(from Signe Wilkinson - Quaker cartoonist for the Philadelphia Daily News & Philadelphia Inquirer - yeah Quakers!)
Good afternoon my friends,
I thought I would post just a few stories this week as I know many of us in the United States may be busy with family or with travel or be taking a break from the constant pull of the news cycle and our work for equality.
For the latest update on wins and losses for women candidates please listen to this interview, which is part of the Governing podcast series, with the uber-knowledgeable Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics.
If you are looking for conversation topics for Thanksgiving dinner here are some great suggestions from FairVote staffer Mikhaila Markham about ranked choice voting which is a consensus building process that can be used for all sort of decisions - favorite pie, Oscar picks, & presidential nomination processes:
In just a few days’ time, families across the country will come together to celebrate one of America’s favorite holidays. While you unfortunately cannot use ranked choice voting to elect which family members take seats in your own personal house (or can you?), the concept and practice of RCV can be useful this Thanksgiving in so many other ways.
As a non-partisan issue, ranked choice voting provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your political prowess without the whole family erupting into partisan bickering. More divisive topics might be off-limits this holiday season, but RCV can bring together conservatives, progressives, and even that one conspiratorialist cousin.
And while ranked choice voting is not a new concept, these days it’s gaining more favor in the mainstream media. Bringing it up in casual conversation will not only secure your position as the go-to source of electoral reform news (every family needs one), but it also provides a more interesting conversation starter than the usual pleasantries (Are you dating anyone? When are you going to give me grandbabies? Which way are we passing the plates?).
As a non-partisan issue, ranked choice voting provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your political prowess without the whole family erupting into partisan bickering. More divisive topics might be off-limits this holiday season, but RCV can bring together conservatives, progressives, and even that one conspiratorialist cousin.
And while ranked choice voting is not a new concept, these days it’s gaining more favor in the mainstream media. Bringing it up in casual conversation will not only secure your position as the go-to source of electoral reform news (every family needs one), but it also provides a more interesting conversation starter than the usual pleasantries (Are you dating anyone? When are you going to give me grandbabies? Which way are we passing the plates?).
This month marks the 62nd anniversary of the first televised presidential debate which was held between Eleanor Roosevelt (D) and Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R) on November 4, 1956. I find everything about this factoid utterly charming but it also serves as a powerful reminder that there is a legacy of women's leadership that undergirds our work today, tomorrow, and in the years to come.
When I Googled suffrage/women/Thanksgiving I found a number of interesting stories but this post from the The Society Pagesreflects the general sentiment of our foremothers:
Larry Harnisch at the Daily Mirror dug up this gem, a 1909 story from the Los Angeles Times about prominent Chicago-area women’s rights advocates pushing back the time they served Thanksgiving dinner in order to go see the British suffragist Emiline Pankhurst:
I love the last quote from the British suffragist from more than a century ago that still resonates:
We will not stone our legislators. We will not horsewhip them in the streets. We will not break up their homes, nor drop stones through the roof to interrupt their banquets. We will do something more effective than that. We will see that they are defeated for renomination...
I know many of you are supporting various organizations but please consider adding RepresentWomen to your list on #GivingTuesday - Tuesday November 27th. All donations will be matched starting at 8am EST on the 27th until the matching funds run out! You can either give directly on the RepresentWomen Facebook page on that day (the earlier the better) or set up your own fundraiser to support RepresentWomen by following the simple steps on this page. Use the image below or another one from our page! Many thanks.
I am so grateful for all that each of you are doing and send my very warmest from my table to yours.
Many thanks,
Cynthia
