More Than Just Boys-Will-Be-Boys
Carla Hanson
The recent revelation of the Oregon GOP Leadership jaunt to a Palm Springs Strip Club has produced giggles among many Democrats, but generally, the "boys night out" will have few repercussions on the GOP as a whole. To be sure, each of these GOP House Leaders (Hanna, Cameron, Freeman), vets (Gilliam, Wingard) and their rookie House coherts (Wand and Sheehan) will have to dance mightly to justify their not-so-family-values-like excursion. But sadly, the electorate doesn't look at a situation like this in terms of what it reveals more broadly about the Grand Old Party.
There might as well be a “no gurlz allowed” sign over the House GOP leadership office. There are no women in leadership in the House Republican Caucus. Among the 30 GOP House members, a scant 5 are women. One woman did try to crack the ranks of House Republican leadership the same day Cameron resigned, but she was spurned by her colleagues, and another man was elected instead. When a woman sought the seat vacated by disgraced Rep. Matt Wingard, Republicans united to block her from gaining appointment. Even at the grassroots level, when Chair Rachel Lucas of the Washington County GOP became aware of Wingard's transgressions from the victim directly, she immediately informed Leader Cameron. Her reward for making the honorable, proper and very tough call? Some local WashCo GOP members are circulating a recall petition targetting her.
So let me get this right, no girls allowed, and if they do sneak in, well, it must be THEIR fault for not understanding, and quietly accepting that boys-will-be-boys.
Nationally, the picture for the GOP and women is every bit as telling. While there is certainly not parity in the Democratic ranks, the GOP female representation is pathetically meager:
17 US Senators are women; 5 are GOP. Of the 73 women in the House of Representatives, 24 are Republicans, and only one of the 9 GOP leadership positions belongs to a woman. In state legislatures, 23.6 percent of elected representatives are female - i.e. of the over 7300 state legislative seats, only 1749 belong to women. Of those 1749 seats, over 60% are held by Democrats while less than 39% are GOP. Oregon ranks 12th in female representation due to Oregon Democratic elected representatives and senators. A little less than half the combined House and Senate Democratic Caucus is female.
Raw numbers of electeds aside, the disconnect between the GOP and women is real and pervasive on so many levels. The boys demonstrate their detachment through not just GOP bachelor-esq parties, but through state legislatures that have slung forward nearly 1200 bills that curb and curtail women's health care access (Yes, this does include such efforts in Oregon.). GOP leadership in DC conducts Congressional hearings on contraception and accepts no testimony from women, and the GOP's Presidential ticket includes 2 fellas that support personhood amendments and want to abolish Planned Parenthood. Even at the local level, a recall attack is launched against GOP County leader who was doing her best to the right thing.
While I can happily - and obviously - offer the point that it makes a hellova lot more sense for a woman to be a Democrat rather than a Republican, when women DO decide to participate in the GOP, they are held at bay and shunned from leadership in legislative chambers, and outright ignored if they are mere constituents. And in Oregon, the GOP idea of a bi-gender leadership meeting is a foray to Palm Springs topless bar.
100 years ago women gained the right to vote in Oregon, but it seems as if it will take another 100 years before all the glass ceilings are shattered, especially if the GOP has anything to do with it.
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8:22 a.m.
Aug 19, '12
No surprise here! RW fundies say men are dictators in the home and out of the home. Michele Bachman says so. No pay equity, no health care deciding for you, uppity women!
10:21 a.m.
Aug 19, '12
When it comes to women, Republicans embrace fantasy-based ideology: Christianity.
"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." (I Corinthians 11:3)
"For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man." (I Corinthians 11:8-9)
5:25 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
OK, Joshua, you quote Paul, the founder of Christianity, who for whatever reasons did not respect women. But the namesake of his religion, Jesus, as any reading of the Gospels shows, liked to have women around him and respected them. I wish that would get more attention than it does.
11:45 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Sure Patrick, like may progressives I would like it if Christians would adhere to a progressive version of Christianity. I think arguing for a more progressive/modern brand of Christianity/religion is worthwhile (although it's kind of silly to expect Christians to not follow the founder of their belief system.)
What is also worthwhile is arguing for evidence-based approaches to understanding the world. The fundamental problem with fantasy-based approaches to knowing like Christianity is that they're are based in fantasy. Seriously, is there a worse enemy of women in the world than religion? Patrick, it's not a coincidence that the happiest healthiest and most progressive democracies are the least religious.
12:05 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Thanks, Carla.
Like Carla Axtman, I take more of a "whatever floats your boat" approach to the entertainment choices that people make.
But it occurred to me a couple of nights ago that this was a leadership retreat - since it included the co-Speaker, the Majority Leader, the Majority Whip, and at least one assistant majority leader (not to mention committee co-chairs).
And as you note, it's a clear sign that their idea of a leadership retreat doesn't include women. To be sure, plenty of women go to strip clubs too, but doubtful that a female legislator of the family-values variety would have happily gone along.
And as you've correctly noted, this is why it matters. Not because somebody decided to partake in a legal entertainment choice that many other Americans do too, and not even because it's hypocritical coming from these moralizers (though it surely is), but because it was a leadership retreat and it speaks volumes about the attitudes these leaders have about their role and the role of women in the GOP leadership.
Put simply, would Speaker Karen Minnis or Speaker Lynn Snodgrass have organized a golf retreat in Palm Springs punctuated by a visit to a strip club? I don't know Karen or Lynn well enough to know for sure, but I'm guessing not.
5:33 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
I'm glad Kari mentioned former speakers Minnis and Snodgrass. There has been only one Democratic woman elected to Speaker of the House (Vera Katz 1985-1989).
Since then, the GOP has had three: Bev Clarno (1995,1997); Snodgrass (1999) and Minnis (2003, 2005).
Since 1957, Democrats have held the Senate presidency for 27 of 31 sessions - all of them white males.
Maybe the Democrats will see their first Speaker in the 21st century or first Senate president ever - but like Kari said, I'm guessing not.
8:17 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
What's noteworthy to mention in the context of Speakers Minnis and Snodgrass, is that the arc of woemen's progress has flatlined, and in some vectors, actually declined over the past decade. While Minnis left her leadership post just 6 years ago, it is only within the past four years that a robust, hardcore rightwing faction has emerged as a power player in GOP politics.
I don't think it's an accidental coorelation that as an ideological radical right has gained power, the power of women, and their representative numbers, have stagnated or diminished.
Here is an excellent piece that looks at women in leadership, both politically and in the corporate world:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/03/04/the-stubborn-gender-gap.html
Of note, the USA ranks 71st in elected female representation.
8:19 a.m.
Aug 20, '12
Little-known fact: Sen. Diane Rosenbaum was briefly House Speaker after Sen. Merkley went to Washington. I guess she wasn't "elected" to the post, but she was elected Speaker Pro-Tem.
2:17 p.m.
Aug 20, '12
". . . it is only within the past four years that a robust, hardcore rightwing faction has emerged as a power player in GOP politics."
Boy, that's not what you guys were saying in the 1990s! In fact, I remember a lot of attacks against both Speaker Lynn Snodgrass and Speaker Karen Minnis based on how "right-wing" Democrats claimed they were.
If memory serves correctly, Republican had a woman as either Speaker or Majority Leader in the house every year from 1991 through 2006. And, for the record, I think we should have more women in top leadership roles today. We've got several good ones to choose from.
11:35 p.m.
Aug 20, '12
Yeah, I think I'll disagree with Carla here.
Speakers Karen Minnis and Lynn Snodgrass presided over some pretty serious right-wing nonsense.
4:39 p.m.
Aug 20, '12
And let's not forget how Karen Minnis in particular was savaged by Democrats during her tenure as speaker, particularly in 2006.
Democrats consider themselves the party of women and minorities - unless they are conservatives, in which case they are vilified worse than white males.
Hell hath no fury like Democratic treatment of conservative women and conservative Blacks.
But it's 2012 and Oregon is still awaiting the first Democratic woman Speaker of the House since Ronald Reagan was president.
7:41 p.m.
Aug 21, '12
And hell hath no fury like conservative treatment of MOST women and MOST blacks. What's your point? Being in favor of positions that are pro-women does not mean that you kowtow to someone with the opposite opinion and position just because she has ovaries.
6:42 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Nicely put, KC. Thanks!
7:22 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Apparently the new VP candidate Paul Ryan has a big problem recognizing that rape is real as he collaborates with the Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri in trying to redefine rape in order to criminalize women who get an abortion after rape. http://t.co/8XX1WWNu
No wonder the GOP is quickly becoming an all white, all male, cult of extremists.
7:55 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Todd Akin- today's GOP tea bagger hero: "Rape is great", get rid of school lunches, get rid of voting rights, end student loans. This is Jack Robert's kind of guy, the rising, resplendent GOP. He's the poster boy to win the Senate. Paul Ryan's good pal. Kind of makes you proud, doesn't it, Jack? http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79870.html#.UDGlEdMqIMM.twitter
10:44 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
I'm not sure what Jack Roberts has to do with Todd Akin, or why you think he's Jack's "kind of guy".
8:11 a.m.
Aug 20, '12
Jack is a consistent defender of the GOP and its current batch of candidates, including Paul Ryan. It behooves him to explain himself and his party in the light of these public positions. Jack gives a fig leaf to the lie that there is any rationality or moderation in the GOP at all. That's why I mention him.
11:38 a.m.
Aug 20, '12
Well, the entire Republican Party is throwing Todd Akin over the cliff as we speak. I'm sure that if Jack Roberts was present at the edge, he'd have his foot on Akin's backside.
2:53 p.m.
Aug 20, '12
Thanks, Kari. Todd Akin wasn't my "kind of guy" even before this comment. I'm hoping the powers that be in the Republican Party (if such powers still exist) can get him to withdraw by 5:00 pm Tuesday.
Of course, I imagine you guys are hoping he stays on the ballot. If the roles were reversed, I know I would be.
7:05 p.m.
Aug 20, '12
But, Jack, Paul Ryan is your kind of guy and they have the same position on criminalizing abortion for victims of rape, and collaborated on "redefining rape" in legislation signed by 64 GOP Congressional reps. Nothing to say about that?
7:36 p.m.
Aug 20, '12
I have a lot of respect for Paul Ryan being willing to tackle the budget issues in a way that most of his colleagues won't. It doesn't mean I support all of his positions on those issues and as a pro-choice Republican I certainly don't share his position on abortion.
I don't quite understand why you feel determined to drag me into your obsession but please understand that I don't feel obliged to respond to your ad hominem posts about me.
8:05 p.m.
Aug 20, '12
Nor do I feel obliged to respond to yours. However, your silent enabling of extremist positions and candidates in your party is simply a big part of the demise of the GOP and the death of any constructive bipartisanship in this country. Since you are a "resident GOP" voice on this forum and have represented a kind of moderation and rationality, it is perhaps my own delusional hope that persons like yourself might be provoked into speaking out against the cult of extremism and the toxic funding of it by Koch Industries in the GOP. So the use of your name is an expression perhaps of that vain hope.
6:24 a.m.
Aug 21, '12
Bill, I am not a "resident voice" on this forum. In fact, my posts have become increasingly infrequent because of posters like you.
8:47 a.m.
Aug 21, '12
Too bad. Norma Paulus said it all about what's become of the Oregon Republican Party, when she said, "There's no one left I can talk to." I guess you are one of those she can't talk to also. As a life long Oregonian I regret the demise of the tradition of progressive moderate Republicanism that once existed here. Sorry that you have acquiesced in that demise.
11:37 p.m.
Aug 20, '12
That 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline isn't much of one. My read of the relevant statute is that after that time he'd need a court order, but the law says he's to be granted one as a matter of course -- it's just it requires paying for reprinting of ballots if it's needed.
4:31 p.m.
Aug 20, '12
Yes, the GOP is tossing Akin out the door and for good reason.
Compare the GOP's swift and sure response to Akin with the Democrat's response to Joe Biden telling Blacks that Romney's "gonna put y'all back in chains." Oh, that's right, there was no condemnation.
8:15 a.m.
Aug 21, '12
...And there is no comparison here, either, Bruce. Had Biden's awkwardly turned phrase starkly brought into focus a racist leader bent on suppressing the black vote, it WOULD have been a valid comparison. But Joe is NOT a racist in any way, shape or form, and political and community leaders in all vectors recognize that.
In Aiken's case, his comments reveal not only a ridiculously poor grasp of science and fact (over 32,000 rapes a year result in pregnancy), but bring into sharp perspective his consistent anti-choice and anti-woman legislative record. This record includes a sponsorship role with Paul Ryan on a federal personhood act, which, like similar failed efforts in Mississippi and Colorado, would define life as beginning at conception. Such a law would outlaw many forms of birth control, as well as abolish in-vitro fertilization.
But you are not alone in making false comparisons, Bruce. A GOP surrogate this morning on a national network tried to dilute the Aiken controversy by bringing up Sen. Robert Byrd's affiliation with the KKK in the early 1950s.
It's no wonder the the GOP is using these desperate tactics to try and veer the discussion a different direction and muddy the waters with "Democrats bad, too". A very light scan of recent history shows the at-the-hip connection with Aiken and Ryan, and the National GOP knows the Aiken scandal will have impact well beyond the Missouri borders.
8:25 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Carla, I have to correct your statement that there are no women in House Republican leadership. My boss, Rep. Sherrie Sprenger (R-Scio) is a Deputy Whip.
9:22 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Thanks - sorry to have missed her. I wouldn't expect all leaders to hang out all the time, and certainly media will key in on the notable adventures. But, in light of so many affronts to women via GOP legislation throuout the Country since 2010, the Oregon GOP Boys Club adventure was just one more telling straw that defines the disconnection between GOP policies and the real world needs of women.
8:29 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Carla Hanson, why is it that Washington County Chair Rachel Lucas is using Blue Oregon as her outlet of choice? Isn't she a Republican, and part of "Red" Oregon? Apparently, you are catering to her whims, by reporting on her victimization, which includes very limited information. Chairman Lucas earned her Recall, and it took approx. a year of tolerance by many, before the point of intolerance was reached. Now remind me of the date the whole Wingard scandal broke?
9:07 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Carla, your words: "Even at the grassroots level, when Chair Rachel Lucas of the Washington County GOP became aware of Wingard's transgressions from the victim directly, she immediately informed Leader Cameron."
First, Chair Rachel Lucas is not grassroots. Second, do you know "when" Chair Rachel Lucas became aware of Wingard's transgressions? Just curious. You know...fairness and accuracy in reporting.
10:41 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
Um, yeah, a County Chair is pretty darn grassroots. I'm not speaking about any other hats she might wear.
As I said, I am going by an Oregonian report. Clearly, you have some issues with Lucas, and it's up to you to determine to what level those perceived transgressions rise. I am neither an investigative reporter, nor your investigative reporter who will spoon feed you public info that you can google yourself.
If you wish to rant on with first hand knowledge of alledged transgressions, well, that's your business and your risk. But I have simply pointed out what was reported, and I am not going to assume worse than what's in the press.
And therefore, I am now done with this particualr thread... but you go ahead and knock yourself out.
10:45 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
... and I apologize for my plentiful, and now uncorrectable, spelling and typing errors!
9:39 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
"...why is it that Washington County Chair Rachel Lucas is using Blue Oregon as her outlet of choice?"
She's not. The recall activity was reported in an Oregonian piece. I find it telling that Wingard's aide, Berriman, reported Wingards's behavior to Lucas, and Lucas gets called out via a recall effort for sahring the info with leadership. That's the report - if you'd like to correct, clarify or elborate on any of this, well, the forum is open.
BTW, I probably don't agree with Lucas on much, but if the case is as reported, and she is being scapegoated, it's just plain wrong.
10:46 p.m.
Aug 19, '12
For the record, I'm not aware that Rachel Lucas has contacted anyone at BlueOregon.