Now, the GOP is filling its ranks with women, in part because they are symbols of outsiders. Is this what Palin has referred to as “an emerging, conservative, feminist agenda"? It may be a bit too early to discern trends. But there is no doubt that Palin’s success owned up new opportunities for women in the GOP. Whereas the party traditionally excluded women, it is now embracing females as symbols of an alternative to the male-dominated status quo in the capital. As the party’s base moves increasingly from its born-again roots, a unique brand of feminism seems to be emerging on the right.
Interestingly, this new breed of female Republicans don’t seem to be emphasizing women's issues. Fiscal conservatism—not gender—is the central issue in their campaigns. This seems to mark a new role for women in politics. Rather than leading with reproductive rights, female Republicans are emphasizing ideas. Or, as Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster, observed, “[T]he political establishment has been insulting women for decades by presuming that all women in politics are about is abortion, that we can't do the math, we don't understand tax policy." It turns out, she adds, that "we can do the math and girl talk 2010 is all about fiscal issues."
The implications are profound. The fact that women are pushing into the GOP mainstream suggests seismic shifts in the party as well as women’s roles at work and at home. Clearly, the GOP is now as comfortable as the Democrats with the idea of women in high office. Not only could an increase in female representatives add kick to the Republican Party by disassociating it with its image as an old (Southern, white) boys club, but it could send a powerful message of diversity that could be crucial to capturing independent voters in several fall midterm races.
It may be early to predict a large scale exodus among women from the Democratic Party. But even a small shift in party loyalty could change the outcome of the next election. In the last presidential election, President Obama won the votes of 56% of women and 48% of men. If there is a seismic shift taking place among women voters and 10% of the independent and Democratic woman vote for Republican senate and congressional candidates, there could easily be a major change in the control of congress. If that shift continues through the 2012 election, it could even result in a roll back of some of the liberal social welfare policies of this administration and congress.
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