As a Conservative woman I am tired of hearing “how can you
be a Republican? They want women back in the kitchen, having babies, and
earning less. You can’t be a real woman and be a conservative.” Really? This
former liberal still has her V-card. I am a wife, a mother and a grandmother. I
am also an intelligent, educated, self-thinker that ran for public office in
the 80’s. I am a writer of historical based fiction, I was a citizen journalist
for three years and I have been in the work force since I was fifteen. I not
only believe but know I can be a
tough woman and a Republican at the same time.
The War on Women is an expression to describe certain
Republican Party policies and legislation to restrict women’s rights –
especially women’s reproductive rights. Let’s break it down and see what the
Republican party really thinks about these issues.
The War on Women is REALLY
liberal agenda to scare women into voting for the left. “When in doubt raise
fear.”
Birth Control
1.
The Left would have you believe that the GOP is
against all birth control and its distribution thereof. WRONG! The GOP stance
is that birth control be made readily available as OTC (over the counter), as
recommended by a physician, in places of employment, on campuses, etc. It
however draws the line that the institution MUST provide birth control when unnecessary (retirement homes) and
places run by religious affiliates that are against the product (see the current
Little Sisters of the Poor lawsuit where a convent is being forced to offer and
pay for birth control.
2.
The Right does draw a line at abortion as a
means of birth control. Difficult to prove in most cases so almost irrelevant.
3.
No one is going to lose their birth control if
an elephant walks into a White House room. The states would have regulated
birth control based on their constituents wants and needs, but thanks to Obama
Care or okay…ACA (Affordable Care Act) the federal government is in charge of
regulation and distribution.
4.
So fear not lefties – you will get your condoms,
pills, creams and devises and no evil Republican will sit by your bed and tell
you “NO! You must procreate!”
Abortion
1.
You think you have won here don’t you? That all
Republicans are against abortion in all cases – you would be WRONG.
2.
The Republican platform is strong in its case
against abortion. The following is from the 2012 Republican Platform: Faithful
to the "self-evident" truths enshrined in the Declaration of
Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn
child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We
support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to
make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn
children. We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or
fund organizations which perform or advocate it and will not fund or subsidize
health care which includes abortion coverage.”
So yes the Right would rather the mother seek
alternative solutions such as adoption. The Right also does not promote using
federal funds to institutions that provide abortions such as Planned
Parenthood. This was the platform in 2012. The Right is however, swinging to
the left a bit.
a.
Abortion is a choice in the case of rape,
incest, health of the mother or the child.
b.
Abortion is an option in the first trimester if
other options are not viable
c.
Late term abortions are not acceptable.
3.
So if you want or need an abortion in the first
trimester – the Republican Party is not going to barge in the procedure room
with rifles yelling “Halt! In the name of the GOP we hereby see your actions as
a sin or as against the Constitution.” It isn’t going to happen so relax.
History and Republican Women: Republican Women Who Made a Difference in
Politics
1.
1924: Cora Belle Reynolds Anderson (R) was
elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives, the first Native
American woman in a state legislature.
2.
1924: Bertha K. Landes, Republican city council
president at the time, became acting mayor of Seattle, the first woman to lead
a major American city. Two years later she was elected mayor in her own right
in a campaign run by women. She lost in her bid for a second full term.
3.
1925: Representative Mae Ella Nolan (R-CA)
became the first woman to chair a congressional committee when, during the 68th
Congress, she chaired the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office
Department.
4.
1929: With her appointment to the West Virginia
State House of Representatives, Minnie Buckingham Harper (R) became the first
African American woman in a state legislature.
5.
1930: Two Latinas, Fedelina Lucero Gallegos (R)
and Porfirria Hidalgo Saiz (D), were elected to the New Mexico House of
Representatives, the first Latina state legislators.
6.
1933: Minnie Davenport Craig (R-ND) became the
first woman to hold the position of speaker of the House in a state
legislature.
7.
1955: Consuelo Bailey, a Vermont Republican,
became the first woman ever elected lieutenant governor of a state. In that
role, she served as president of the state Senate. Since, she had previously
served as speaker of the state House of Representatives; she thus became the
only woman in the country ever to preside over both chambers of a state
legislature.
8.
1964: Senator Margaret Chase Smith, a Maine
Republican, was nominated for the presidency by Vermont Senator George Aiken at
the Republican national convention. Smith had campaigned briefly for the post,
limiting herself to periods when the Senate was not in session. Elected to the
House of Representatives in 1940 (to replace her dying husband) and the Senate
in 1948, Smith had already made history by becoming the first woman to serve in
both houses of Congress.
9.
1978: Nancy Landon Kassebaum, a Kansas
Republican, was elected to the United States Senate. Prior to her election, all
of the women who served in the Senate had succeeded their husbands in Congress
or had first been appointed to fill out unexpired terms.
10.
1981: Sandra Day O'Connor, a former Republican
state legislator from Arizona who had served on a state appeals court, was
appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the first woman ever to sit on the U.S.
Supreme Court.
11.
1983: Vesta Roy, a Republican from New
Hampshire, became the first woman to hold the position of president of a state
senate (1983-1986).
12.
1984: Arlene Violet (R-RI), a former nun, became
the first woman elected as a state's attorney general, serving from 1985-87.
13.
1984: Congresswoman Lynn Morley Martin (R-IL) is
elected to the first of two terms as vice chair of the Republican Conference in
the House, the first time a woman held an elected position in the congressional
party's hierarchy.
14.
1987: Kay Orr, a Republican from Nebraska, was
the first Republican woman elected governor of a state, as well as the first
woman to defeat another woman in a gubernatorial race.
15.
1989: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican,
became the first Hispanic woman and first Cuban American to be elected to
Congress. She was elected in August 1989 in a special election and continues to
serve.
16.
1993: Representative Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT)
became the first woman to hold the position of secretary in the House
Republican Conference during the 103rd Congress (1993-1995).
17.
1995: Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-KS)
became the first woman to chair a major Senate committee, the Committee on
Labor and Human Resources.
18.
2001: Condoleezza Rice became the first woman to
hold the post of National Security Advisor (formally known as Assistant to the
President for National Security Affairs) when she was appointed by President
George W. Bush.
19.
2001: Elaine Chao became the first
Asian-American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet when she was appointed
Secretary of Labor by President George W.Bush.
20.
2001: Gale Norton became the first woman to
serve as Secretary of the Interior, appointed by President George W. Bush.
Norton was the first woman elected as Colorado's Attorney General and served
that position for two terms.
21.
2001: Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey
became the first female former governor to serve in a presidential
cabinet-level position when she was appointed administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency by President Bush. She had been the first woman
elected governor in New Jersey and served two terms in that position.
22.
2001: Senator
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) became the first woman to hold the position of
vice-chair of the Senate Republican Conference during the 107th Congress
(2001-2003).
23.
2003: Arizona became the first state where a
woman governor succeeded another woman governor. Jane Dee Hull (R) was
succeeded by Janet Napolitano (D).
24.
2005: Dr. Condoleezza Rice became the first
Republican woman and the first African American woman to serve as U.S.
Secretary of State.
25.
2008: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, selected by
Senator John McCain as his vice presidential running mate, became the first
woman on a national GOP ticket.
26.
2011: Two women of color, both Republicans
elected in November 2010, took office as governors, the first women chief
executives in any states. Susana Martinez, a Latina, became governor of New
Mexico, and Nikki Haley, an Asian American, became governor of South Carolina.
27.
2015: Mia Love (R-UT) became the first black
Republican woman in Congress.
Don’t ever be ashamed of being a
Conservative woman. The above examples prove that you can be both a Republican
and a female and make enormous contributions to society.
There is no reason to turn woman
against woman. We all seek the same things: freedom, liberty, equality,
justice, education, rights over our bodies, healthcare and a voice.
Questions I have been asked as a
Conservative woman is “how can you do that? Don’t you want a woman in the White
House? (I thought Carly Fiorina was a woman). Don’t you want control over your
body? (No one has broken into my house demanding to control my lady parts) Don’t
you think the Republicans are anti-woman? (No! Apparently the women discussed
above don’t either.)
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