Women! Coming soon to a political office near you

November 9th, 2006

Happiness is waking up to Salon.com’s thrilling Broadsheet post, Most. Women. Leaders. Ever!

(Note: If you’re not a Salon.com subscriber, you likely will have to watch an ad to read the article. Or you can just amuse yourself with the excerpts and links below…)

Music to my ears:

The ascendance of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and the defeat of the South Dakota abortion ban, aren’t the only good news for American women to come out of Tuesday’s elections. As the likely first ever Madam Speaker, Rep. Pelosi will preside over a chamber filled with more female representatives than ever before, according to the Associated Press. The House will add at least three women members, and the Senate will add two, bringing the total number of women in Congress to 86 — 70 in the House, 16 in the Senate. (Women were candidates in two other tight races that were still too close to call on Wednesday.)

This veritable symphony, too:

With the Democrats in control of the House, AlterNet notes that women representatives are also poised to take other important leadership positions there, beyond that of Madam Speaker: “Most significant, New York Rep. Louise Slaughter will likely become chair of the House Rules Committee, which sets the parameters of floor debate. Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald of California will chair the House Administration Committee, which oversees federal elections and day-to-day operations in the chamber.”

Also note that if Bush and Cheney were both to vacate office (perhaps by fatally choking on a pretzel and being imprisoned for shooting a hunting buddy, respectively), Pelosi would be poised to be the first female president. Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Entry Filed under: Glass ceiling