Rep. Liz Cheney is becoming the third-ranking House Republican, a first for a Republican woman in a year when the number of Republican women in the House is dropping even as Democrats elected a record number of women. Do not look to Cheney to use her high rank in the party to change that:
“I think the Republicans have to get off of defense on this issue,” Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said Friday in an interview. [...]
Cheney, who worked on Middle East policy in the State Department, brings a profile and clout among Republican women that has long been missing. But she does not see any need for course corrections on policies relating to women, arguing that Democrats create silos for female issues that treat women in a condescending way.
“I’ve always felt like it was very paternalistic to do what the Democrats do,” she said. “It’s offensive to women.”
Republicans have to get off of defense … but how do you play offense on this one? If you think electing women is important, Republicans are going to be on the defensive. The alternative is to reject the importance of electing women—which is basically what got Republicans here in the first place.
It’s paternalistic and offensive to do what Democrats do … as Democrats have made history in electing women. So apparently women are not finding it so paternalistic and offensive. What do you know—high-ranking token woman in the party of men doesn’t speak for all women. Go figure.