National Council of Women's Organizations on Women in Politics (video link)

[Cerridwen]

In case you missed this yesterday...I thought it was very informative.

2nd video from the top

National Council of Women's Organizations releases a poll on the voting patterns of women and on women candidates. Speakers include: Denise Baer, Strategic Research Concepts, President; Kim Gandy, National Organization for Women, President; and others.
11/13/2006: WASHINGTON, DC: 1 hr. 4 min.

edit: link to video has moved down the page...

[foxeyes2]

1. can't watch

the link is not working

[Cerridwen]

2. The link to Cspan or the link to video?

Could you please try again...both of them...the page was updated between the time I posted and just now so perhaps that interferred...

Thanks.

[Cerridwen]

3. Some points from the first 30 minutes which were interesting to me

maybe they will be to you as well.

* Denise Baer (political strategist whose title I forgot to note)
- Women played a significant role in 2006 midterm elections
- Gender Gap (5 pt.) is issue driven - Iraq war and health care

* Eleanor Smeal - Feminist Foundation and publisher Ms. Magazine
- Blue Dog Democrats, 40 - Caucus on Women's Issues, 70 (+ numbers from as yet, undecided races)
- Had only men voted, the republicans would still be the majority in the senate
- Gender Gap apparent in key races in which Democrats won, Webb, Tester, McCaskill as examples
CHOICE Gender Gap
- New Democratic House Representatives - 21 pro-choice out of 28
- New Democratic Senators - 7 pro-choice out of 8
- 3 abortion related ballot measures nationwide - all 3 pro-choice wins with obvious gender gap in play
- parental notification in CA and OR - 54 - 46 defeated (numbers may be different in OR)
- abortion ban in SD - 55 - 45 defeated
GAY RIGHTS Gender Gap
- gay marriage bans - defeated in AZ - due to slim gender gap

* Dr. E. Faye Williams
- White women, African-American women and men and Hispanic women and men voted Democratic in significant, sometimes overwhelming numbers
- Who's out hitting the talk show circuit claiming victory? "We need to talk with our brothers" (mostly paraphrased from memory)

There was a mention that both parties recruited women candidates.

Several of the Democratic women who won received little or no support from the DCCC.


I'll watch more of video later and see if I can pull out any more things I find interesting.

I'll also keep an eye out for the Ms. Magazine report on the midterms. It promises to be very enlightening. Our "brothers" in the party and congressional leadership may want to re-examine their position on "women's issues."

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid - NARAL rating, 27%, Planned Parenthood rating, 57%.
Speaker of the House Presumptive, Nancy Pelosi, NARAL Rating, 100%, Planned Parenthood rating, 100%.
House Majority Leader Presumptive, John Murtha - NARAL rating, 0%, Planned Parenthood rating, 0%.

edit: spelling and formatting

[VelmaD]

4. Those last two numbers on Murtha...

are exactly the reasons I don't want him to become Majority Leader in the House. I get really tired of hearing how liberal or progressive he is just because he spoke out against the Iraq War...as if that by itself is enough. *sigh*

[Cerridwen]

5. Yeah, haven't you heard...

we're not seeing the "bigger picture". :( I especially "love" the amnesia present when it comes to his early stand on the war. But, it's okay, all better now, he's against the war now. /sarcasm

It'll be interesting seeing the Ms. Magazine report. The bit from the video seems to point at pro-choice candidates doing better than anti-choice candidates in the midterms. I wonder if that will hold once the "big picture" of the midterm results is examined.

edit: typo

[Cerridwen]

6. The Smeal Report

this looks like much of what she said at the National Council of Women's Organizations press conference.

At least nine new pro-choice women in Congress – seven in the House, two in the Senate. See FeministMajority.com for the full election results for women.

A Senate majority that can block the worst reactionary Bush appointments in committee. And women’s votes made it possible to have a Senate Democratic majority – 55% of women voted for Jim Webb (D), while 55% of men voted for George Allen (R), for a ten-point gender gap, according to exit polls. The gender gap was also decisive in the Montana Jon Tester/Conrad Burns Senate race, where 52% of women voted for Democratic challenger Tester and 50% of men voted for incumbent Republican Burns for another decisive 4% gender gap. In Missouri’s Senate race, 51% of women voted for Claire McCaskill (D), while 51% of men voted for Jim Talent (R) for a 5% gender gap. It can be said that if only men voted, Republicans would still be in control of the Senate.

Big victories defeating abortion ballot measures. The South Dakota draconian abortion ban was defeated solidly, 55% to 45%. Women’s rights forces defeated both parental notification initiatives in California and Oregon 54% to 46%.

Voting by young people was significantly up – a 24% increase, or at least two million more than the last midterm election. And now, young people are 13% of the voting electorate. The Feminist Majority Foundation has been working nationwide on college campuses to increase young women’s votes for the past five election cycles – how sweet it is that our voices are being heard! First and last paragraphs at this link

edit: formatting