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Friday, January 28, 2022

Gender Gap Widens

Democrats are poised to shatter two more notable glass ceilings in the coming year. Fresh off their success in adding women like Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin to the US Senate in last month’s election, the nation’s two largest cities are both a good bet to elect their first ever female mayors in 2013.

Incumbents Mike Bloomberg of New York and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles are both termed out next year, with the former likely to be replaced by NYC City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and odds being the latter will be succeeded by either LA City Councilwoman Jan Perry or Controller Wendy Greuel.

Greuel (left) and Perry (center) of Los Angeles, and Quinn of New York (right).

So while that’s happening, what, you ask, are Republicans doing to improve their lot among the American women who—along with Latinos, young people, LGBT folks and anyone who suspects the earth may be more than 5,000 years old—just administered an electoral drubbing to the GOP?

For starters, as stunned journalists have been reporting this week, there’s the incoming power structure for the House of Representatives:

Res ipsa loquitur.

In addition, the Speaker, Majority Leader and Majority Whip of the GOP House are also members of this reliably consistent demographic. (Their three counterparts among the senior Democratic leadership are, by comparison, comprised of a woman, a white guy and a black guy.)

In addition, there’s the lynch mob in hot pursuit of UN Ambassador Susan Rice. Determined to scandal-pimp Benghazi into somehow getting some traction, dangit,  GOP neocons seem unconcerned about the fact that they’re going after the wrong person.

The one silver lining for Republicans after this year’s election is the party’s possession of 30 of the nation’s governorships. So perhaps progress is being made at the state level in narrowing the gender gap?

If by “progress” we mean continuing the jihad against contraception, reproductive health and other, ongoing obsessions with lady parts in states like Ohio, Virginia and Mississippi, then the answer is a resounding “yes.” (Can the next rape redefiner be far behind? Nobody puts Crazy in a corner.)

Update: The GOP House leadership, after a week of bad press about its “male whites only” problem, has frantically addressed the issue in a way that shows they really, you know, get it. Damage control has come in the form of Michigan’s Candice Miller, who’s been quickly recruited to chair the House Administration Committee, despite never having served on said committee.

What weighty matters of state, you ask, are within the purview of said committee?

Among other things, it oversees the House cafeteria.

Comments

comments

Comments
5 Responses to “Gender Gap Widens”
  1. Zyxomma says:

    Sorry to burst your bubble, but Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been faithful lapdog to the imperial Mayor Bloomberg for her entire tenure. Lately, she’s been making noise as if she’s independent of him, but she would NOT allow the City Council to vote on increasing the minimum wage, which led to yesterday’s strike/walkout by minimum wage workers at McDonald’s and Wendy’s. I’m hoping someone better on the Democratic side comes better, but Quinn has the war chest to run. She’s been a terrible Council Speaker, and I don’t want her for my mayor. I’d prefer a progressive, which despite being female, queer, and a Democrat, she is not. I hope things are better in L.A. Btw, Emperor Bloomberg was term-limited out last time, and coerced the Council into allowing him to run for a third term, despite We the People having voted TWICE for a 2-term maximum.

  2. wallflower says:

    To be fair, that is not the only thing the Administration Committee oversees.

    I think people are being unjust to the GOP. Their committee choices faithfully reflect their base.

    • thatcrowwoman says:

      It doesn’t get much “baser” than that, eh?
      *sharing in the snark*
      thatcrowwoman

  3. MentionedJohn Murphy says:

    Don’t forget Heidi Heitkamp who is going to be a great! Senator from North Dakota.

  4. Alaska Pi says:

    Oh for crying out loud!
    The House Cafeteria?
    I’m just sure Ms Miller’s constituents sent her to DC to play mommy to a bunch of white male lulubirds.
    I wonder if she can make them, from this lofty chair, wash their hands of all their filth before they sit down to eat.
    Crimenently!