Is gender what has become important to the Republican party? Are we to follow the Democrats and Liberals in general, replacing quality with a numbers game?

You mention Jaime Herrera as a "promising contender," but does it serve conservatives to support her when she has shown her willingness to cause harm to low income families by voting for unionizing child care workers?

Or to expand government in our lives by voting to give government more oversight into private business?

The GOP lost favor with the conservative base by trying to be more like the Democrat Party. The last thing we need is a candidate of any gender that would continue that slide.

Perhaps if they stop their chauvanistic concept that women need their hands held more women would run as republicans. Wow what a statement and I bet he didn't think he was saying anything wrong.

Women need more hand holding you say? Wow, GOP. Keep closing that tent. Nothing chauvanistic there. Good golly. Insert food. Shove entire political party in.

Women need more hand holding you say? Wow, GOP. Keep closing that tent. Nothing chauvanistic there. Good golly. Insert foot. Shove entire political party in.

Oh, and Lew Waters. Way to go in assuming that "quality" can only mean old, white, jowly guys and that neither women nor people of color could be quality candidates. Again, keep closing that tent, GOP. Only far right wingers may apply. Have fun there in the late 19th century, you old fogeys.

The GOP lacks women for the same reason it lacks every other minority: If you're not a rich, white, able-bodied man, then you're really not in the club. Oh sure, if you're dumb enough to give it to them, they'll gladly take your vote - a right they'd love to take away from you (and give to a corporation - oops, already did that)!

Personally, I find the fact that any female votes Republican to be a smack in the face to the entire gender and can only assume that person is wholly stupid. Try holding my hand, GOP, and I'll make sure you never hold anything again.

Personally, I find the fact that any female votes Republican to be a smack in the face to the entire gender and can only assume that person is wholly stupid. Try holding my hand, GOP, and I'll make sure you never hold anything again.
Jennifer | February 2, 2010 5:42 PM
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Ziiiing!!

Good one Jennifer!

The Republican party is so desperate to look like they have diversity that they forget that they don't because of the way they think. When the Governor of Virginia gave the Republican rebuttal to the President's State of the Union speech, they rounded up their two black people and put them in the background of their imitation president----right down to his handshaking entrance into the baby congress in Virginia. Now, they say they want women and in the same breath degrade them into babies who need the big strong men to hold their hands and tell them what to think and say. What a bunch of losers. They don't have any diversity because they think like narrow minded, old, white men. Yuck!

Anonymous, talk about jumping the gun with your own bigotry. Where did I say quality only "means old, white, jowly guys and that neither women nor people of color could be quality candidates?"

Since I support David Castillo http://www.castilloforcongress.com/home/ in Wa.03, a man born of a White mother, Black father and raised with input from his Hispanic step-grandparents, you look awfully foolish in your assumption.

I'm also a strong supporter of Sarah Palin, which blows the rest of your assumption out of the water.

Half of the problem in the country today is that quality of candidate was pushed side in order to create the "proper number" of elected officials from preferred categories, qualifications ignored.

Jennnifer, I'd like to remind you that it is not Republicans who trash, throw mud at and belittle GOP candidates that are female or Black, it is you Democrats who throw everything you can at them, vote against them, then complain they are not being elected.

As always, the bigotry of the left is glaring, but goes ignored.

Oh, Lew. So confused. Where was the bigotry in her comments? Isn't the GOP 99% old, white, jowly businessmen? Look around! And Palin? Window dressing. Something for the aforementioned old, white, jowly guys to trot out as their attack dog. If you think she has anything going on behind those fake eyelashes, you are tipping your hand to your own intelligence. The woman is a certifiable nut job...and a quitter.

I'm a Republican, and I think our party has slid downhill the last ten years.
Sarah Palin is an uneducated disgrace, and the jowly white guys seem to be the biggest talking heads we have out there (not that being a talking head has any value).
I could give a care where you came from so long as, in being a representative, you represent the whole community of people in this country and care about us individually as well as a group. Help us find affordable, unbiased health care, without giveaways and new customer guarantees to bloated insurance companies. I know that the govt is bloated, but so is corporate America.

gee lewwaters, if you're so concerned with the quality of a candidate, why tie your horse to the cart of the woman who couldn't even complete her term as governor? if not knowing the role of the vice president of the united states is your definition of quality, then you've lowered the bar considerably.

on another note, you should try another tactic besides that "some of my best friends are" remark you made regarding david castillo.

Well, well, well, JPooper and Susan display the typical Democrat disinformation on the GOP. JP bashes a female Republican, as I said Democrats do and Susan pretends to be a Republcian to also bash a female Republican.

You both give a prime example of what I mentioned.

Susan, claiming to be a Republican and then repeating DNC or Ron Paul talking points gives you away every time.

Funny though, for all the complaints of old white men directed towards the GOP, I never heard any complaints about jolly old white guys like Ted Kennedy, Robert Byrd, Christopher Dodd, Barney Frank, Harry Reid, John Murtha and on and on and on.

I guess be jolly old white guys only applies to the GOP?

As I said, the bogotry of the left glares and is ignored. Ya'll need some new talking points.

Wow, so you want me to fax you a copy of my voter's registration? Don't tell me what party I belong to.

Is it that I'm a woman *and* I said those things that makes you think I'm democrat? Because I care about my fellow citizens doesn't make me any less of a Republican, it makes me a RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN.

And Ron Paul is a pointless endeavor.

The problem is this - women, in my experience, are smarter than men. As I've never met a smart Republican, it follows that women won't, by and large, be republicans. Thank goodness! There are already too many republicans in the world, who seek to turn the world back into a caricature of white '50s suburbia.

More left-winged bigotry for all to see, alguien?

Ya'll just hate it when people step off of Uncle Sam's plantation, don't you?

So far, all of you have shown that any ethnic or female candidate must be in lock-step with the left, or they are to be mercilessly bashed and attacked, as you all did Mrs. Palin during and after the election.

No individual thought or expression permitted within the left, only group think.

Is there a reason Blacks or females cannot formulate thier own thoughts and freely express them without the heavy hand of the Democrats coming down on them?

Ya'll are still the party of Bull Connor and your day to day comments and conduct shows it.

Oh, Lew. No one ever claimed to be democrat in those comments. If one looks at the parties OBJECTIVELY (means: considering FACTS, not feeling), you will certainly see plenty of old, fat, jowly white guys on both sides of the aisle. You're missing the point. It's what you DON'T see on the right side of the aisle that's being talked about. THAT'S why the GOP is shrinking, because its world view doesn't flow with reality in this century. "Leave it to Beaver" doesn't exist in this day and age, no matter how wistful you get thinking about it.

And it astounds me that people still support that empty bag-of-air Palin. You said quality and Palin in the same post? Like I said, doesn't say a whole lot for your ability to think clearly. Y'all that, Lew.

"Women sometimes need a little more handholding, or they need their friends to help them make a decision. And by our going in and talking to them and recruiting and educating and training them to either get involved in a campaign or become a candidate, we're giving them the tools so that they can do that on their own," Larimer added.

Lew Waters, this was said by a WOMAN of your own party! As usual, you Repubs try to own the argument by changing the subject. What rational person would ever believe Senator Kennedy would say something as silly as this in this day and age. stick to the facts, man.

no lewwaters. just because i think sarah palin's a tool and a political lightweight, doesn't mean i have low opinions of susan collins or olympia snowe. i may disagree with them idealogically but at least they're intelligent women who know what they're talking about.

and if you can show me a prominent african american republican either than condi rice or colin powell who isn't a complete buffoon (ie, michael steele) then congratulations.

As I first said, JP, who is it that bashes, throws oreo cookies at, digs dirt and degrades any Republican candidate?

Surely you don't think we put up a person for office just to degrade them, do you?

By the way, Leave it to Beaver was a very Liberal oriented program.

Susan, give it up.

Lew, Lew, Lew. What the hell are you talking about Oreo's for?

I hope that good really achieve the goal, I hope the fact recruit women to help them think better rather than by hand, maybe they can make better decisions and perhaps also to any ideas they are magnificent to see the country as "improvement"

he's referring to a gubernatorial debate with michael steele a few years back. apparently, according to steele & others, "leftist demonstrators" threw oreos at the stage where steele was debating.

the big hole in the story, however, is that the janitorial crew at the facility claimed that there were no oreos in the post-debate mess.

More trouble with the facts, then? Hmmm, doesn't sound like my man Lew.

You're right, cfiller, Kennedy wouldn't have said something so silly, he'd just leave one to die in an overturned car while he swam off to sober up.

But, that's okay because he supported women, right?

I guess it also doesn't enter your mind that what Jan Larimer said, some of us disagree with?

Why do you think I made my initial comment of gender should be after quality?

You may disagree, but we have quality females and ethnics who face unbelievable scorn simply because they disagree with the left. How dare they think for themselves and step off the plantation.

Don't blame the GOP for so few of them being elected, look at how you treat and bash them when they do run.

I'm a young person (32), voting about your social security and what I think is right for the country. I'm a woman and that's how I vote.
I think we should go ahead and end that entire program and old-foagie medical care while we're at it. That'll save the budget and the entire moral compass of the country-- really, fend for yourself. Bring on the third party Tea Party option.
The country needs a do-over.

Susan,
It's time for you to come on over to the dark side and become a moderate democrat. My hubby made the move even though he came from a long line of republican officeholders in one of the only areas in the entire country that has been continuously republican since just prior to Lincoln. It would've been easier to stay GOP for social reasons but as Reagan once put it, "the party left me." He hasn't looked back except when we both talk about how much we miss the moderate republicans we used to know when we were younger and how much fun it was to debate and talk with them. Sadly, that party is long gone -- replaced with ideologues who don't believe in compromise or finding practical solutions.

Lew- You're going in circles. Try to stay with us here. No one said they degrade everyone put up for office. I don't know why you'd bring up the disproven "Oreo" story. Or your comments on "ethnics" and plantations. So calm down and take a deep breath (good for thinking). You guys all get your talking points from the same mimeograph, right? Try putting them down and engaging the ol'brain matter. It's behind those pretty eyelashes.

for pete's sake lew! EVERYONE gets bashed when they run. it's a fact of life. you don't run for or hold political office if you're thin skinned. being bashed is part of the program.

Hope the day comes when a remake of the Inglorious Basterds has Republicans as the baddies.

Too extreme. I would settle for them just admitting that Palin is an idiot.

alguien, it isn't the bashing, but who you all choose to bash, then complain why they aren't elected. You can't have it both ways.

JP, the Oreo story with Steele was the only one mentioned in the papers. A Janitor claiming to not have swept them up is not "disproven," just that some one else may have.

In reality, it was exaggerated by some, as Steele himself said, "I've never claimed that I was hit, no. The one or two that I saw at my feet were there. I just happened to look down and see them."

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=428&sid=622881

You want sexism on display? Just look at the comments on Sarah Palin here.

Lewie, if you wouldn't try to defend EVERY attack on you here, you might just have time to make an argument that draws just a little bit of sympathy your way. Perhaps it is YOUR hand we all should be holding! Which women of your party do you prefer, please tell us. The 'rogue-ish' Sarah Palin, of 'lipstick on a pig' fame or the women who need their friends to help them make decisions? You, sir, are the one who expects things 'both ways'.

Pitiful effort, cfiller, pitiful.

I seek no sympathy, but to expose the left for the bigots and hypocrits they are.

If any of you actually looked over my small blog you'd see I have supported women of both parties when I agree with them.

I work with many women locally and Blacks as well. And no, that is not a "my best friend is" statement, just reality.

What I find most dispicable in you all is your "lipstick on a pig" comment, as well as others. Yet, should I apply those same words to Michelle Obama or Barack, I'm considered a racist.

No sir, it is you on the left who are being exposed for what you are.

If only the the Rethuglicans could find women, who are as stupid, as Sarah Palin, and Michelle Bachman. If they can find women that dumb, no problem.

GOP women may need "handholding" but perhaps the GOP should shift their focus on their male politicians. Seems like the men also have a major problem with handholding...as well as other body parts of women other than their wives.

Lew, do you have actual facts to back up Palin as a viable candidate? I mean actual FACTS and not talking points. As for misogyny being prevalent in the Democratic party, I will agree with you, but it is prevalent in BOTH PARTIES..there is no more nor less on either side. The bottom line is this: politics has been a man's world for a long time and a white man's world at that. Sure we have non-white folks in politics now as well as women, but that doesn't stop the misogynistic, bigoted, racist mind-set of any of the "old dogs" from either side. So instead of the back and forth insults what should we do as a country to stop it? What would YOU suggest? What should we as citizens do to let our elected officials know we aren't going to tolerate it anymore? I'm curious to read your ideas.
Oh, please stop assuming that an individual is Democrat if they disagree with your opinions. I'm neither Republican nor Democrat, am a 45 year old woman, Navy vet, former correctional officer and am one of those "ethnics" you talked about in an earlier post. Can you guess what kind of "ethnic" I am?
Seriously, real, thoughtful discourse would be appreciated so I will check back later to see if you are able to provide it.

@LewWaters: Everyone who disagrees with you isn't a democrat. It is impossible to honestly assert you only care about the quality of a candidate and also assert that you support Sarah Palin. That simply doesn't compute for anyone - of any party - with two brain cells to rub together. This is one bipartisan issue on which many Republicans, most Independents, and all Democrats have reached some consensus. The woman even quit her own vacation in Hawaii!

Equality means assessing someone based on their qualifications. Your repeated response that making an assessment about Palin's complete unfitness for high office is somehow "attacking" a republican woman and hence wrong ... because she is a woman (and therefore should never be criticized due to her gender) is just another example of the difficulty republicans seem to have viewing women as equals.

Democrats have their own problems. That's why I'm an independent.

What a waste of Oreos!

I don't know how anyone can take this Lew fellow seriously after the comment about Bull Connors. What a completely ridiculous ignorance of history on display there.

The Dixiecrats, the pro-segregation Democrats, became the Republican base after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. See, the Democratic Party purged itself of the overt racists, and Nixon courted them as part of the "Southern Strategy."

Which is why so many African-Americans are Democrats, and not Republicans. Because the Republicans aren't the Party of Lincoln, and haven't been since the 60's. They are the party of Bull Conners.

Consider this Lew: when Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond lost the Democratic primary running on a pro-segregation platform, what party did he switch to? The GOP.

That's your party. You can't just pretend history didn't happen.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0008733

p.s. jowly, "powerful"-looking white guys are more likely to be perceived as republican, whereas "warm"-looking males, minorities, and women are more likely to be perceived as democrats. the data are a little lopsided, though, because the people doing the study couldn't find enough pictures to use of republican women/minorities who ran for office to have the same statistical significance as the democrat sample.

Lew said..."So far, all of you have shown that any ethnic or female candidate must be in lock-step with the left, or they are to be mercilessly bashed and attacked, as you all did Mrs. Palin during and after the election.No individual thought or expression permitted within the left, only group think.Is there a reason Blacks or females cannot formulate thier own thoughts and freely express them without the heavy hand of the Democrats coming down on them?"

This is commonly referred to as projection or transference - when an individual projects or transfers his own values, inadequacies, insecurities or actions onto others.
We, collectively, called Palin as we saw her...a self serving, opportunistic dullard incapable of formulating a coherent sentence. Anyone who watches foxnews knows how much you guys like your eye candy!

I do want to thank you, Lew, you have done more for the democratic/progressive movement in your posts than most of our elected officials. Keep it up, big guy!

Gee, what happened, did the repugs just wake up, look around and notice that the tent was busting with all white guys? That's pretty pathetic and telling too, that repugs only "men" register on their collective radar screens!

As to this notion of repugs being for less government and getting government out of our lives, how does that play out when the issues of:
marriage equality also referred to as gay marriage; the legalization of marijuana;
a woman's right to choose;
come up???
If repugs were truly for less government intervention in citizens lives, they would be wholeheartedly for these issues, but they're obviously not. hhhmm...wonder why?

The Republican Party has already made huge swing away from the pro life issue with the election of Scott Brown.

Go to the RNC website and look at the issues, the pro life issue is nowhere to be found.

Go to Freedom Works website and look for pro life under their issues. Nowhere to be found.

Suddenly these unborn fetuses that we're so important to Republican Party can't even be found.

The Chrisitian right better wake up because there being pushed out the door by Michael Steele.

Most republican males tend to be adults who were teased and beat up a lot as children. People like Rush Limbaugh who had no friends. So they start hating everyone and don't want to share or play with others.
Females tend to have better social skills and weren't such rejects, and tend to grow up to be more open minded and liberal.

If you had paid much attention before you had your knee-jerk reaction, you would have noticed that it was a woman--JAN--who said this.

Jennifer, with your anger issues, I doubt that anyone wants to hold your hand.

Women need more hand-holding? Open mouth, insert foot. Keep trying to reach to women with insulting comments such as that one. The RNC will never learn, now will it?

"Most republican males tend to be adults who were teased and beat up a lot as children. People like Rush Limbaugh who had no friends. So they start hating everyone and don't want to share or play with others.
Females tend to have better social skills and weren't such rejects, and tend to grow up to be more open minded and liberal."

I've found this to be true.

The RNC continues to be patriarchial party, assuming that the little women need their hands held. No doubt as THEY tell us how to vote.

The new poll of Republicans shows that 31% of them want contraception outlawed. You can't tell me that a party that espouses that view holds women in regard.

As to Palin, I like what one woman said when McCain named her his running mate, 'Does he think I'm stupid? I may be pro-life but I don't want a bimbo anywhere near the Oval office'. That's all she is, eye candy to old white guys.

rlmcca,

Do you really think the fact that a republican woman made that statement improves their image?

To me, it only reinforces the image of republican women as subservient to their male counterparts and who don't consider themselves strong enough to make decisions on an equal basis.

The truth is that ANYONE who needs to make an important decision will consult others they trust before going forward, if they have the opportunity. It's just the prudent thing to do.

But for a woman to imply that their gender NEEDS more "handholding" is just pathetic.

Sigh... so voting for a republican, if you are a woman is a slap in the face to other women? Why, are we supposed to all walk in lock step? Our sisters who agree with republicans are not worthy of our support as women with minds of their own?

I am a liberal feminist democratic woman and my party screwed me royally in 2008 when they decided my vote in the primaries, along with the majority of primary voters, did not count. The DNC can bite me.
If republicans have the sense to run women, I will vote for them. Because it is time that ALL women were represented in the government and we deserve our 51 percent of the decision making power

Interesting that this whole discussion evolved into name calling and stereotyping when all that was pointed out to begin the conversation was the offensive comment made by a person in the article that women need their hand held to enter into Republican politics.

Perhaps if we stop name calling and acknowledge that women don't need their hands held and realize the impact of assumptions that women need to be guided by more experienced people, even if those assumptions are made by other women would allow us to go a long way. I don't care what age race etc, we could move forward in the discussion. Women have the capability to take charge and have done so throughout history. So perhaps its time to consider is the tent big enough for more diverse views, or does everyone have to be Sarah Palin or Nancy Pelosi.

I am appalled that this country has turned into such a divided society and please don't blame it on Obama, or the Republicans, because it will prove my point. If you care about this country care enough find common ground and solutions.

Obama isn't destroying this country we are by falling into the trap of pitting ourselves against each other and creating scapegoats for our misfortune. Accept responsibility, and work to make things better, who cares whose idea it was if it works. I know someone is going to demonize me as bleeding heart liberal, or rejoice my liberal cause, but my political bent doesn't matter. Demonizing me, or rejoicing in my point of view does not solve any of the issues we are facing today. Show you care about this country by stepping up to working with some one whose point of view is different than yours and find a solution.

>>>I am a liberal feminist democratic woman ... If republicans have the sense to run women, I will vote for them

HAHAHA! Suuuuuuuure you are. Another GOP commenter playing make-believe.

>>>I am a liberal feminist democratic woman ... If republicans have the sense to run women, I will vote for them"

"HAHAHA! Suuuuuuuure you are. Another GOP commenter playing make-believe."

Ethan, my thoughts exactly.

"women need more hand holding to run for office."

yeah, and men need more dick holding while they run for office. what's your point?

thanks, but no thanks

" . . . . willingness to cause harm to low income families by voting for unionizing child care workers?"

Gee, perhaps the child care workers are "low income" - ya think? Let's pit the peasants against each other, shall we? I mean, those greedy child care workers should REALIZE what harm they cause by demanding a living wage!! After all, they're not doing anything important, like trashing the economy; they're just looking after what we supposedly hold to be important (our children). And we certainly don't want to do anything about the ever-growing income inequity in this country now, would we?

Whether the child care workers are or are not "low income" is irrelevant. Child care workers can feel free to move to another job if the one they have doesn't pay enough, but those needing child care have little choice in the matter.

Providing child care workers with collective bargaining will ultimately make child care more expensive, thereby cutting out the low income workers who will need said child care, making it even more difficult for them to hold a job while their children can't be looked after.

Herrera is a fake Republican who co-sponsored the bill and voted against her caucus... a vote that will ultimately hurt the low income and single (primarily female) parent the most.

She has no experience, has never worked in the private sector, has been in office for just over two years and hadn't even lived in our district for the ten years before McMorris-Rogers strong armed her appointment. She is no more qualified to be a member of Congress than she is to perform brain surgery.

Very good article. I've found your blog via Google and I'm really happy about the information you provide in your articles. Btw your sites layout is really messed up on the Kmelon browser. Would be really great if you could fix that. Anyhow keep up the good work!

Go to You Tube and type in "autism spectrum seems out of control" to see ONE reason why the epidemic of autism exists: this is a HUGE problem rooted within the pervasive ignorance of the American Psychiatric Association, becuz they don't know what the heck autism really is. These experts don't have a clue. Thankfully, parents---such as the mom on You Tube who posts videos of her severely autistic son with self injury---people may get a better idea of the realities of autism, especially the most severe sides There is a spectrum but the spectrum has expanded into something unreal. YOU TUBE type in "autism spectrum seems out of control" This is an important video because the DSM-5 is due to change in the year 2013, and the APA wants to lump ALL these different disablities into ONE catagory...it is pure nonsense, since these experts dont' seem to understand what autism is to begin with..they haven't even got that right. They diagnose people like Donna Williams, the author of Nobody Nowhere, when it turns out, the woman has a multiple personality disorder, that she herself reveals in the book that says she's autistic on the cover..how crazy is this? And dont' get me started on Jenny Mccarthy and her kid who was never autistic but had febrile seizures that caused developmental delays and then when he got seizure meds and ate some wheat free crackers...he was allegedly cured, no Jenny cured him, of his autism...oh boy folks, it's time to educate yourselves about real autism...everyone's got their hand in the autism industry and they RELY on your ignorance about what autism really is...educate yourselves because ignorance is NOT bliss

First of all despite my screen name I am an African American Republican its so nice to know that a racist sexist Democrat thinks I am a slap in the face to a woman yet I bet Jennifer voted for the most sexist man in politics because he was black. I am ashamed of women like Jennifer that is to stupid to look into a candidate and vote for the most sexist pig then insult others for voting Republican.
Obama stole the Primary from a woman yet the Democrats call the GOP sexist. I have been told by Liberal Democrats that my children are better off in a horrible public school then given a voucher that Democrats is racist.
I just wish the Liberals would actually talk to real black people not the so called leaders. They would find out that most of us are conservative.
I don't care about being a slap in the face to all women when Democrats stop stealing votes and get rid of their Primary system perhaps I will consider voting for someone other then Hillary Clinton.
As for Sarah Palin I am so sick of the Palin bashing that goes on leave this woman and her children alone.
I guess the Democrats weren't being sexist to her. Like I said the Democrats need to stop preaching and start looking inward to their own problems.

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