Sarah Palin. Michele Bachmann. …Nancy Pelosi?
They are all ladies in politics! Which makes them kind of like sorority sisters (if only I were making up that comparison):
In Minneapolis, Ms. Palin returned the favor, calling Ms. Bachmann “inspiring” and playing to the conservative, pro-Tea Party, largely female audience. Both women adopted a tone that any woman who has ever endured a sorority rush will recognize: aggressive, cheerful, empowered conformity, hostile to idiosyncrasy.
And yet, these G.O.P. B.F.F.’s share an extraordinary — you could even say idiosyncratic — trait with a woman who is not welcome in their club, the Democratic speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
What could it be?!
In reality, though, the three belong to what may be the smallest, most exclusive clique in American politics. The admission requirements are beyond most women, and all men: members must be prominent players in the United States political arena and must have given birth to not one, not two, not three, not even four — but five children, something that presumably gives them more in common than they might like to admit.
What does it say about this country at this moment that, of the small handful of women who have achieved highly visible political roles, three are matriarchs of such very large families? Could it be that the skills of managing sprawling households translate well into holding office? Or that such a remarkable glut of mom cred makes a woman’s bid for external power more palatable to voters? Or are they just related to more voters, which translates into a mysterious edge at the polls?
Whatever forces may be at play, taking a look at present dynamics, any American woman with long-range political ambitions might do well to also look to her nursery.
Needless to say, this was in the Style section and not the Politics section.
The article compares Palin and Bachmann to Romy and Michelle. It condescendingly calls them “GOP BFFs.” Now, to be fair, Palin and Bachmann are intellectual lightweights who do use kind of an “in-group” approach to getting new recruits, so the sorority girl commentary wouldn’t bother me as much on its own — it’s kind of up there with “George Bush is a frat boy” insults. But in the context of this article, which paints (for better or worse) three of the most powerful women in politics as airhead sorority sisters, and that ends with the suggestion that “any American woman with long-range political ambitions might do well to also look to her nursery“? I would say that any New York Times writer who covers politics might do well to look at the issues, and not be so condescending towards female politicians.