The other women

National Review, August 17, 1992

FOR SOME MONTHS now we've been told that this is the year of the woman. At Madison Square Garden the Democrats bought it hook, line, and sinker. But it comes as a surprise that the Bush campaign has swallowed it as well. This conclusion is suggested by the selection of Labor Secretary Lynn Martin to deliver the nominating speech at the Republican Convention.

Now, we have nothing against women in politics; Mrs. Thatcher has always been a favorite of ours. Our problem with Secretary Martin is not her sex but her substance.

For starters, she calls to mind the biggest problem with Bushies: they don't win. A liberal-to-moderate Republican representative, she got her position in the Cabinet the Bush way: she was clobbered in her Senate race. At the 2988 Convention, moreover, she was one of the moles trying to get the Republicans to water down their pro-life language. And today, as head of the Labor Department, she remains the biggest obstacle to implementing the Beck decision on refunding union dues spent on political campaigns--something that might actually win George Bush some votes this fall.

What the press really means is that this is the year of the liberal woman. For this reason you won't see any mention of Pam Roach in Washington, Linda Bean in Maine, Donna Peterson in Texas, Joan Milke Flores in California, or Rachel Gilbert in Idaho, all of whom are conservative and pro-life and all of whom have already triumphed in their primaries (except Pam Roach, who is expected to win).

The addition of any of these to the House would make it more difficult for Pat Schroeder and her clones to claim to represent American women. But these GOP challengers badly need the campaign contributions that would flow in with exposure on national TV during the Republican Convention. By all means let's get some women out there on the podium. But doesn't it make more sense for the party to pick women who have been winning by supporting the Republican platform than women who have been losing by running away from it?