I’m looking forward to hearing the democrats call Sarah Palin “a strong woman” - in any context – even a negative one.
Bet they don’t.
Hillary was identified as a strong woman and we were told that any man who didn’t buy into her leftist agenda was afraid of a strong woman. This “strong woman” rhetoric has been used as a weapon by feminist for years, much as the charge of “racist” is used to label any white person who doesn’t intend to vote for Barack Obama.
Just what defines a “strong woman”?
Following are some attributes summarized from several sources to describe what I believe approximates a “strong person.” I am specifically leaving out references to physical power since those attributes have no bearing on this context. Here are some definitions of “strong” that are appropriate when assessing a person’s character.
- Having a force of character and will
- Intense in degree or quality, forceful or vigorous
- Not easily upset, resistant to harmful or unpleasant influences
- Morally or intellectually powerful, having a powerful effect
While I can’t speak for everyone, I believe that most people will agree that anyone, man or woman, who can be described as having those attributes, is a strong person. And therefore, a woman possessing those attributes is, by definition, a “strong woman.”
Enter Sarah Palin.
Sarah is a MOM, in the truest, most admirable sense of the word. Her children weren’t raised by nannies and sent to boarding schools. She and her husband have five children, four still at home. The oldest son joined the Army on September 11th of 2007 and will ship out to the Middle East this year. She’s been a “hockey mom,” and assisted in coaching youth basketball. A wife and mother of five should be enough to classify someone as a strong woman, but of course not to the militant feminists.
She began her political career in 1992 when she ran for a seat on the City Council of Wasilla, Ak. She won and served two terms until 1996. Serving on a city council of even a small town (under 10,000) takes a certain amount of assertiveness and practical judgment.
In 1996, she was elected Mayor of Wasilla, beating out the incumbent. She reduced her own salary and reduced property taxes by 40 %, as promised during her campaign. She ran for reelection in 1999 against the same previous mayor and won by an even greater margin. Once again, Sarah showed spunk and determination in firing the police chief and the library director for misdeeds. She was also elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.
The Governor appointed Palin Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, where she served from 2003 to 2004. In 2004, she resigned in protest over what she called the “lack of ethics” of Republican leaders (her own party). After resigning, she exposed the state party’s chairman and a former Alaska Attorney General for wrongdoings and both men subsequently resigned, one paying a record fine. She bucked her own party’s leaders and won.
In 2006, she upset then-Governor Murkowski in the primary, and then won the gubernatorial election in November by over 8%, despite being outspent by her opponent, former Governor Tony Knowles. She became Alaska’s first woman Governor, and the youngest in the state’s history. She challenged the party politics and the “good old boy” network and won.
Palin’s approval rating as Governor have frequently risen above 90% but reached a low of 76% after she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. Note that her LOW approval rating is approximately seven times that of our current U.S. Congress.
Her list of substantive achievements in two years as Governor exceed the “major” accomplishments of Barack Obama during his six years as Illinois State Senator combined with his time as a United States Senator.
If Sarah Palin isn’t a “strong woman,” please tell me who is?