American Maggie

Women engaged in the realm of public policy and politics are often be inundated with questions or information related to “women’s issues.”

I have received a number of questionnaires from various political organizations over the years. I opened one the other day and was surprised to see, that by the very questions asked, women were set back years — no decades — by what was inside.

In supposed support of women, this self described women’s group showed their true colors with their single-minded focus on a left-leaning social agenda rather than the real advancement of a diverse thinking set of women candidates across the political spectrum. For example, in their so-called promotion of “women’s issues,” questions related to abortion rights, gay marriage, and expansion of subsidized government programs made up the bulk of the Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire for the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC). These issues are clearly their litmus test to whether you are a candidate who “supports women.” We all have strong opinions on these issues, but by using those three issues as the standard bearer for what constitutes “women’s issues”, this group and groups like them have done a tremendous disservice to the same people that they are supposedly trying to help.

Through their limited focus, these groups trivialize women and their significant role in getting things done in the public sphere through what I call a Cindy-Lou Who approach to dealing with women in politics. Remember when Cindy-Lou Who woke up while the Grinch was stealing her Christmas tree in the “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas?” In that story, after telling the young child a fib about taking the tree away to be fixed, the Grinch takes his large, bony hands and pats Cindy-Lou Who on the head, gives her a drink of water, and sends her back to bed.

That is what these so-called women’s groups, these self proclaimed gatekeepers of what constitutes women’s issues, are doing to women. They are essentially patting us on the head and telling us to trust them and their motives— because it is they who know the issues that define what it means to support women. Through their distinct political agenda, these groups insinuate that while women’s viewpoints are important for a certain defined group of issues, they are really not necessary for other critical issues of the day. This quiet sexism is brought to you directly from the people trying to sell the idea that they are the arbiter of which candidates support do or do not support women.

Unfortunately, these women’s groups do not seem to understand that almost 50% of jobs in our country are held by women and 40% of families say that the major earner in their household are female. Clearly, what constitutes “women’s issues” has changed.

Women are concerned with issues across the spectrum: how we can get our economy back on track, how we can educate our kids to have their best opportunity to succeed, how we can reform our healthcare system to ensure families have affordable healthcare which they control, how we can help those in need with a safety net as opposed to a safety web which ensnares them into further dependence, how we can ensure safety and security in our communities and our country; how we can make sure government is not making empty promises which will overburden future generations, and the list goes on and on.

Where were the ideas of economic freedom and economic opportunity on the agenda for the National Women’s Political Caucus in their political candidate questionnaire? Where were the questions about challenges that women business owners face in small business start-ups which are the mainstay of Main Streets throughout the country? Where were the questions of supporting our women in uniform who are protecting our freedom’s every day?

When women’s groups try to put “women’s issues” in a neat little glass box tied up with a bright pink bow that promotes the political agenda of the left rather than focusing on solving the real problems our country are facing, they are missing the point and missing a real opportunity for women to have a positive impact on moving our economy, our policies, and our political debates forward.

We owe to the women, and men, of this country a broader view of what constitutes women’s issues. Women’s issues are everyone’s issues. Everyone’s issues are women’s issues. It’s about time that these so-called women’s groups advance their thinking toward a new understanding of what issues women care about.

It is the perfect time for conservative women to challenge the premise of the past view of women’s issues and set the record straight for the so-called “women’s groups” out there. We need to break out of the box that the left has tried to put women in and break into a better understanding that women’s issues cannot be separated out. Conservative women, have a real and special opportunity in today’s political environment to change the debate and cut through the hum of the same ‘ol message and the same ‘ol messengers. It is time for us to put an end to the idea that left leaning groups corner the market on women’s issues or women candidates. It is up to us to bring forward good ideas, good solutions, good candidates, and good messages to show very clearly that women can be, should be, and are engaged in discussions and debate on a broad spectrum of issues—not just those the so-called “women’s groups” have defined for us.

Rather than being confined to a set group of litmus test “women’s issues” by interest groups with a specific political and social agenda, the real opportunity for women candidates across the political spectrum is our ability to reach out to persuade voters by speaking on important and relevant issues with a unique solution-oriented perspective and communication style which add tremendous value and differentiation to the various debates throughout the country.

That real potential for women engaged in ALL issues will have a positive impact on our state and our country in ways our grandmothers and all the women who walked before us only imagined possible.

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Laura Brod is a State Representative in Minnesota where she serves as ranking Minority member of the Tax Committee, and is a member of the Health Care Policy and Finance Committees, and the General Finance Committee.