Amazon.com: Women on the Hill:: Challenging the Culture of Congress (9780812963519): Clara Bingham: Books

Book Description

Publication Date: December 24, 1996

Set against the backdrop of an extraordinarily volatile electorate (which would propel the Gingrich Republican radicals into power by the 1994 midterm elections) Women on the Hill chronicles two years that began in optimism and idealism, but ended in a disconcerting mix of disappoinment and compromise. Bingham transcends partisan politics by focusing on the ways in which politics of gender affect us all. 208 pp. Author tour. Targeted print ads. Online promo. 15,000 print.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } Set against the backdrop of an extraordinarily volatile electorate (which would propel the Gingrich Republican radicals into power by the 1994 midterm elections) Women on the Hill chronicles two years that began in optimism and idealism, but ended in a disconcerting mix of disappoinment and compromise. Bingham transcends partisan politics by focusing on the ways in which politics of gender affect us all. 208 pp. Author tour. Targeted print ads. Online promo. 15,000 print.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Women on the Hill is an absorbing, exhilarating account of power politics after the 1992 election, when the ranks of congresswomen swelled following the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas debacle. Former Newsweek correspondent Clara Bingham chronicles the victories and blunders of veteran Colorado Representative Pat Schroeder, New York Representative Louise Slaughter, and newcomers Cynthia McKinnley, the first black Georgia representative, and Washington Senator Patty Murray--the "mom in tennis shoes." Most illuminating is the behind-the-scenes look at how legislation like the Family and Medical Leave Act and federal funding for abortion triumphed or was trashed. The book shows how one generation of rebels dynamited the door, while the next moved inside to sit down.

From Publishers Weekly

In 1992, the 103rd Congress had 24 newly elected female representatives in the House and five female freshmen senators, which gave it a unique opportunity to pass legislation on women's issues. In this interesting and competently written study of four Democratic congresswomen of the 103rd, Bingham, a former White House correspondent for Newsweek, goes behind the scenes of our political system. Drawing on personal interviews and archival material, the author details how veteran representative Pat Schroeder (Colo.), first-time senator Patty Murray (Wash.), third-term representative Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) and first-term African American representative Cynthia McKinney (Ga.) struggled against an entrenched male leadership. Although they lost the battle for health-care reform, Bingham describes how hard-won legislative victories on family leave, sexual harassment and abortion were achieved by bringing a bipartisan women's support network to committee rooms and floor fights.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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