Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
So we all know that single American women have embraced the dependency dream of Julia and have been persuaded that big government is the key to happiness. It wasn't even close -- or as the New York Times drilled down on Obama's 11-point margin of victory with women:
This election, women were 10 points more likely to support Mr. Obama than men were; four years ago women were 7 points more inclined to vote for him. But in this cycle an even starker imbalance — the marriage gap — eclipsed gender. Unmarried women went for Mr. Obama by 23 points over married women, up from 18 points in 2008.
On January 16, I'll be joining some of my favorite writers and thinkers as we discuss how to show women the strengths of limited government and economic liberty.
The panel will include Sabrina Schaeffer -- executive director of the Independent Women’s Forum & co-author of the new Liberty Is No War on Women, Veronique de Rugy -- senior research director at Mercatus Center and expert on taxation and budget issues, and Karlyn Bowman -- senior fellow and public opinion and polling analyst at the American Enterprise Institute.
First off, you're all invited to attend the event in Washington, D.C. Here are the details:
Date: January 16 ** Wine & Cheese Reception 5:30 ** Panel Begins 6:00pm
Location: 1706 New Hampshire Avenue NW ** Second Floor
RSVP to events@iwf.org
I have my own thoughts on what I'll be saying on January 16 but I'm curious is there are any really good points you think should be shared.
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Mar '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
You could start by changing the "Wine & Cheese Reception" to "Whiskey and Cigar Reception". No great idea was ever fostered by sitting in a lonely room with a glass of chardonnay. (Trying to inject some levity)
Mar '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.:
On January 16, I'll be joining some of my favorite writers and thinkers as we discuss how to show women the strengths of limited government and economic liberty.
Easy: get them married.
Marriage and Motherhood cause a sea change in the worldviews of single women, at least single white women, anyway. I know several women that were pro-abortion ( I won't give it the dignity it doesn't deserve by calling it "pro-choice"), got married, had kids, and then wonder of wonders, became pro-life. THAT's what's increasingly missing from the perspective of young American women: the reality of being wives and of motherhood, and of the awesome joys and responsibilities it brings. And single motherhood is no substitute, as without a husband, it's seen as a "lifestyle choice", especially with Uncle Sam paying the bills.
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
(And don't worry, I've scrapped my original draft about retreating to Texas, going off the grid and stockpiling dried goods.)
Jul '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Where is 1706 New Hampshire Avenue NW, second floor?
Mar '12
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Mollie--is there any chance this will be recorded or livestreamed? I'm working with a batch of young conservative women who are thinking of starting a women's magazine, and we're right now in the brainstorming stage so this would be a great jump for us intellectually.
Lately I have been thinking that perhaps many of our social problems are women's faults. We were the ones who okayed sex before marriage (hello illegitimate children, welfare mentality, government as Sugar Daddy, emasculated men) and still keep wanting to be men with different body parts. It's Eve's curse.
Jan '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Is this going to be a podcast? Can we call in. I'm in Kansas with no tornadoes on the horizon.
Sep '10
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
I was looking at a local ad supported magazine that somebody left in our office and it showed the "big" event of 2012 in Richmond. One that they devoted substantial photography to was some sort of abortion rally at the state capital that was, I think in hindsight, designed expressly to energize that segment who care about these things. I paid no attention while it was going on but there is no doubt in my mind now that these events were manufactured by the left using social media to energize the base and get them to turn out for the big leftist event in November. It also got their minds off the "real" issue which was the economy and our fiscal profligacy.
Aug '10
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Since I have a y-chromosome, I really have no right to comment, but of course I'm not gonna let that stop me. ;-)
Methinks a big problem is that "single" is too often seen as a synonym for "independent", when that is clearly not automatically the case.
This is something that conservative culture-warriors need to stamp out.
A single person who relies on government largesse for their survival is no more "independent" than a monk, nun, soldier, or convict. All these people are dependent on the institutions they serve.
The other problem is that "married" is too often seen as a synonym for "dependent", when that too is clearly not automatically the case.
A married couple where each member contibutes to the partnership in their own way is "interdependent", in the same way a business partnership (entered into freely and voluntarily) is "interdependent". Marriage/partnership is therefore a strategy for protecting one's independence by pooling one's resources with another like-minded individual.
That is not to say that marriage is a necessity for all people, just as partnership isn't a necessity for all business. Some can succeed as a sole proprietorship (but not many).
Jan '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Not a gotcha question here: What's the difference between...
What is it about "showing women" that changes the discussion? Will you speak differently to women ... as women ... about that topic than if it was intended to be a general participation audience?
Note: I have no objection to the notion that women speak differently to women; but I'm interested to hear how a woman would describe the difference. (Now there's a conversation that could come in handy ... )
Jul '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
@Mollie - I may crash your party :-D
Apr '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Mollie, the problem should be framed more broadly. Read this study.
Women's suffrage introduced a permanent leftward tilt in American politics, before the welfare state.
Women's dependency on government is a symptom not a cause. In your discussion, beware the fallacy of confusing cause and effect.
May '10
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
So what are you saying Jeff...repeal the 19th Amendment?
Feb '12
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Single women have given away the store, sleeping and living with men who have no intention of ever 'doing the right thing'. But isn't there something innate in these darlings that would much rather not end up in their 30's alone, childless, and sagging? Talk to anyone in your office and see if it isn't true. That is, if you can get the 20-something to look beyond Wednesday night happy hour. So, has the current occupant of the WH become The Man? The Leader? The Myth? The One who will 'do the right thing' for them?
Jul '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
@Mollie - Any recommendations on places to stay?
Apr '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Stupid.
May '10
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
The support of Obama by single women is an emotional choice, so I don't know how far you'll get being reasonable. These women are angry with men for passing them over and angry with themselves for passing up the chance at marriage in their 20's. As these women get older they are competing with younger women, a constant reminder of their guilt and failure. This isn't a support for Obama - a beta male in his own right, but a vote against men. But not just any men, the masculine, the take-charge men, the soldiers, the cowboys, the captains of industry - the alphas. These women want to suppress and silence them. They see the alphas as the problem, not their terrible choices. Men have been unfair and brutal and only a progressive gov't can stop them and put things right. The Obama White House is full of sniveling, spineless weasels who have convinced single women that their irrational thinking is justified.
Nov '10
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Figured I might as well delete the whole comment. Data much more complicated than I had originally thought.
Edited on January 9, 2013 at 4:24amNov '10
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
I think that the women I know, like young voters, tend to vote on "moral" grounds. They get conned by the Democratic appeals to "compassion," and unless they have deep roots in theology, they tend to be outraged by bad things, feel that something ought always to be done about all evil in the world, and assume that government intervention will somehow make bad things better. In other words, Thomas Sowell's "constrained" vision is alien to them.
As to how you break that, I don't know. I do think Arthur Brooks does the best job of stating why it is necessary for us to start making the moral case for our views.
My thought for a long time is that you need to go out and "rebrand" Republicanism now--between elections, while people are no longer numb to political advertising. And the best way I have thought of to do it is to buy airtime and let lots of our young, minority, and female Republicans (we have some great ones, think Mia Love, Artur Davis) tell us more about the moral case for conservatism.
Jan '12
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
Oh please, please have a drumming circle for those poor misguided men (they are legion) who voted again for Kim Jung O. I'm sick of hearing about how we dames cost you the election! Tour my office with gun and camera, where men with hard science degrees who make their livings analyzing cold hard facts get all soft and gooey just thinking about Barack. Young and old, they all have Dear Leader Fever.
Mar '11
Re: Women in the Wilderness ... and You're Invited!
I had an old history prof back in school that, when discussing early 20th century American history, remarked that women getting the vote was the worst thing to happen to the country. There were some giggles and snorts until they realized he was serious.