But neither party is going to bestow their 2012 nomination on a woman simply because it is time to do this for our country. The Democratic National Committee had this opportunity in 2008 when Hillary Clinton was betrayed by the ever-present boys club. If voters want to get a woman into the White House, it is time to stop using a shoehorn and start using a sledgehammer.
Sarah Palin alone can wield this tool. Having resigned as governor, she no longer answers to the Republican National Committee. In fact, as the de facto leader of the up-and-coming Tea Party movement, the Republican Party answers to her. That is, if the Republicans hope to avoid what Dan Quayle describes as letting the Tea Party go Perot. If they hope to pull off a victory in 2012, they need Palin. And if Palin wants the White House, she needs to earn the votes of the disenfranchised women.
Yet it is unclear whether Sarah Palin will rise and capitalize on women’s sentiments. Since her re-emergence on the public scene, she has done little to show herself as a woman who will stand up for women, as a self-described feminist in Going Rogue.
Palin has failed to endorse important women of the Republican Party, and is actively supporting numerous challengers to Democratic women incumbents. She has become outspoken in her antiabortion views, turning away from what was a key factor in making her one of the country’s most popular governors and the de facto leader of the Tea Party: letting the people decide.
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