Bush Got You Down?

Below the Belt: A Biweekly Column by NOW President Kim Gandy

September 13, 2006

Bush got you down? He's been in the news a lot lately, spreading cheerful misinformation with the help of his media allies. And his friends in Congress still roll over when he tosses them a bone. But there is change a-brewin' ...

In the coming weeks, we have the opportunity to make real change by increasing the number of feminists in our government. Granted, electing feminists to office won't obliterate misinformation, but it will bring us a few steps closer to, for example, making sure insurance covers our birth control and, at a larger level, ensuring that federal money for human needs programs isn't sacrificed for defense (or rather, offense) spending. Since the current Congress has been more invested in criminalizing an aunt or grandmother who might help a niece or granddaughter obtain an abortion in the next state, than they are in raising the minimum wage, we're hard-pressed to find a majority of elected officials who care about anyone's human needs, let alone women's.

As I said in my previous column about some Senate hopefuls, "it's been a tough few years, but finally prospects are looking positive for candidates who will promote a culture of respect and dignity and equality." In that vein, let's look at about some candidates who would be likely to legislate for our needs if elected to the House of Representatives.

Today's news carried the outcome of the race to fill the New York Congressional seat first held by the late Shirley Chisholm - and the winner, feminist Yvette Clark, is sure to carry Chisholm's mantle, not just occupy her seat.

And in other news today, Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords won the primary yesterday, and will take on far-right former state Rep. Randy Graf in Arizona's 8th Congressional district.

In Connecticut's 4th district and in Pennsylvania's 6th, two women are running a second time, building on the campaign organizations and name recognition they built two years ago: Diane Farrell and Lois Murphy. In 2004, Lois Murphy came within 6,400 votes of winning her election, and Diane Farrell lost with 48% to Rep. Chris Shays' 52%. Both Murphy and Farrell have come back in '06 with deeper pockets and the added advantage of widespread anti-incumbent sentiment.

Farrell, concluding her second term as selectwoman in Westport, CT, opposes the war and is keenly attuned to feminist issues; her opponent is scrambling to defend his recent change from "stay the course" to "it's time for an exit timetable" -- which seems a bit like an "election conversion." Murphy, a lawyer and long time reproductive rights advocate, faces incumbent Rep. Jim Gerlach who is no friend of women's rights. In both Murphy's and Farrell's districts, there's reason to hope that voters will favor progressive women as a welcome change from their conservative incumbents.

Moving west, there are two races in which progressive women are challenging conservative female incumbents. In New Mexico's 1st district, Attorney General Patricia Madrid is running against Rep. Heather Wilson, whose voting record shows her to be fiercely anti-women's rights and civil rights, as well as pro-war. Madrid, on the other hand, calls for a timeline for troop withdrawal from Iraq, and has shown herself to be environmentally and women's rights-friendly. As Attorney General, she founded the Endangered Species Act Work Group and created a Violence Against Women division, among other things. A recent poll has Wilson at 45% and Madrid at 42% with registered voters. While New Mexico's 1st district "leans Republican," according to the Washington Post, Madrid has a solid chance at ousting Bush's buddy, Heather Wilson.

In Ohio's 15th district, county commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy is giving Rep. Deborah Pryce a run for her money, and recent polls are showing them to be within three points of one another. Like the Madrid-Wilson race, Kilroy vs. Pryce is a competition pivoting around the war, with Kilroy advocating for an exit plan and Pryce against. Also similar, Pryce's voting record has been as right-wing as Wilson's, and Kilroy stands for a staunchly progressive platform, including increasing the minimum wage, increasing access to affordable healthcare, and facilitating stem cell research.

On both coasts we're following the races of two young pro-woman candidates -- Darcy Burner in Washington state's 8th district and Kirsten Gillibrand in New York's 20th. Both are under 40 -- the average age in the House of Representatives is 55 years old -- but their youth has not hindered them in the polls. Last week Gillibrand was coming up on her right-wing opponent, John Sweeney, with 39% of the vote to his 47%; in Washington, Burner is now leading Dave Reichert 49% to 46%.

Two more races of note are Tammy Duckworth in Illinois's 6th District and Patty Wetterling in Minnesota's 6th. Both of these progressive women are running for open seats, and both are aided by name recognition garnered by life-changing incidents: Duckworth lost both legs in Iraq as an Army helicopter pilot, and Wetterling's son was abducted in 1989 and never found, after which she became an outspoken advocate for children. Wetterling, who ran in 2004 as well, is battling right-wing state senator Michele Bachmann, who touts the fact that her fundraiser with George W. Bush raised over $500,000 for her campaign. In Illinois, Tammy Duckworth's opponent, state senator Peter Roskam, is also a Bush ally. Duckworth and Roskam have been neck in neck in the polls, but supporters of Duckworth are confident that her fame and her advocacy for an exit timeline in Iraq will bring success on election day.

These are just a few examples, and with so many of our rights on the line these days it's heartening to know that progressive women from coast to coast are well-equipped and driven to wrest some power from clueless right-wingers.

And every one of us should think about becoming that candidate we want to vote for. Like Maryland NOW president Duchy Trachtenberg, who just yesterday won her race for the County Council at-large, in the largest county in Maryland -- the size of a Congressional District. You can do it too! For more information about the 2006 races, visit and bookmark www.nowpacs.org/2006/.

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