former adviser to Pres. George W. Bush Karen Hughes, Center for American Progress' John Podesta, Time's (and "Game Change" co-author) Mark Halperin and WaPo's Bob Woodward

7 men and 1 woman

CBS' Face the Nation: Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Deputy Director of US Southern Command and Head of the Haiti Task Force Lt. Gen. Ken Keen and USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah and from Haiti, CBS'Byron Pitts, Kelly Cobiella, Dr. Jennifer Ashton and Jeff Glor

6 men and 2 women

ABC's This Week (with Jake Tapper in the anchor chair): Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Deputy Director of US Southern Command and Head of the Haiti Task Force Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah and a roundtable with ABC's George Will, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, The Daily Caller's Tucker Carlson and The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel

6 men and 2 women

CNN's State of the Union: Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Deputy Director of US Southern Command and Head of the Haiti Task Force Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC Delegate) and CNN's Mary Matalin and James Carville

5 men and 2 women

Fox News' Fox News Sunday: Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Deputy Director of US Southern Command and Head of the Haiti Task Force Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and a panel with Fox News contributors Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol, Fortune's Nina Easton, columnist Charles Krauthammer and NPR'sJuan Williams

8 men and 1 woman

Total: 32 men and 8 women, 80 % men and 20 % women

Note: The same four men appeared on all five programs - former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Deputy Director of US Southern Command and Head of the Haiti Task Force Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah

Sunday Shows 1/10/10

Sunday Show guests for 1/10/10

• ABC, This Week: Liz Cheney, Al Hunt, Robert Reich, Christina Romer, George Will, Judy Woodruff

3 women, 3 men

• CBS, Face The Nation: Peter Baker, Jan Crawford Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)

2 women, 2 men

• CNN, State Of The Union: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) Sen. John McCain (R-AZ),) Christina Romer

1 woman, 2 men

• Fox News Sunday: DNC Chairman Time Kaine, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), RNC Chairman Michael Steele

4 men

• NBC, Meet The Press: DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, Andrea Mitchell, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), RNC Chairman Michael Steele, Chuck Todd

1 woman, 4 men

Total: 7 women (32%) and 15 men(78%)

Women Are Power: More from Claire Ivers

Some people ask why would a woman want to run for congress?

I ask why would a womean not want to run for Congress (see my last blog)!?!

Women all over the world have the courage to join the police and serve in the armed forces. More and more, people have no problem with women pursuing these occupations. Yet, some people think that a women running for Congress or other public office is out of the ordinary.
Women running and serving in public office could provide us all a breath of fresh air!

Think about it: there are many more men than women in elected office. So when man has an idea, it's often like so many others and maybe not what we need right now. A woman could have a completely different angle or approach to some of the problems government confronts, a new idea that one no one has ever considered before. A woman president or more women in Congress is just what we need.

I think that some women don’t believe they are qualified for office because people wont’t listen to us or discriminate against us. I think that women sometimes don't have the confidence to run because of how we think our gender is treated.

There are some awesome women out there from Secretary of StateHillary Clinton to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Senator Olympia Snowe to Governor Linda Lingle to Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (who I met at a WPI event!) and so many others. People need to make sure that they take more time to listen to the ideas of these awesome women.

Women have some much potential and it's time that we unleash it. A woman running for office is unsual. It shouldn't be that way! All women have power to change the world - it's time that we embrace the power and demand that people listen to our ideas. New ideas are the future. Women have new ideas. News Flash - women are the future!

Claire Ivers

Hotline Notes Absence of Women on Sunday Shows

At a time when many in the media industry are coping with the declining influence of "appointment television," Sunday mornings continue to occupy a unique place in the American political landscape. Meet the Press (NBC), This Week (ABC), Face the Nation (CBS), Fox News Sunday (Fox) and State of the Union (CNN) draw committed audiences eager to hear television guests make news.

I love Sunday mornings as much as anyone, but lately I've been troubled by the limited number of women making the rounds at these roundtables. The late Tim Russert made a concerted effort to bring more women into the conversation at his well-respected table. Russert's legacy has been seen in NBC's partnership with The Center for American Progress in its release of The Shriver Report, and a Meet the Press panel discussion on the report's finding.s. Still, there is much progress to be made...

Last week, National Journal's The Hotline noted that "there does seem to be something missing from the Sunday gabfests: women and minorities. Given the abundance of talent out there, can it really stay that way? Veteran journos like Gwen Ifill and Candy Crowley, for example, are two of the smartest and most experienced (and most under-exposed) voices in town."

One look at shesource.org (part of the Women's Media Center) and you know that there is no shortage of talented women who could be adding to the Sunday dialogue.

In case you're curious, yesterday's Sunday shows scheduled appearances for 20 men and only 7 women - that's almost three times as many men.

The break down by show and network:

NBC's Meet the Press hosted 5 men and 1 woman

ABC's This Week hosted 5 men and 2 women

CBS's Face the Nation hosted 1 man and 2 women

Fox New's Fox News Sunday hosted 4 men and 1 woman

CNN's State of the Union hosted 5 men and 1 woman

Jen's on TV!

Watch Jen talk about Sarah Palin on Russia Today!

Trailblazing Senator Dies

Trailblazing Senator Dies

Former Sen. Paula Hawkins (R-FL) -- the first woman who was not the wife or daughter of a politician to win a full Senate term -- has died, the St. Petersburg Times reports.

"She served in the U.S. Senate from 1980 to 1986. Sen. Hawkins was a popular, if polarizing public figure billed as the 'housewife from Maitland,' building a fledgling political career that had zero roots in the system. Her legacy includes defending children, fighting drugs and championing stay-at-home mothers."

Happy Birthday To The First Woman Elected U.S. Senate

Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) was born on this day in 1897.

Check out the Margaret Chase Smith Library of Northwood Univeristy.

"Margaret Chase Smith was born in Skowhegan, Maine, on December 14, 1897. Her entry into politics came through the career of Clyde Smith, the man she married in 1930. Clyde was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1936; Margaret served as his secretary. When Clyde died in 1940, Margaret succeeded her husband. After four terms in the House, she won election to the United States Senate in 1948. In so doing, she became the first woman elected to both houses of Congress."

In 1949, there were a total of ten women serving in 81st Congress. Nine women sat in the House of Representatives. Senator Smith was the only woman serving in the Senate. Women accounted for less than two percent of federally elected officials.

Now, women make up 17 percent of the U.S. Congress. If Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley wins the Massachusetts special election on January 19th, there will be 18 women in the Senate of the 111th Congress, all of whom will have been elected (not appointed).

These numbers are disappointing and there is much work that can and must be done to improve upon them.

But progress takes time. So today, rather than lamenting how much further we have to go, let's celebrate how far we've come.

Seriously!?! The State of Women's (Under)Representation in Public Office Is Ridiculous

Pride - and trepidation - The Boston Globe - Yvonne Abraham

Bravo to Yvonne Abraham, a columnist for The Boston Globe, who recently drew attention to the gross underrepresentation of women in all levels of government. If Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley wins in the special election on January, 19th, there will still only be 18 women serving in the U.S. Senate. Yes, you read right. Currently, there are only 17 women in the U.S. Senate. As we like to say in the offices of the Women & Politics Institute: seriously!?!

Women (and their bodies) have been the focal point for much heated political discussion of late. The national dialogue on health care reform has prompted news coverage of everything from mammograms to sexual assault to plastic surgery. It turns out that every woman, no matter what her state of health, qualifies as having a pre-existing condition. And I'm not going to begin to wade into the controversy over the Stupak-Pitts Amendment and the restrictions it would place on access to abortion coverage.

Health care is no joking matter. Don't get me wrong, I don't exactly think that the small number of women serving in public office is the stuff of late-night, but it is sufficiently ridiculous that, at times, laughter seems the only appropriate response. Women make up over half of the population in the U.S. and are more likely to vote than men. Yet there are only 17 women in the U.S. Senate... Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and 80 other countries all have a larger percentage of women serving in the national legislature than theU.S. does. Seriously!?!

In highlighting these embarrassing statistics (and lamenting women's underrepresentation in public office) Abraham is a hardly offering a controversial argument. She deftly points out that the issue is one of fundamental fairness - these numbers speak to a problem with the legitimacy of the U.S. goverment. "To paraphrase John Adams, government can truly represent everyone’s interests only when everyone is truly represented in government."

I don't mean to suggest that health care reform and its attendant policy implications for women's issues is in any way unimportant. But amid the horse-race obsessed coverage of Congressional debate, Abraham has offered a means to return to a broader conversation about the place of women in American politics, a conversation that whether it makes you laugh or not, we should all be having.

House Honors NH State Senate: A Majority Serving AreWomen!

H.Res.159 passed yesterday by Voice Vote on the House floor:

Honoring the New Hampshire State Senate for becoming the 1st statewide legislative body with a majority of women in the United States. (Introduced in House)

111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H.Res.159
Honoring the New Hampshire State Senate for becoming the 1st statewide legislative body with a majority of women in the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 11, 2009

Mr. HODES (for himself and Ms. SHEA-PORTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

RESOLUTION

Honoring the New Hampshire State Senate for becoming the 1st statewide legislative body with a majority of women in the United States.

Whereas for over 200 years the citizens of the State of New Hampshire have elected State Senators to serve in the legislature;

Whereas, from 1931 to 1933, E. Maude Ferguson served as the 1st female member of the New Hampshire State Senate;

Whereas Vesta Roy served as the 1st female State Senate President, and in 1983 she became the 1st female Governor of the State of New Hampshire;

Whereas, in 1994, the Honorable Sylvia Larsen was elected to the New Hampshire State Senate and has served 7 consecutive terms thus far;

Whereas, in 1996, the Honorable Terie Norelli was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives and has served 6 consecutive terms thus far, and in 2008 was re-elected to serve as Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives for a 2nd consecutive term;

Whereas, in 2008, the Honorable Sylvia Larsen was re-elected to serve as State Senate President of New Hampshire for a 2nd consecutive term;

Whereas the Honorable Sharon Carson, Jacalyn Cilley, Martha Fuller Clark, Betsi DeVries, Peggy Gilmour, Margaret Hassan, Molly Kelly, Sylvia Larsen, Bette Lasky, Amanda Merrill, Deborah Reynolds, Sheila Roberge, and Kathleen Sgambati comprise the majority female body of the New Hampshire State Senate and were elected to office on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on December 3, 2008;

Whereas the New Hampshire State Senate was comprised of 13 women and 11 men for the legislative session beginning on December 3, 2008; and

Whereas the New Hampshire State Senate had 9 women chairing committees and 5 men chairing committees for the legislative session beginning on December 3, 2008: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors the New Hampshire State Senate for becoming the 1st statewide legislative body with a majority of women in the United States.

Claire Ivers (Age 10) Wants To Run For Congress

What interests me about women in politics? Well, a lot of things. But why did I want to spend the day as an intern? I grew up with everyone around me saying, “Girls can do anything boys can do.” And I always knew that. But I always wanted to prove that girls and boys are equal, especially to people who think boys have all the power and girls should be trophies who stay home and sew.

I first became interested in equal rights when I was about seven and a half. I wanted to take action, but I could barely cross the street on my own. While my friends wanted to be doctors and dancers, I wanted to run for Congress. I loved writing papers on women’s rights and the elections, reading about Susan B. Anthony, and studying Eleanor Roosevelt. My friends thought I was nuts!

When I turned ten, though, my Dad said that maybe I could help out at the Women & Politics Institute. It was music to my ears! I intern for WPI whenever possible. I’ve met congresswomen and am already planning my own campaign for Congress. I keep track of all nine Supreme Court Justices, had a tour the Supreme Court, and think we need more women.

By working at WPI, I reached my goal of working for women’s rights and proving that girls can do anything boys can do. Can you imagine having no right to vote or speak out freely? I’m still hoping for a woman president. But in the meantime, I am trying to figure out why women don’t believe they are as qualified as men to run for office and change the world.

Claire Ivers

Emerge's Andrea Steele Advises Women to Keep Their Eye on Ball in a Letter to the NYTimes

The Sunday New York Times published a letter by Andrea Steele, the President and Founder of Emerge, an organization dedicated to providing comprehensive political training to Democratic women who want to run for elective office.


November 1, 2009

Letters

Obama’s Male Hoop Buddies, and a Bigger Arena

To the Editor:

I read your Oct. 25 front-page Washington Memo, “Man’s World at White House? No Harm, No Foul, Aides Say,” and as the leader of an organization dedicated to getting Democratic women in positions of political power, I would say to my female friends, Let’s not be diverted.



President Obama may be playing basketball with the boys, but he has appointed an impressive group of women to key positions of power, and we need to make sure that he continues to do so.



The United States is 84th in the world in terms of women’s representation, and we have just 17 percent female representation in Congress. While Mr. Obama is dribbling the basketball with the boys, let’s work hard to get more women elected at every level of local, state and federal government.



Andrea Dew Steele

President and Founder

Emerge America

San Francisco, Oct. 25, 2009

For more information on Emerge, check out their website http://www.emergeamerica.org/.

Note: the Director of the Women & Politics Institute, Jennifer Lawless, serves on the board of Emerge.

Good Wives Sometimes Have It Bad

It was not long after the pilot episode of the new CBS show, The Good Wife, aired that criticisms began mounting. The show features a middle-aged woman, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), returns to a law firm after thirteen-year hiatus during which she supported her husband’s political career and raised their two daughters. A reasonable observer would think Florrick content. Yet, the opening first scene of series depicts her husband’s public resignation from office, after having been embroiled in a sex scandal (he was caught on tape in bed with prostitutes). When the press conference concludes and the couple retreats to a more private venue, Florrick promptly slaps her husband (played by Chris Noth) and realizes she must go back to work at her old law firm to support her children.

Of course, as Dana Goldstein wrote in an American Prospect article, “The Wrong Side of the Mommy Track,” political wives would not typically be in dire financial straits. The Alicia Florricks of the world do not often need to return to their cubicle. But regardless of the show’s financial realism circumstances, The Good Wife should be applauded for its attempt to show a women’s professional success in the midst of a marital crisis. Whether or not you think Florrick should stand by her man, her decision to go back to work is harder to fault. Even though the impetus for Florrick’s return to work is degrading, that she does return is intended (I expect) to be empowering. She returns her firm and completes an oddly seamless transition back to a high-powered and high-stress position.

Unfortunately, The Good Wife, despite some of its nobler goals, seems to perpetuate the idealized account of a professional woman’s return to the work force after time away. “Women rarely win, in their personal or professional lives, by giving up everything to focus on hubby.” Goldstein explains that a woman attempting to re-enter the work force after significant time off can expect her salary to drop two percent for each year she stays home. “That means a woman who earned $80,000 ten years ago, then quit her job, can expect her new salary to be $64,000.” Opting-out has significant financial consequences for all women, but especially for future divorcees. Because when things go amiss and “the chips fall, women are the ones left supporting the kids, and their [decreased] earning potential matters.”

I don’t expect CBS to accurately reflect political realities in its prime-time programming. And I haven’t decided whether or not I will continue to watch the show. But I do want to address that when real women return to the work force after years or even months absent, they lose out on raises and promotions and often lament that their colleagues treat them differently and take them less seriously. The title of the show is meant to be ironic; pre-scandal Alicia Florrick is a “good” wife by a mid-twentieth century metric. And in returning to work, she’s not now somehow bad. Either way, if a real American woman’s transition back to work were anything like hers, then life would be very good indeed. Too bad.

Amanda Krause

Hispanic Heritage Month

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (15 Sep to 15 Oct), Govt 485-005: The Role of Latinas in American Politics will host several outstanding Latina/o Guest Speakers and will be open to Women & Politics Institute and SPA students.

Sep 17: Guest Speaker: Mark Lopez, PEW Hispanic Center (on AU’s Podcast Website)

Sep 24: Alma Morales Riojas, MANA, A National Latina Organization

Oct 1: Antonieta Cadiz, Washington Correspondent, La Opinion

Oct 8: Linda Chavez, The Equal Opportunity Center

Classes are held on Thursdays from 6 pm to 8 pm in Ward 105.

For more information, please contact linda.patterson@american.edu

This class examines the cross-cutting cleavages of race, class, ethnicity and gender in the political struggles of the U.S. Latina population. We investigate the role of the Latina public officials, activists and the electorate in shaping state and national politics.

For the first time at American University, The Role of Latinas in American Politics (Govt 485-005) is being offered by the Women & Politics Institute. This course examines the cross-cutting cleavages of race, class, ethnicity and gender in the political struggles of the U.S. Latina population. We are investigating the role of Latina public officials, activists and the electorate in shaping state and national politics. This class includes special guest speakers from around Washington who bring their own expertise on Latinas in American politics.

So far, guest speakers have included Carmen Delgado Votaw, Civil Rights Activists; Mark Lopez of the PEW Hispanic Center (on AU’s Podcast Website); and Alma Morales Riojas, President of MANA, A National Latina Organization.

Upcoming speakers are Antonieta Cadiz, Washington Correspondent of La Opinion; Linda Chavez, Chair of The Equal Opportunity Center; Sandra Grossman, Esq. of Grossman Law, LLC and Brigida Benitez, Esq. of WilmerHale, LLP; Miryam Granthon, Special Assistant to the Director in the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services; Marguerite Jimenez, Assistant Director, Council on Latin America and AU School of Public Affairs, and Cristina López of the National Hispana Leadership Institute.

During the question and answer period, students are able to interact with these leaders and gain from their extensive experience in Latina politics.

Martha Coakley's Numbers Don't Lie: Why Haven't They Received More Press?

The Democratic field of candidates hoping to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy was supposed to be free for all - a fight among some serious candidates (including Ted Kennedy's nephew Joe, himself a former Congressman). Now, many of those who were initially considering a bid, have declined to join in the race. The candidates left standing include Representative Mike Capuano (MA-8), whose limited name recognition will likely prove problematic, Steve Pagliuca, a political novice who owns the Boston Celtics, and Attorney General Martha Coakley, the only prospective candidate to have won statewide elective office.


Opinion polls have Coakley winning potential match-ups by significant margins. A Suffolk University/7NEWS poll released on Monday showed 47% of voters choosing Coakley. Despite her undeniable front-runner status, Coakley has received comparable coverage to the men in the race. Coakley faces some initial challenges. Campaign finance laws prohibit her from spending money raised for state races on federal campaigns. Congressman Capuano approximately $1 million dollars cash on hand. Pagliuca's net worth totals more than $400 million.


Emily's List has endorsed Coakley and is aggressively fundraising on her behalf (a trip to their website had directed visitors to a contribution form before their home page). Several unions have followed suit. Feminists in Massachusetts are eager to see a woman win statewide office -- Coakley will likely be able to count on many of them for funds and volunteers.Massachusetts politics has traditionally been a male domain, despite its socially liberal political inclinations. But in 2007, Therese Murray became President of the Massachusetts' State Senate. Niki Tsongas (widow of Senator Paul Tsongas) joined Congress the same year as a representative of Massachusetts' fifth district and the first women in 25 years to serve as part of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation. Ted Kennedy’s wife, Vicki, was initially considered a popular candidate for his senate seat. The proportion of women in the state legislature, although still low, has been increasing in recent years.


Women are on the rise in Massachusetts politics. Coakely's 53% approval rating indicates that the trend may well continue. The media may continue to portray race as competitive one, but the numbers show otherwise. Until today, this was Martha Coakley’s race to lose and certainly one to watch. But now that the Democratically dominated state legislature has voted to allow Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a new U.S. Senator, the narrative has changed - we'll see if coverage of Attorney General Coakley follows suit.


Ben D'Avanzo