Copyright © 1998 Henrietta W. Hay
The Madame President Pipeline
October 16, 1998
Madame President! Wow! For some time I have been saying, only partly
in jest, that I intend to live until we elect a woman to be President of
the United States. I figured that would give me time to get a lot of
stuff done and outlive Grandma Moses. But now, with the political pot
boiling over with the Lewinsky scandal, I think I had better start
watching my diet more closely. The day for women in politics may be
getting closer.
Congress seems determined to extend impeachment proceedings into the
next millennium, and the good old boys are beginning to look around for
a few good women to run for national office. Even Bob Dole predicts
the election of a woman president or vice-president "very soon." Of
course, he has a favorite candidate in mind.
We've got to get more women in there to do the work of the Republic
while the guys play their political games. A newly formed, privately
financed group called the White House Project wants to help create a
climate where a woman could run for president by 2008. Colorado is
one of 12 states that have been targeted in a campaign to recognize and
identify women to run for public office. It is setting up an office in
Denver and planing to distribute 70,000 ballots with the names of 20
women considered to have the competence and experience to run for
president.
The list is non-partisan and consists of women with a broad range of
backgrounds and experience. If the time ever comes when I have to
decide between a male democrat and a female republican candidate for
president, I am going to suffer. But
there are several on this list that would make me think a long
time. Two strong, able republicans are Olympia Snowe of Maine and
Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey. Democrats Diane Feinstein of
California or Mary Landrieu of Louisiana would have my enthusiastic
support. On the other hand, there are several of the twenty that I
would not vote for under any circumstances. Phyllis Schlafly is not on
the list.
Ballots have been printed in several magazines and are being mailed.
The easiest way to cast your vote for the four or five women you think
have good presidential qualifications is online at
www.thewhitehouseproject.org
Come on, gals, think about 2008, or even 2004. We have to get more
women into the national pipeline. We need more women getting political
experience and recognition. There have been 1,843 people elected to the
United States Senate since the beginning of our country. Twenty-five of
them have been women, and 9 are serving right now. So the political
experience pool is -- to put it mildly -- very small. We need not only
more congresswomen, but more female governors, mayors, commissioners,
school board members.
Here in Colorado we have a wonderful opportunity this year to do just
that. With Gail Schoettler and Dottie Lamm running for governor and
senator, we can send a great message to the good old boys and put two
more able women into the national pipeline.
It is essential to get women interested in the political process -- all
women. After all, we are 51% of the population. We must make our
voices heard. 1994 was the Year of the Woman when women came out and
voted in greater numbers than ever before, and elected a total of 57
women to Congress. But there is danger this year that women have
become disenchanted with everything in Washington and will sit out the
election.
It is hard for me to see why anybody, male or female, would want to be
president. But our system of government says we need one, and there is
certainly no shortage of people fighting for it. It won't be easy for a
woman to fight sexism and patriarchy, but one recent poll says that 76%
of Americans said that they would vote for a female president.
Madame President. You are out there in the pipeline somewhere.