The power of Jill Biden and the women Joe Biden trusts

When Barack Obama won the presidency, many tipped a hat to Michelle Obama, his wife and partner, including Barack Obama himself. It was true in 2008 that the candidate was a smart man, a gifted orator and an exceptional politician as he broke through to become the first Black president of the United States. But he could not have done it without Michelle Obama.

That’s my take, anyway.

Opinion: A Not Entirely Unexpected Campaign Roadblock for Women of Color

The women of color who are still standing in an electoral slog that ends in November know their road to continued success will be hard. This is the United States, and the fact that they are still pioneers for getting this far in 2018 is not just news-making but also a little depressing.

It is also true that they can’t always count on the support of some of the same feminists they may have joined — in marches, #MeToo protests and the ballot box.

Women Score Big in Key Primaries

In the United States, an African-American woman has never been elected governor. That may happen in 2018 if Stacey Abrams is elected in Georgia. Though she has a tough road, she passed the first hurdle Tuesday night when she was overwhelmingly chosen to be the Democrats’ nominee. In many states, in races for state and federal offices, women are stepping up. What are their chances in November? It’s unclear for now – but you can’t win if you’re not playing, and this election season, women are definitely in it.

Opinion: Will African-American Female Leadership Move Into the Spotlight in 2018?

It’s kind of a pattern. In tangled tales of the intersection of racism and sexism, women of color are depended upon for the hard work but pushed aside for recognition.

Can Trump Repair His Disconnect With Minorities and Women?

Donald Trump went into his first one-on-one presidential debate with his base solidly behind him. But one would assume he also wanted to continue his outreach to minority and female voters. He does, after all, need to win the approval of half of the population, one that is rapidly becoming more diverse. He must have had some plan to persuade those looking askance at the full-throated endorsement from folks such as David Duke or his informal confidante Roger Ailes, chased out of Fox News because of sexual harassment charges.

With Hillary Clinton across the stage from him, any plan he might have had did not work out.

 

For Democrats, ‘war on women’ message fails to motivate enough voters

CHARLOTTE– What were midterm voters feeling? That would be concern about jobs and the economy and anxiety over Islamic terrorism and the Ebola virus creeping over American borders. A Democratic “war on women” message that helped Terry McAuliffe become Virginia’s governor in 2013 did not gain much traction with a 2014 electorate in a foul mood and ready to blame it on President Obama and a gridlocked Congress.

The gender gap was not wide enough to save Sen. Mark Udall in Colorado, Bruce Braley in Iowa or incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan in North Carolina. Astute and well-financed campaigns honed a Republican message that worked spectacularly. And women who did show up at the polls let it be known that they hardly walk in gender lockstep on issues of education, the economy and abortion and choice.

A bipartisan time-out? Women honor women in North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Perhaps it was the spirit of Liz Hair presiding over the mix of good will and determination Wednesday evening at the annual A Woman’s Place program that has honored the achievements of Charlotte women since 1955. Hair, a pioneer for women in politics and community activism, died at her home earlier that day at the age of 94, and her life – as well as her mantra “let’s make policy, not coffee” — was mentioned as inspiration by many in the bipartisan group of women.

Honored as 2013 Charlotte Woman of the Year was Patsy Kinsey, a Democratic city council member elected by her colleagues to complete the term of Anthony Foxx when he became U.S secretary of transportation. Delivering the keynote was Sharon Allred Decker – a 1998 Woman of the Year – the state’s secretary of commerce for Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. Hair was honored in 1975.

Problem solving, not party difference, was the evening’s theme — not that you can take politics completely out of the conversation. This is North Carolina, where incumbent U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat, is working on a variety of economic, military and other issues, while shoring up a coalition that will need to include women of all parties if she is to win re-election.