It’s always tough to see a woman leave politics, even if she isn’t the advocate many of us would choose. Sarah Palin’s resignation brings the number of women governors down to six out of fifty, poor representation of 51% of the population. Women fare just slighly better in congress, representing roughly 17% of seats in both the House and Senate.
Palin’s resignation speech was strange and rambling, but the worst part from my perspective was her use of family to justify what is clearly a political decision. Palin positioned her children as “the boss,” saying that she wasn’t sure that her kids would allow her to waste millions of dollars and lots of time by continuing to hold the title of governor (not a ringing endorsement of her own leadership). She talked about “polling her children” to come to this decision, and acts as though she is taking their lead.
We know that Palin, or at least her advisors in the GOP, are too savvy to let five kids under 21 dictate her career. But to appear more focused on family values rather than personal ambition, Palin uses the kids to frame the issue. This reflects terribly on women in politics, and indeed on working women in general. What message does this narrative of children telling their mother what to do with her career send? That even women who are governors are subordinate to their children?
Mary Matalin has called Palin’s resignation a “brilliant” move, and I suppose that Republican political strtegists like Matalin have to put a positive spin on this. On the other hand, political strategies that subvert women’s empowerment will not benefit the GOP in the long-run. Reihan Salam, author of Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream, points out in a recent Forbes column that social conservatism, and particularly the pro-life movement, has been hurt by a dearth of women in leadership positions. He writes that:
Palin promised to represent a down-home feminism, one that Red America could embrace, while making the pro-life case through the power of her example, and not a hectoring, sectarian tone.
Salam goes on to talk about how Palin failed to live up to the feminist promise, and I would argue that her resignation is just another example of this failure. As more and more women enter the workforce by desire or necessity, Republicans and Democrats will have to find ways of representing the diversity of women’s views in thoughful and respectful ways. Once again, Sarah Palin has shown that she isn’t the right politician to do this for the GOP.
Related links:
- Vanity Fair’s recent profile of Sarah Palin, which reminds us that she kept her fifth pregnancy secret for seven months — another great example for working women.
- Claire Shipman writes about why Sarah Palin’s resignation is not kid-friendly.
- Sophia Nelson at The Huffington Post offers Sarah Palin advice on running for President in 2012.
- An odd remark by CNN’s Rick Sanchez hypothesizing that Sarah Palin is resigning because she is pregnant.
