Week of March 3, 2008

There’s a lot of good news happening in the field and I wanted to make sure you heard it here first.

Historic Leadership
Just a few days ago, Assemblywoman Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) was elected to be the next Speaker of the California Assembly – the first African American woman to serve as Speaker of any state Assembly. EMILY’s List was proud to support Bass in her first race in 2004 through our Political Opportunity Program, as she began charting her path to leadership. Today, we continue to support her as she takes on this historic role.

When Women Vote, Women Win
Turnout among women voters has been through the roof in the presidential primaries, and it’s obvious that their voices will be crucial in the general election this fall. In Ohio, turnout among women was up seven points from 2004, with women making up 59 percent of the electorate. Texas women also showed up stronger than before, making up 57 percent of the electorate, an increase of 4 percent since 2004. In those major contests, Hillary Clinton needed – and won – the overwhelming support of women. Women voters chose Hillary by 16 points in Ohio and 11 points in Texas. Hillary is bringing new women to the polls, and their votes are creating massive gender gaps that are propelling her to victory. Sustaining this level of excitement and engagement among women will be critical to Democratic victory in November – making our efforts to get them to the polls through WOMEN VOTE! more important than ever.

Outrage of the Week

Last Sunday, the Washington Post wasted 1,704 words on an opinion piece arguing that women are intrinsically less intelligent than men.

The author, Charlotte Allen, shares observations such as “A female friend of mine plans to write a horror novel titled ‘Office of Women,’ in which nothing ever gets done and everyone spends the day talking about Botox” and speculates that there may be “some genetic aspect of the female brain ... that turns the pre-frontal cortex into Cream of Wheat.”

The Post’s editors claimed it was "tongue in cheek," but I cannot begin to imagine what they were thinking in publishing this insulting caricature of one half of the population. Their website now asks whether the article should have ever been published.

Send your opinion to outlook@washpost.com and put “Smarter Than You Think” in the subject line.

Of High Heels and Tar Heels
In North Carolina, Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue is on her way to becoming the first pro-choice Democratic woman governor of a southern state since the late Ann Richards. First, Perdue needs to defeat state Treasurer Richard Moore in a May 6 primary, but things look promising. Perdue is leading in the polls and Moore hasn’t run television ads in three weeks, raising questions about his campaign strategy.

We expect this hot race to get even hotter … with the Democratic presidential primary still contested, North Carolina will be a player in the nomination process for the first time in 20 years. Voter excitement is sure to crank up turn out, which is another factor expected to help Perdue.

A Dream Team in Virginia
Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) gave a big boost to former state Senator Leslie Byrne by endorsing her to fill the seat left open by retiring GOP House Member Tom Davis (VA-11). Byrne, a strong progressive who held the seat before Davis and was the first woman elected to Congress from Virginia, will face off against Gerry Connolly, who has ties to deep-pocketed developers, in the June 10 primary. This open seat is a major target for Democrats this fall – one of the most Democratic seats in the country currently held by a Republican.

In the Land of 10,000 Lakes
State Senator Terri Bonoff is moving closer to becoming the Democratic nominee to run for Minnesota’s third congressional district seat, left open by a GOP House retirement. Bonoff is a progressive leader with support from both the business and labor communities, and Democratic voters are rightly concerned about her two primary opponents – one volunteered for McCain in 2000, the other donated $1,000 to Bush. Bonoff had a strong showing in the first contest in the state Democratic Party’s complicated endorsement process and is well-positioned to succeed in the series of contests that follow. This open seat is a prime pick-up opportunity for Democrats this fall.

Renzi Watch ... 14 Days and Counting
It’s been 14 days since GOP Rep. Rick Renzi (AZ-01) was indicted on 35 counts of conspiracy, fraud, extortion and money laundering, but he shows no signs of stepping down from his seat – despite requests from Republicans like Minority Leader John Boehner (OH-08) that he “seriously consider” resigning.

And Speaking of Ethics ...
Senator McCain, who styles himself as a squeaky-clean reformer, has hired yet another lobbyist to help run his presidential campaign. McCain just engaged leading GOP lobbyist John Green to work as a full-time liaison between his campaign and Republicans in the House and the Senate. Who woulda thunk you’d need a lobbyist to talk to your own colleagues?

Thanks for all you are doing in this historic election year. If I haven't covered a race you are interested in or you have a question, please get in touch with us. We'd love to hear from you.