2006: I Can Hear Heels Clicking on Marble!

This year, I count fifty-nine Democratic women who have qualified for the Georgia House, Georgia Senate or for constitutional office. I count only twenty-one Republican women who have done the same. That speaks volumes.

Why is it that there are dramatically fewer Republican women who seek state level office in Georgia? I have a theory.

The Republican party's agenda is hostile to women. We could talk about issues like drive-by mastectomies, failure to support insurance mandates for preventative care, failure to address the growing number of women with children who live in poverty, and the failure to support mental health programs that help stem domestic violence, but all you really have to do is look at the difference in the numbers of Republican and Democratic women who offer themselves for elected office in Georgia.

Despite having the majority of the seats in both the Georgia House and Senate, Georgia Republicans have obviously failed to support women leaders in their own party, and as such, remain a party that is, at the leadership level, overwhelmingly dominated by rich white men who are often out of touch with the agenda of average Georgians.

Yet another reason why we will see Democratic gains in November. As Viola Napier said, "there's just no way around it, the Assembly needs cleaning." From the Governor's office on down, these are just the women to do the job!

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