The Sisterhood of the Traveling Wet Naps
One of the most patronizing--while at the same time fascinating--stories by major news media about the Sarah Palin phenomenon was this gem in the New York Times, "They Raise Children, Pray and Support Palin."
While it's a classic in the "liberal media discover America genre," it's also quite telling: Mainstream media and Democratic feminist activists don't understand middle class America, particularly middle class American women.
Hilary Clinton spoke at the National Democratic Convention about her cadre of supporters, "the sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits." But she missed what's really been going the last few generations among middle class American women who haven't attended Ivy League schools and/or been members of the feminist movement.
Call it the sisterhood of the traveling wet naps.
Surely many Democratic women fit the "traveling wet naps" profile. However, what really galvanized the GOP crowd in St. Paul was that so many GOP women fit the profile. And many of these women are married to guys who get wet naps.
Consider the women serving in the Minnesota Legislature who rose through the GOP party activist ranks and got elected. After the 2006 election, there were nine Senators and eight Representatives. Of these, 14 of the 17 fit the Sarah Palin profile.
They are Sens. Michelle Fischbach (R-Paynesville), Debbie Johnson (R-Ham Lake), Amy Koch (R-Buffalo), Julianne Ortman (R-Chanhassen), Pat Pariseau (R-Farmington), Claire Robling (R-Jordan), Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont), and Betsy Wergin (R-Princeton); and, Reps. Laura Brod (R-New Prague), Sondra Erickson (R-Princeton), Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville), Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers), Connie Ruth (R-Owatonna) and Kathy Tingelstad (R-Andover).
These are women like Sarah Palin. Many have been in and out of the work force, list their professions as "homemaker" (Holberg), have had lots of children--and grandchildren (like Pariseau with six and 13, respectively), have been active in their churches (Erickson has been her church's organist for 36 years) and have hobbies comparable to hunting moose (Rosen enjoys rodeos and watching her bulls in the Professional Bull Riders Circuit). Some are also hockey moms who wear lipstick (Brod). All of them are pro-life (and some have strong family ties to the issue like Fischbach, whose mother, Darla St. Martin, was an early and national pro-life advocate and whose husband, Scott Fischbach, runs Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life).
What should give great pause to Democrats is that I'm betting that the 10-12 percent of Americans who are still undecided in the Presidential race, the wet nap carriers -- and their husbands -- probably greatly outnumber the pantsuit wearers.
Too bad former Badger GOP Rep. Maxine Penas retired several years ago. Not only did she teach the tough subjects (biology, chemistry and physics) for 31 years, she also raised three children... and she likes to ride motorcycles, ATVs plus she hunts deer and grouse. A Sarah Palin Republican! And your publisher is betting that Penas is a better shot than Palin...
While it's a classic in the "liberal media discover America genre," it's also quite telling: Mainstream media and Democratic feminist activists don't understand middle class America, particularly middle class American women.
Hilary Clinton spoke at the National Democratic Convention about her cadre of supporters, "the sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits." But she missed what's really been going the last few generations among middle class American women who haven't attended Ivy League schools and/or been members of the feminist movement.
Call it the sisterhood of the traveling wet naps.
Surely many Democratic women fit the "traveling wet naps" profile. However, what really galvanized the GOP crowd in St. Paul was that so many GOP women fit the profile. And many of these women are married to guys who get wet naps.
Consider the women serving in the Minnesota Legislature who rose through the GOP party activist ranks and got elected. After the 2006 election, there were nine Senators and eight Representatives. Of these, 14 of the 17 fit the Sarah Palin profile.
They are Sens. Michelle Fischbach (R-Paynesville), Debbie Johnson (R-Ham Lake), Amy Koch (R-Buffalo), Julianne Ortman (R-Chanhassen), Pat Pariseau (R-Farmington), Claire Robling (R-Jordan), Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont), and Betsy Wergin (R-Princeton); and, Reps. Laura Brod (R-New Prague), Sondra Erickson (R-Princeton), Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville), Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers), Connie Ruth (R-Owatonna) and Kathy Tingelstad (R-Andover).
These are women like Sarah Palin. Many have been in and out of the work force, list their professions as "homemaker" (Holberg), have had lots of children--and grandchildren (like Pariseau with six and 13, respectively), have been active in their churches (Erickson has been her church's organist for 36 years) and have hobbies comparable to hunting moose (Rosen enjoys rodeos and watching her bulls in the Professional Bull Riders Circuit). Some are also hockey moms who wear lipstick (Brod). All of them are pro-life (and some have strong family ties to the issue like Fischbach, whose mother, Darla St. Martin, was an early and national pro-life advocate and whose husband, Scott Fischbach, runs Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life).
What should give great pause to Democrats is that I'm betting that the 10-12 percent of Americans who are still undecided in the Presidential race, the wet nap carriers -- and their husbands -- probably greatly outnumber the pantsuit wearers.
Too bad former Badger GOP Rep. Maxine Penas retired several years ago. Not only did she teach the tough subjects (biology, chemistry and physics) for 31 years, she also raised three children... and she likes to ride motorcycles, ATVs plus she hunts deer and grouse. A Sarah Palin Republican! And your publisher is betting that Penas is a better shot than Palin...
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