Is the Tea Party a Feminist Movement?

[Coito ergo sum]

Is the Tea Party a Feminist Movement?
It's becoming an insta-network for aspiring female candidates.
By Hanna Rosin
Posted Wednesday, May 12, 2010, at 12:03 PM ET

In a different political season, Lou Ann Zelenik would be too much an outsider to run for a congressional seat in Tennessee. A single mother, she owned a heavy construction company until she retired in 2007. She likes to remind people that she's a "licensed blaster," which refers both to her technical skills and her Rosie the Riveter attitude. "She's bucked every trend, and if there's ever an obstacle put in her way she breaks right through it," says her spokesman, Jay Heine. Zelenik only really broke through in electoral politics, however, when she got involved with the local Tea Party. She put together a rally in Murfreesboro, and 3,000 people showed up. She hooked into a network of activist local moms who agreed to volunteer on her campaign. "A lot of the tea party women are inspired by seeing a strong woman run for office," adds Heine.

Is the Tea Party a women's movement? More women than men belong—55 percent, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll. And while no movement that uses Michelle Malkin as a poster girl could fairly be described as feminist, the party has become an insta-network for ambitious women like Zelenik. Some are aspiring candidates who could never get traction within the tight, local Republican Party networks. Some are angry-mom-activist types who, like their heroine Sarah Palin, outgrew the PTA. But some would surprise you with their straightforward feminist rage. For the last few years Anna Barone, a Tea Party leader from Mount Vernon, N.Y., has used the e-mail handle annaforhillary.com: "The way they treated Hillary is unforgiveable, and then they did it to Sarah Palin," she said. "I've been to 15 Tea Party meetings and never heard a woman called a name just because she's powerful. I guess you could say the Tea Party is where I truly became a feminist."

http://www.slate.com/id/2253645/

55% of tea partiers are women.... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35094.html


DISCLAIMER: I am not a tea partier, have never been to a tea party rally, and I do not agree with most of their political views. But, I thought this article was interesting and possibly fodder for discussion.

[Martok]

DISCLAIMER: I am not a tea partier, have never been to a tea party rally, and I do not agree with most of their political views. But, I thought this article was interesting and possibly fodder for discussion.

It would seem like you and the teabaggers are a perfect fit. How do you differ from them?

And no I wouldn't consider female teabaggers feminists. They're a strange bunch. I know a small portion of female Hillary Clinton supporters became supporters of Sarah Palin. That made no sense. Hillary is a screaming liberal compared to Caribou Barbie.

[Coito ergo sum]

DISCLAIMER: I am not a tea partier, have never been to a tea party rally, and I do not agree with most of their political views. But, I thought this article was interesting and possibly fodder for discussion.

It would seem like you and the teabaggers are a perfect fit. How do you differ from them?

LOL - you must not read my posts very closely.

1. I'm an atheist and an antitheist
2. I reject the notion that the US was or is a Christian Nation or founded on "judeoChristian values"
3. I am pro choice on abortion
4. I am pro gay marriage
5. I am pro legalization of marijuana

That's five off the top of my head that, as I understand the Tea Party movement, would make me rather unwelcome in their ranks.

I also wish Sarah Palin would go away, and they love her.

And no I wouldn't consider female teabaggers feminists. They're a strange bunch. I know a small portion of female Hillary Clinton supporters became supporters of Sarah Palin. That made no sense. Hillary is a screaming liberal compared to Caribou Barbie.

Yes, but Hillary Clinton is a Republican compared to Barak Obama. I can't tell you the number of people I have talked to who have expressed the following sentiment: "I never thought I'd say this....but, I wish Hillary Clinton was President." There is a large undercurrent of "what have we done?" sentiments bouncing around out here....

[RuleBritannia]

55% of tea partiers are women....

55% of people are women.

[Martok]

Yes, but Hillary Clinton is a Republican compared to Barak Obama. I can't tell you the number of people I have talked to who have expressed the following sentiment: "I never thought I'd say this....but, I wish Hillary Clinton was President." There is a large undercurrent of "what have we done?" sentiments bouncing around out here....

Hillary Clinton and Obama are virtually identical in political views. Any Clinton supporter who switched to supporting Palin did so for nefarious reasons. I knew 5 people who supported Hillary Clinton during the primary. But they all voted for Obama for president. All five were horrified at the possibility of Sarah Palin being that close to the presidency.

[traditionaldrummer]

55% of tea partiers are women.... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35094.html

The two major political parties have always been boys clubs for the most part. The party of less government (Libertarians) have unfortunately made such dismal choices over the past few decades that few people can take them seriously. Most people, including women, have little else in the way of choices.

[Trolldor]

Fifty-five percent of tea partiers need to get back to the kitchen.

[JimC]

Fifty-five percent of tea partiers need to get back to the kitchen.

You're not the messiah, you're a fucking naughty boy, though...

[virphen]

one hundred percent of tea partiers need to get back to the kitchen.

[Coito ergo sum]

55% of tea partiers are women....

55% of people are women.

Very true, well in the US 52% of the population is female, and 55% of the tea party movement is female. So, there is a small spread.

However, while 55% of the tea party group are female, only 21% of atheists are female and only 25% of agnostics are female.

[Coito ergo sum]

Yes, but Hillary Clinton is a Republican compared to Barak Obama. I can't tell you the number of people I have talked to who have expressed the following sentiment: "I never thought I'd say this....but, I wish Hillary Clinton was President." There is a large undercurrent of "what have we done?" sentiments bouncing around out here....

Hillary Clinton and Obama are virtually identical in political views.

Not really. Hillary Clinton was a supporter of the war in Iraq, and is far different on foreign policy than Obama. Obama was in favor of the boondoggle ethanol, and Clinton voted against it. When they were both Senators, Clinton supported a bill to expand oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, while Obama voted against it, Obama backed an increase in vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, which Clinton opposed. Clinton voted against the energy bill itself because it was stuffed with oil industry incentives. But Obama supported the legislation because it included language that would double ethanol demand by 2012. Obama twice voted to cut off TV Marti funding, while Clinton supported maintaining it (television broadcast targeted to Cuba from the US). Obama was one of eight senators to oppose a bill aimed at tightening lobbyist rules, which Clinton supported. Obama voted against returning FEMA to a cabinet level position and Clinton voted for it.

Any Clinton supporter who switched to supporting Palin did so for nefarious reasons.

I think that women support Palin quite often because she is a woman, and comes across as a confident person who shares some of the same attributes that many women in middle America share: mother, "hockey-mom", "common sense" and a gritty toughness combined with being viewed as attractive physically. Many women in middle America - Christian mothers on a budget who work hard - identify with her.

I think she lacks relevant education, is not particularly bright, and is not someone I would trust with foreign policy and as "Commander-in-Chief" of the armed forces, and she knows little, if anything, about economics or history, as far as I can see. I don't like her at all.

I knew 5 people who supported Hillary Clinton during the primary. But they all voted for Obama for president. All five were horrified at the possibility of Sarah Palin being that close to the presidency.

I know at least a dozen people who voted for Obama and who say some iteration of "what have we done?" To me, he's doing exactly what he promised he would do when he ran for President. So, I can't see how anyone could complain unless they weren't paying attention to what he said.

[Coito ergo sum]

55% of tea partiers are women.... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35094.html

The two major political parties have always been boys clubs for the most part. The party of less government (Libertarians) have unfortunately made such dismal choices over the past few decades that few people can take them seriously. Most people, including women, have little else in the way of choices.

The Libertarians have never been anything more than a very minor fringe party. They are generally about 2% of the vote.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

99% of statistics are made up.

[Martok]

Not really. Hillary Clinton was a supporter of the war in Iraq, and is far different on foreign policy than Obama. Obama was in favor of the boondoggle ethanol, and Clinton voted against it. When they were both Senators, Clinton supported a bill to expand oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, while Obama voted against it, Obama backed an increase in vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, which Clinton opposed. Clinton voted against the energy bill itself because it was stuffed with oil industry incentives. But Obama supported the legislation because it included language that would double ethanol demand by 2012. Obama twice voted to cut off TV Marti funding, while Clinton supported maintaining it (television broadcast targeted to Cuba from the US). Obama was one of eight senators to oppose a bill aimed at tightening lobbyist rules, which Clinton supported. Obama voted against returning FEMA to a cabinet level position and Clinton voted for it.

According to the Washington Post:

Of the eight senators pondering presidential runs, Clinton (N.Y.), who is completing her first Senate term, and Obama (Ill.), sworn in two years ago, have the briefest voting histories. The Senate has held 645 roll-call votes during their shared tenure, and more than 90 percent of the time the two senators stood with other Democrats. They opposed John G. Roberts Jr.'s nomination as chief justice, supported increased funding for embryonic stem cell research and backed the same nonbinding measure that urged President Bush to plan for a gradual troop withdrawal from Iraq.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01004.html

[colubridae]

55% of tea partiers are women....

55% of people are women.

Told you... it's a Sex-linked Segregation Distorter gene.