Stolen Words Wednesday: Christine Todd Whitman

Today I attended Planned Parenthood of North Texas's Annual Luncheon. The keynote speaker was Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey Governor (first female governor in NJ) and co-chair of the Republican Leadership Council, among other things. These are quotes I scribbled during her speech. (These are all her words; the stuff in quotations marks is word-for-word, the non-quoted text is my paraphrasing because I didn't get the exact words and I don't want to misquote her.)

On people protesting Roe v. Wade 37 years after the Supreme Court's decision: "It's as if people were still protesting Brown v. Board of Education in 1991."

"I am a pro-choice Republican. Contrary to what some people may say, we are not an endangered species!"

"[As Governor of NJ, was appointing women to different positions; people were saying] I was appointing 'so many women' -- something I had never heard when my male counterparts were appointing 'so many men'!"

"We need to be much more intentional in electing and appointing women to political office."

"Women do bring a different perspective to the table... We set a different tone." The atmosphere in her office/in her cabinets was one of collaboration; people were not fighting to pin the blame when something went wrong or to claim the credit when something went well, which happened often in male-dominated offices.

"Women have something unique to offer in politics."

[Talking about her daughter running for office... sorry, didn't get all the details] "As women we hold other women to a higher standard than we do their male counterparts." Her daughter had experience in politics, and children. She was asked, "Who's going to take care of the children?" and was told she didn't have enough experience. The man she was running against had been a substitute teacher before being elected.

"I'd never say support a woman just because she is a woman [but if two candidates are equal in their issues/stands] then yes, it's okay to choose the woman because she is a woman." We need a variety of opinions, women, people of color, etc.

Quoted Maureen Reagan: "Women will have reached equality when we can elect women who are as unqualified as some of the men we elect."

Spoke of the Terry Schiavo case: in four days, due to calls and letters to Congress, legislators wrote legislation and Bush returned from a vacation early to sign it. The next day polls showed 70-80% of the USians said the government had no business getting involved in that case. This means that 20-30% of the people were the ones who called and wrote their legislators to act on this. Congress got involved and took action in FOUR DAYS because of that small percentage being active and vocal. Be that active and vocal population -- never underestimate its power.