This is The Year of the Woman. Again. As it was in 2011. 2010. 2008. 2003. (Pew officially announced that 2004 just wasn’t one, 2005 got lost in the shuffle, and everyone seemed to tacitly agree that 2009 didn’t qualify.) But, as a result of Tuesday’s elections, 2012 does, even exceeding the Mother of All [...]
In his acceptance speech last Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama began by thanking every American who participated in his reelection, “whether you voted for the very first time, or waited in line for a very long time.” Then, after a brief pause, he thoughtfully noted, “By the way, we have to fix that.” Yes indeed. [...]
Before we start crowing, we have to point out that women still make up just 20 percent of the U.S. Senate. And that’s a really low number considering that women make up more than half the population and rank just 55th in political empowerment globally. But … women senate candidates had great results last night! [...]
UPDATE: HOW THE GENDER GAP PLAYED OUT IN THE SENATE CONTESTS Let’s face it: Women voters swung the election for Barack Obama yesterday. CNN exit polls show that 55 percent of women voted for Obama, 44 percent for Romney. Meanwhile, men voted 52 to 45 for Romney. On top of those figures, it was estimated [...]
On Tuesday, each of us will have the opportunity to take a stand about our rights. The War on Women is frighteningly real, and when you walk into the voting booth you’ll also be stepping to the front of the firing line. Here is a reminder of five of the key issues at stake for [...]
Despite recent headlines like “The Disappearing Gender Gap,” “Closing the Gender Gap,” and “Obama, Romney Erase Gender Gap Among Voters,” don’t be fooled: The gender gap–the measurable difference between the way women and men vote for candidates and view political issues–is not disappearing. To the contrary, it is driving the 2012 election. Nate Silver of [...]
A headline on the Los Angeles Times‘ front page yesterday read, “Young Voters Fire Has Waned.” And boy, did they have facts to back that up: Well, at least they had Luke DeGregori, a 19-year-old University of Colorado student who the author called “typical”–even though he wasn’t even old enough to vote in the last [...]
Much of the buzz around today’s presidential debate does not concern economic policy, foreign affairs or the War on Women. No, much of the hoopla centers on a third party: the debate moderator, CNN’s Candy Crowley. Debate moderators have been given particular attention this election season, and their performances have been rated as intently as [...]
Over the past several years, politicians have spent considerable time taking on the phantom threat of Sharia law. Legislators in more than a dozen states have attempted to capitalize on anti-Muslim hysteria by promoting laws that would prevent courts from applying the religious codes of Islam. As examples, Oklahoma Sen. Rex Duncan sponsored a proposal [...]
In the last week, federal courts have delivered major victories against voter-suppression legislation that seeks to disenfranchise millions of registered voters this November. A federal appeals court struck down a voter I.D. law in Texas last Thursday, ruling that it violated Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against minority voters. The three-judge [...]
