The Soccer Mom Vote

She Should Run

Women in politics have seen some great victories in the last few decades.  There are more women holding elected offices now than ever before, and we have our first female Speaker of the House in Mrs. Pelosi as well as our first major-party presidential candidate in Mrs. Clinton.  There are sixteen women in the U.S. Senate, 70 women in the U.S. House, and nine women governors.  We've come a long way, baby.

And yet the number of women running for office is still surprisingly low.  There's no reason to believe that women have less interest or skill in politics, but perhaps we need a little push.  Maybe, just maybe, we need someone to ask.

That's the idea behind the organization She Should Run.   The aim of this program, part of the Women's Campaign Forum, is to gather a list of 1,000 pro-choice women who should run for public office.  Paired with training and endorsement, it hopes to launch more dynamic women into public office, for anything from the local school board to the federal government.

Yes, this particular program is limited to women who take a pro-choice stance on abortion, but it does not discriminate based on party affiliation.  When I asked their representative, Brad Levinson, about the rationale for supporting pro-choice candidates, I got this thoughtful response:

"The Women's Campaign Forum, similar to organizations such as EMILY's List, made the decision to be a pro-choice organization for this reason:  as the WCF's central mission is about women's empowerment, they're of the firm belief that women would not be where they are today if it wasn't for their right to have control over their own reproductive decisions."

(links added by me)

If this is a statement you agree with, and you know some fabulous women who would make great leaders, consider adding their names to the list at She Should Run.  Check out their list of candidate resources.  They've even got a blog!  (Who doesn't?)

While you're there, consider adding your own.  There are many women in this Soccer Mom Vote community who would make outstanding elected officials.  Maybe it's time for you to take that possibility seriously.

Soccer Mom Redefined

Back in June, writer Tracy Mayor from Brain, Child Magazine contacted me to see if I'd be willing to talk about The Soccer Mom Vote for a feature article slated for this fall.  Our conversation revolved around the idea of a "soccer mom" voting block, its evolution, and the role of mothers in the upcoming presidential elections.

You can read the article -- available now online -- by clicking the quote below:

And what's on Soccer Mom's mind? Or, because Soccer Mom was never anything more than a blank slate onto which politicians could draw their view of the world, perhaps it's more precise to ask the question the other way around: What messages will politicians and political parties use to try to turn Soccer Mom's head in '08?

Go read the article, and feel free to return here to let us know how you feel.  How does the term "soccer mom" work for you?  What issues unite and divide us, and do you think those issues are getting the attention they deserve?

More Mamas!

Please give a warm Soccer Mom Vote welcome to Bobbi Jo and Angie.

Bobbi Jo came to us as a commenter, and her comments were so long, we decided to just let her post!  She's an American ex-pat in Montreal.  While she still votes in Oregon, her international experience will lend some interesting perspective to the group.  Bobbi Jo will take jersy number 1 -- look for her first post tomorrow!

Angie came to us via Mocha Momma and the call for new contributors.  She's a homeschooling mom of five (FIVE!) and a registered Republican who says she was converted by Rush Limbaugh.   Angie will be posting as jersey number 25 -- look for her later this month.  (You liberals, be nice.)

Call for Contributors

A little over a week ago, as a result of Julie's post, there was some discussion in the comments about diversity here at The Soccer Mom Vote.  Mocha Momma said this, to start:

"Please, please, please take this in the spirit in which it is intended: I notice that your definitions of diverse in your choices of writers include religion and politics, but don't you have any writers of color? Certainly now more than ever that would be appropriate. Soccer Moms come in lots of colors."

And yep, she's right.  The line-up of contributors here has women from across the U.S., with various political and religious leanings.  However, so far, all of us are some variation on the color that goes with Caucasian.  I sport "pasty white" myself, year round.

We've got plenty of room to grow and diversify here.  When this site started, I was begging friends to participate and praying it lasted a couple of months.  I'm thrilled that we've grown and happy to have others join in.  The basic obligations of contributors are 1-2 posts a month on political/social topics of your choosing and a willingness to participate in the community here, while adhering to the ground rules.

If you're a soccer mom of color and are interested in joining the team, send us an e-mail with a little bit about yourself and a link to your blog. 

We're also happy to hear from soccer moms from any walk of life.  SERIOUSLY.  If you want to play, let us know!   

C'mon, don't be shy.  Send us an e-mail now.

new contributors

We've grown!  Please join me in welcoming Jane, Joanne, and Lisse to the line-up as regular contributors.   We've already heard from Jane this month.  Joanne will chime in on the 10th, and Lisse will round out the end of the month on the 28th.

Sunk to a new low...or risen to a new high?

In May 2005, my family and I moved from the New York metro area to the Denver suburbs.

We used to live in a two-bedroom condo in a high-rise apartment building with a panoramic view of Manhattan.  Now we live in a tract house with more space than I can fill up and a view of the gulch behind us. (Where snakes reside when they're not slithering into my garage.)

I used to work as a project manager for a record company in Manhattan, with my own office on the 23rd floor and Indian food for lunch every day.  Now I chase my children, eat leftover macaroni and cheese, and type-type-type at my laptop, hoping that somebody out there likes what they're reading.  (I'm addicted to Sitemeter just like everyone else.)

I used to leave maintenance requests at the front desk.  Now I call exterminators, heating and air conditioning specialists, garage door repairmen, and ask door-to-door meat salesmen to please stop opening boxes of steak because I'm not interested.  (All of which took place within the past two weeks.)

I used to ride the bus and the subway.  Now I drive an SUV.  'Nuff said. (But so does everyone else in Colorado.)

Given the evidence presented above, I'm afraid I can't escape the truth:  I have become a soccer mom. (Even though my girls don't play and neither do I.)

My new identity has taken time for me to accept.  Blogging has aided me in the process; it's always good to get your thoughts and feelings out instead of letting them stew inside you, and it's even better when you discover that you aren't the only one thinking and feeling that way.

But much of the time, I've felt like a sell-out.  Like I was meant for more than this soccer mom gig, and that despite the trappings of apparent success (big house, big cars, cute clothes on my kids), I had failed nonetheless.

Writing on the web has slowly diminished those unfair accusations I've leveled at myself.  I'm one of thousands of suburban moms in my small corner of the world.  While I don't aspire to the presidency of the PTA, I can find other ways to make a difference in what's important to me.  The web gives us a voice that is louder and reaches farther than any we've ever had before.  And sites like this one are giving moms everywhere an opportunity to be heard.

Tell it like it is.  We're not all the same - we have different backgrounds, different experiences, different views.  Let's make sure that we're heard, and let's learn from one another along the way.

This is my box

When Nicole invited me to share the bits and pieces of grown-up brain left in my head, I started to mull over a wide range of topics upon which to pontificate on in my first entry. And yet, none of those 'real' political and social topics seem quite right for a debut. Perhaps it's because before you can fully understand the what of the things I say, you need to know the why - the who I am.  So instead on sharing my views on the politically correct "holiday" greetings, the uproar over the "agenda" of Happy Feet, or even more local-to-me events like police shootings in NYC, I'm going to give you the guided tour of the political box I sit in.

I registered to vote as soon as I could at 18 years old. The card says Republican.

I headed off to college with a plan. I was going to be a journalist - not just any journalist, mind you, but one with a future as a political commentator. I majored in communications. I minored in poli sci. I abandoned my aspirations the deeper entrenched I got in what being a journalist actually meant. Instead I, armed with my major and my minor, fell into marketing. I'm sure you can imagine how often I pull out all that accrued wealth of political knowledge when on the job.

There was a balance to be reached, however, between past, present and future goals. I could feed my passions as a hobby. I soaked up news. I took in talk radio and cable programming. I debated. I fumed. I even wrote a letter or two.

Then I had kids. The thing with kids, at least young kids, is they tend to sap off the bulk of my grown-up media time. I rarely see things that aren't animated during the day. I started to fall away from my news junkie habits. I'd keep a finger on current events but I was finding myself a day or two, sometimes a week, behind. It was knocking me off balance.

And then came this. A chance to reconnect with my college self in a way that fulfilled a long ago dream. I could really be that political commentator - and when the invite arrived in the box a week ago, it came without ever knowing what it was satisfying.

I am a registered Republican. Yes. I'm also a born and bred Northeastern girl. My kind of elephant is the Guliani flavor - moderate to slightly left on social issues, lock-step-and-party line on fiscal. When I head to the ballots, I am independent. I hate labels. I hate even more when people that identify so strongly with them stop thinking for themselves.

So here we are. You and I on a journey together. A tour of discovery and debate. Take a moment to say hi and introduce yourself. Visit again and again. Learn something new.  Be prodded into looking at topic a little differently perhaps than you did before. Find yourself pushed into and out of your comfort zone. Give it all back in the comments box.

Looking forward to sparing, to learning, and to growing