Customer Reviews

The Republican War Against Women: An Insider's Report from Behind the Lines

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember the moment when I knew George W. Bush would be our next president. It was late morning on Election Day 2000, and I saw an anchorwoman on television, interviewing a group of previously undecided, affluent women voters in a swing district near Chicago. One by one, all of them explained that they disagreed with Bush on abortion, but had decided to vote for him anyway. Most of them offered explanations to the effect of "I trust him not to be actively obstructionist against abortion rights." As we all know now, Bush betrayed that trust immediately after taking office, by reinstating the Mexico City Policy and appointing strident anti-feminist John Ashcroft to head the Justice Department. I can't help but wonder if those women in Chicago think their tax cuts are worth the backslide in social policy we've all got to endure until at least 2004 - if indeed they really were eligible for the tax cuts.

While reading Melich's book, I was reminded repeatedly of that newscast and the misplaced trust in right-wing politicians like Bush. I really wanted to love this book. After so many years of watching the mainstream media look the other way on all but the harshest Republican attacks on feminism and the vilification of that noble movement, an inside look at the party's growing intolerance from a female one-time Republican activist sounded to me like the perfect consciousness-raiser. And it is - to a degree. Melich's heart is undeniably in the right place, and I applaud her for writing the book. But I ultimately came away feeling that she, like the women I referred to above, remained loyal to the Republican party long past a time when she should have known better, and thus helped perpetuate the problem.

Melich, a GOP activist since the 1950s by her own account, relates page after page of her noble but clearly quixotic efforts to help carve out a voice for feminists in the party of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George "kick a little a__" Bush, even while supplying an equally abundant collection of tales that showed exactly where Republican leaders of that era stood with respect to women's issues. Melich's response, whether it was to Reagan refusing to even give feminists a place at the table in preparation for the 1980 convention or Bush questioning Geraldine Ferraro's emotional stability or Nelson Rockefeller's excommunication from the GOP because he supported the ERA, was invariably to "hope for the best from my party" until 1992. As she explains in both the opening and closing chapters of the book, she reached her breaking point that year in Houston, as did many socially progressive Republicans. The trouble is that there was really nothing new about that three-day celebration of bigotry; it was only the most blatant demonstration of the clout held by the religious right in the modern day Republican Party. If the rhetoric has been less overtly divisive before and since 1992, the party platform has not been. Melich often gives us the impression that she was aware of this on some level, but she never quite seems to grasp that by continuing to support the party in spite of her growing disillusionment, she contributed to the problem by sending politicians to Washington who then worked against the interests of all social progressives like her.

In addition to her inexplicable loyalty to the GOP, Melich's historical research is awfully sloppy for a lifelong political activist. Among the errors her editor failed to catch: Sam Ervin retired from the Senate in 1974, not 1976. Dan Quayle was a second-term congressman in 1980, not a first-termer. A number of western states gave women the vote prior to the passage of the nineteenth amendment in 1920, but Kansas was not among them, as Melich claims. Speaking of Kansas, Melich notes with approval the election of Democrat Joan Finney as that state's first woman governor in 1990; but five minutes' worth of research would have revealed that Finney was staunchly anti-choice on abortion and most feminists supported her male Republican opponent in that election. Given Melich's background, it is hard to believe she was unaware of that.

It is, of course, not reasonable to expect a book-length mea culpa, and Melich's familiarity with the overall subject matter can't be denied. (In all fairness, it must also be said that the Democrats don't have a sterling record from a feminist perspective either - but there IS more than a dime's worth of difference all the same.) If nothing else, this book is a worthwhile read from an authoritative source for appreciating the sheer depth and history of reactionary sentiment in the Republican Party with respect to gender issues, especially abortion. But the last election demonstrated that some feminists haven't learned the lesson Melich tries to teach here; and I'm not entirely convinced that Melich herself has either.

I was in junior high when the infamous 1992 convention rolled into Houston, and seeing all of the hate on TV was very scary.Although my parents were not political, they were opposed to the religious right's agenda.....We became staunch Clinton advocates that year, and do not regret a minute of it.

As a bookstore employee, I see more books than I have time to read. When I saw Ms. Melich's book, I was immediately interested. I was surprised by the title, coming from a woman who has been a Republican for so many years. As a Democrat, I was anticipating a book full of mere justifications from a woman who would voluntarily be a Republican. After reading the first paragraph, I knew I would insist that all women I know should read this book. The book is, at times, very dense reading as I had to stop every few lines to tell someone how passionate I felt about the situations Melich describes. I admire her fight. Although she may not subscribe to the same political philosophy as I do, she has fought the good fight against the establishment. To conclude, I placed the book on our "What We're Reading" shelf at the bookstore. We sold quite a few. Many times, however, I would walk by and notice the book had been turned over to hide the cover. Some people refuse to face reality

Although I am a Democratic woman, I found Tanya Melich's book to be a sympathetic and provocative history of misogynism in the Republican Party -- which was the party of choice for my parents, and, which I expected to embody Democratic principles, because -- well, this is America. Author Melich describes the platform and other battles during Republican conventions and the rise of such anti-feminist leaders as Phyllis Schlafly and Newt Gingrich. Pertinent to Americans of both sexes is the concurrent rise of power of the Religious Right and the attacks being made on the separation of church and state -- fundamental to our Democratic principles. The book serves as both an historical overview and a call to action for Americans of both sexes who want to maintain the freedom and equality instilled in our political system by the Founding Fathers.

In painstaking and non-partisan detail, Melich proves the Republican party (and not the American public) as it presently is incarnated is the real threat to American families.

Although a majority of Americans regardless of political affiliation are pro-choice and favor GLBT rights, the GOP has capitalized on fear regarding the civil rights movement and social change to win elections. Melich explains why this tactic has roundly backfired on them.

From the Silent and Moral Majority to the Christian Coalition, these social conservatives have been allowed to warp the electorial system for their own personal benefit. 1192 was the first year a majority saw through the blinders and took a real stand for America.

Evem if I disagree with Melich on identification, it is refreshing to know that it was not just myself who sensed the misogyny at the 1992 Republican National Convention. It is impossible to have a serious discussion about individual rights with opposition to legalized abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Republicans might write this book off after reading the title, but this is not some "undercover" investigation by a reporter or (worse) a democrat. The author is a lifelong republican, who rose in the party to become a serious activist and repeated delegate to the national convention. Her experiences at the conventions during the 1970s that changed her view of her own party and led her to fight from within to save the "party of Lincoln" from itself. This is a fastinating read...much better than anything written by an outsider or nonpartisan academic.