View From The Hill
By Sandra Hagen Solin
“Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don’t think so,” exclaimed ElastiGirl (from the Disney movie, The Incredibles) in reaction to a reporter’s question.
Women are superheroes. We are the catalysts for change and for seeing to the important details of our lives. Whether in our homes, in our schools or in our communities, women individually and collectively take up a cause and make things happen.
From creating equality for women through the women’s suffrage movement and the Equal Rights Amendment; to insisting upon much needed attention to the devastation of breast cancer; to persisting in the protection of families through the Family and Medical Leave Act, women know how to move people and influence outcomes.
Women have tremendous political superpowers, powers that emanate both from our individual fortitude and our collective presence. Women have voted in greater numbers than men for almost three decades. In 2008, 65.7 percent of women and 61.5 percent of men voted. That’s 70.4 million women and 60.7 million men – a difference of 9.7 million women.
In the past several presidential election cycles, the women’s vote was the determining factor in the election. It is well documented that married women (although they might deny it today) put President George W. Bush back into the White House in 2004.
Most recently, the hard-fought candidacy of Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination and Senator John McCain’s selection of Governor Sarah Palin as the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket have put new cultural and ideological elements more fully into play.
Women make a huge impact on the outcomes of elections and we have the potential to make an even bigger impact on the outcomes of public policy debates. As evidenced by the diversity of interest by women in the campaign of Hillary Clinton or the diversity of women’s reactions to the naming of Sarah Palin as McCain’s Vice Presidential nominee, women don’t fit neatly into one category in the political arena.
We are conservatives, liberals and progressives; rural, urban and suburban; stay-at-home moms, working moms, childless by choice or by chance; married and single; young, middle-aged, and old; soccer moms and security moms.
As we take care of the day-to-day details of our lives and families, public policy makers are making decisions that greatly affect our lives, families, finances, health and our futures. It’s clear that, collectively, women make a difference in the world around us. Individually, we also have the power to make a difference by influencing the decisions of those who affect our lives through public policy.
In this column, I will provide information and conversations meant to empower you, as an individual, to influence decisions in the public policy arena.
Through an unbiased, non-partisan discussion of key issues affecting women and their families, from health care and the economy to family and children’s issues, you will possess the knowledge not only to convey your opinion on issues of importance to you but also to take action when you see an opportunity to effect change.
Along with these conversations will come a better understanding of the public policy process and the many ways women can use their power to affect the results of that process. Armed with the super power of knowledge, women can take action and save the world. In the coming months, I hope to provide you with many of the super powers you need to save the world in your own way.
Editor's Note: Sandra Hagen Solin Founder and President/CEO of Capitol Solutions, a Colorado-based government affairs and lobbying firm representing business clients at the local, state and federal levels.