State of the Women

Who needs a palate cleanser after that orange trash bag squintily read off a teleprompter for 82 minutes? How about the 89 democratic congresswomen from the House of Representatives, many of them wearing suffragette white, making their presence felt at the State of the Union instead. Yeah, much better.



Hey, curious about how the two parties have done electing women to the House of Representatives in the last 30 years?

In 1989, there were 29 women in the House:
16 Democrats
13 Republicans

In 2019, there are 102 women in the House:
89 Democrats
13 Republicans



Crazy how women tend to feel more welcome and included and valued in a party that – and I’m just spitballing here – believes they have their own autonomy, deserve full equality and should be allowed to make reproductive choices about their bodies without invasive government interference. Like I was saying, crazy.

Other things you should know about last nights SOTU? Well, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brought Ana María Archila, the woman who confronted now retired and perpetually spineless Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator about her sexual assault, promoting to have a conscience for about 30 seconds. Also, AOC wore what I believe is a white tank top under her suffragette white suit. So, you know, there’s that.



All in all, I think the night can be summed up in one image: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi giving Trump the ultimate participation trophy clap before his big boy TV time speech.

Congresswoman Crush Wednesday

So last Thursday was a good day for America. The 116th Congress was sworn in and we took a giant step toward becoming that more perfect union. How? By looking a whole lot more like our entire union. And that meant a lot more women and a lot more people of color. Well, at least on one of the parties (cough, the Democrats, cough). So just a little reminder of the things to give us hope. Sure, our so-called president may go on TV and spout hateful lies unabated. But we know we are fighting for a government that more like all of its people. Because that? That really is the future that liberals want.

Guess who’s back? Back again? Pelosi’s back. Trump better run.



The first openly bisexual Senator Kyrsten Sinema had known homophobe Mike Pence swear her in on a law book while looking this unapologetically chic.



Freshman Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Barbara Lee, Annie Kuster and Jan Schakowsky taking selfies like the bosses they are.



Out lesbian and Native American Representative Sharice Davids is sworn in with her family.

My Weekend Crush

Say what you will about Nancy Pelosi, but the lady delivered. When it counted most, when others swore it was futile, when the full brunt of an angry opposition came down on her, she delivered. Not to go all Joe Biden on the situation, but the passage of health care reform this week was a big fucking deal. Sure, it’s not everything many of us had hoped for. And it’s a lot more than others ever wanted. But this is how progress works. It is rarely pretty. It is always hard. It is never perfect. Change is a process, but it won’t happen without that first, gigantic step.

And it might not have ever happened without the Speaker of the House. Now I’ve had my differences with Pelosi’s leadership style and overall approach before. But I’ve never doubted her intellect and conviction, and now I’ll never doubt her toughness again. By all accounts it was Speaker Pelosi who prodded President Obama to stay aggressive about passing health care reform. By all accounts it was Speaker Pelosi who cajoled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to grow a pair. And by all account it was Speaker Pelosi who strong-armed the skittish House Democrats to get the votes needed, more even, to pass this historic piece of legislation.

Now l still believe that the role of government is to help people, to solve big problems, and to ensure our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. And it’s really hard to have any let alone all of those three if you’re sick and can’t afford to get better. The simple right to be healthy, to even just be alive, shouldn’t be reserved for the rich. We are a society that is plenty wealthy enough to make sure our most basic health is ensured. It’s downright shameful that we don’t. But that begins to end now.

Pelosi, who turns 70 today, is not only the first female Speaker of the House, but as second in line to the presidency she is perhaps the most powerful woman in American history. And she has done it all, amazingly, with that near perpetual smile. For this, she has been called many things. A dingbat. A dilettante. And, my favorite, a San Francisco liberal. The horrors! Yet somehow, people still buy Rice-a-Roni.

But such chronic underestimation is something she is no doubt used to, and clearly has no problem overcoming. There were times during this past year when I was sure that all hope was lost, that the bill was dead, that the Democrats simply didn’t have the spine. But that was just me underestimating her, too. She had the spine all along. Sure it wasn’t seamless, and certainly the work isn’t done. But it’s that first, gigantic step we needed. Thank you, Madame Speaker. Have a happy birthday, you’ve earned it. Happy weekend, all.

Thank you, America

A woman will be two heartbeats away from the Presidency. Holy fucking shit. Say hello to Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the soon-to-be first female speaker of the House of Representatives (and a proud California gal!). Sometimes, when you least expect it, America wakes up and looks toward the light. Sure, the nation still needs to address its not-so internalized homophobia (gay marriage/domestic partnership bans passed in all but one state where it was on the ballot - we heart Arizona). But overall, it was the rare recent election where I’ve gone to bed feeling proud of our country. Democrats take the House. Democrats look good to take the Senate (pending recount hell in Virginia). Democrats take the majority of Governorships. Now, onto 2008.