To say it has been an interesting week for women in politics is an understatement. Dare I say that Sarah Palin has lit a figurative fire under GOP women to run for office.  Now normally I don’t delve into political discussion, but former Governor Palin has inspired women to get involved ever since her very high profile and ultra controversial run at the VP seat. Any time women get involved in any industry in mass numbers is a good thing in my book.  While I consider myself in the middle (politically speaking of course), I tend to get a nervous when there’s a groundswell of support in one side or the other. But the number of women siding with the GOP makes me a little nervous….especially if they have the same convictions and ideologies as Sarah Palin.

We can choose to look at this ‘phenomenon’ in a good or bad light. The good side to this is that perhaps now with women seeking to gain control of the faltering GOP, perhaps there is room for some New Girl politics. Since the men of the GOP have done such a good job in decimating (or should that be disgracing?) their party, I know people are ready for change.  People are tired of seeing the status quo (older, white men) in positions of political power. But you could say that goes for both parties.

Here’s the bad side to this. I have publicly stated on many occasions that while I admire her guts, I do not support Sarah Palin, her ideas or values. In the short time she was unleashed upon us, she managed to stir up the ugly side of America. That’s dangerous. Through her, people felt that sexism, racism and other isms were OK to bring out and unleash on the country. Let’s not even get into the likes of Rush, Hannity, Coulter, et al. Fuel to the fire…and I’ll leave it there.  But it leads me to question if this new breed of GOP women will think, speak and act as she did. Will they stir up the hate and prejudice? Will they work to pull us into the dark ages? Will they cry “sexism” when people don’t agree with them? Will they play the mom/girl/weaker sex card like Palin tried and Hilary did when she saw she was losing? I hope not. But if they do, that spells trouble.

I believe that it is a time for new leadership and diverse representation. But the curious pessimist in me questions if all of these women are for real or are they plants? We need not look no further than the Alvin Green debacle currently going on. It has GOP finger prints all over it. Carly Fiorina was despised for running HP into the ground. People had al but written her off. Now she’s popular in the polls? No disrespect to Carly. I’m glad she has reinvented herself and hope she would be open to sitting down with us to chat. But it just makes me wonder about the mindset and motives. Where are the women of color in the GOP? But maybe they are OK with just the little dash of controlled color for the party that is Michael Steele. Hey, I know other people are thinking it. But  I’m willing to give these ladies the benefit of the doubt until I’m proven wrong. I think the Democratic party needs to follow suit and stop riding the Hilary train, and encourage more women (of substance) to run too. What an interesting series of races we’ll have with a majority of women on the tickets!

Numbers (Polls) Don’t Lie

Let’s look at how the numbers are unfolding. According to Debbie Walsh, Director of the Center for American Woman and Politics at Rutgers University, this year, 201 GOP women are running for the US Senate, US House, and statewide offices, which is more than in any other year. Of that group, 140 Republican women have filed to run for the US House and Senate, almost twice the number who ran in 2008 and well over the 102 who sought those offices in 1994, the previous record. Primary wins this past Tuesday by GOP Senate candidates Carly Fiorina (former disgraced CEO of HP) in California and Sharron Angle in Nevada as well as strong gubernatorial showings by Meg Whitman in California and Nikki Haley in South Carolina help drive the point home that there is a new profile of the Grand Ol’ Party. World Wrestling Entertainment COO Linda McMahon, who is expected to get the Senate nomination in Connecticut this coming August and Jane Norton (who is in a battle for the Senate nomination in Colorado) shows further proof that cannot be denied. Women are stepping up and cleaning house (figuratively speaking of course). We (women) have had enough!

Why now? Why So Many?

It is widely reported that the Tea Party movements coupled with Palin’s run have given women of the Republican Party the fire they needed to take a stand. And letus not forget we still don’t know exactly what former Governor Palin has up her sleeve. She has shown that despite the media and trash talking bloggers, that a woman can raise a family and serve in public office. I believe having a specialneeds child on top of that gave that silent approval that women needed to step into public service.

There was a time when the Democratic Party lead the way with the highest number of women service in office. The landscape is changing. Democrats have 225 women candidates running for office this year compared to the Republican Party’s 201 candidates. It’s close. The successes and achievements of women in politics slightly mirrors the trends in other industries. As women make more landmark achievements in the business world, it will affect the representation in politics. Will this change the numbers in November? Perhaps. But we certainly need to continue to pay close attention to the elections this year.

So what are your thoughts? Are the increased numbers of women in the GOP a sign of the changing times or is it a GOP trick? And what does this mean to you? Will we see an increase in the number of women on the Democratic tickets? Can women change the world or politics? We’d love to get your feedback.

Photograph: Sarah Palin by flickr member lakelandlocal2.