Do Republicans breed more prominent women politicians?

[Jacobtm]

Clinton, the best known and most important female Democrat, got to where she is because of her Husband.

Palin, Bachmann and Haley are all self-made, and certainly do a better job grabbing the headlines than any female Democrats.

It seems that Republicans do a better job at bringing up female politicians who're real attention grabbers, and don't need to weasel their way into the public's eye through their husbands' accomplishments. Even though Democrats have a higher percentage of women serving, Republicans have real high-impact women on their roster.

Why do Democratic women seem to take the back seat more than the few Republican women?

[Cincinnatus]

Are we forgetting Pelosi, Boxer, and the likes?  The democrats have woman in a position of power.  The main difference is that Bachmann and Palin successfully grasped onto an activist group in order to gain more notoriety.  Of course, Palin's sole reason for fame is because of a man, McCain.  Arguably, without Palin, Bachmann may have been less of a force.

I'd say we got stuck with the fringe elements from our well-known females.  Even though they have more "star-power", they've tarnished their image in order to obtain it.  I for example, turn the channel on the T.V. anytime I hear Palin speak.  I find her insufferably annoying, especially with that god-awful voice to boot.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

No; we have Pelosi, Feinstein, Boxer, Gillibrand, Murray, and Wasserman-Schultz. GOP women end up being more popular because several of them (Palin, Haley, O'Donnell) have the perfect combination of being young, attractive, and above all crazy.

[Jacobtm]

Boxer has no where near the ''star power'' of Haley. Probably because one is an old lady.

Pelosi is a good counter-example.

Maybe it just comes down to promoting younger, better looking female candidates.

Hell, the Democrats proved the charm that a young, good looking male candidate can have.

[memphis]

The GOP plenty of females who are shrill attention whores. Their Senators are pretty well behaved though, especially the Maine tiwns. Boxer and Pelosi were both born in 1940, so I don't know why one would be an "old lady" and not the other.

[nclib]

The GOP feels the need to display their women to counter the (accurate) stereotype that the GOP is anti-woman.

[courts]

The GOP feels the need to display their women to counter the (accurate) stereotype that the GOP is anti-woman.

Enjoying '80s night?

[KEmperor]

Who told you about the Republican breeding program?

[DrScholl]

Boxer has no where near the ''star power'' of Haley. Probably because one is an old lady.

Pelosi is a good counter-example.

Maybe it just comes down to promoting younger, better looking female candidates.

Hell, the Democrats proved the charm that a young, good looking male candidate can have.

Haley just became Governor and is more of a celebrity. Boxer has earned a lot of clout, even if she isn't a celebrity. Pelosi had a long career before even being Speaker. Compare that to Haley, who spent just a few years in the state house before becoming Governor and it's a big contrast.

If it's all about looks, then Republicans haven't accomplished much. How many Republican women are in charge of large committees in the House? Last Congress, there were two women in charge of the main committees, even one minority. The current lineup appointed by Republicans is all men across the board.

[Ogre Mage]

There are 17 women in the U.S. Senate.  12 are Democrats and 5 are Republicans.

There are 72 women in the U.S. House.  48 are Democrats and 24 are Republicans.

There are 6 women governors.  2 are Democrats and 4 are Republicans.


The numbers were even more lopsided in favor of the Democrats prior to the 2010 elections.  Nevertheless, I would agree that more GOP women have achieved media visibility.  The Democrats have more women in leadership positions, though.

Why the higher visibility of GOP women even though they are dwarfed in terms of numbers by their Democratic counterparts and are not in as many leadership positions?  I think there is a media fascination with some of these conservative women.  The majority of women politicians are moderate to liberal Democrats, so the fact they defy the stereotype of the woman politician may draw interest.

I also see the OP is saying some nonsense about promoting better-looking female candidates.  This is the sort of thing that women politicians have been complaining about for years -- that more attention is paid to their looks rather than their record.  Hillary Clinton may not look like Sarah Palin, but there is a reason why polls show her to be more respected.

[Brittain33]

Haley is no better known now than Barbara Boxer was 20 years ago when she was first elected. Only wonks know about her.

[krazen1211]

Haley just became Governor and is more of a celebrity. Boxer has earned a lot of clout, even if she isn't a celebrity. Pelosi had a long career before even being Speaker. Compare that to Haley, who spent just a few years in the state house before becoming Governor and it's a big contrast.

If it's all about looks, then Republicans haven't accomplished much. How many Republican women are in charge of large committees in the House? Last Congress, there were two women in charge of the main committees, even one minority. The current lineup appointed by Republicans is all men across the board.

Ros-Lehtinen chairs Foreign Affairs. So that's 1 woman and 1 minority. McMorris Rogers is also in leadership.

[Del Tachi]

It has to do with how the media sees conservative women.  Women who are Republicans go against the traditional, female politician "stereotype" and thus they tend to attract more media attention. 

[DrScholl]

Ros-Lehtinen chairs Foreign Affairs. So that's 1 woman and 1 minority. McMorris Rogers is also in leadership.

That's still only one committee chairmanship, which is pretty small. I was mistaken when I said the last Congress had two women heading up committees, it actually was three and about 6 or 7 minorities heading them up. One chairmanship doesn't trump that. McMorris Rogers isn't that high up in the leadership, the top four are all men. My point was to point out that the OP was incorrect to suggest Republicans have more prominent women politicians.