open letter to howard dean

governor dean:

like many americans, i was energized by your remarks last week at gw university -- and continue to believe that you understand more than most political leaders the meaning of GRASSROOTS and not allowing "corporate politics" (party or otherwise) continue to undermine our democracy. in addition, there are serious ongoing concerns regarding the lack of gender balance at all levels of government, especially in congress where women hold barely 15% of the seats in both houses. can there be true democracy without many more women, since women make up nearly 52% of our population?

this is why carol moseley braun and i have made every effort to forward the "Every OPEN SEAT A Woman's Seat" strategy for electing more women -- a real commitment to recruiting and supporting women for OPEN SEATS so that electing women to Congress and all along the pipeline can be accelerated. (this concept, i might add, that was not acceptable in any shape or form by the those who controlled the 2004 democratic platform committee.)

in working with DFA this past year, i know that a concerted effort was made to add women to your list -- i think women made up about 44% in the end. thank you for those past efforts!

we must, however, continue to make every effort to get even more women into the mix so that the wide margins that make the united states #61 in the world for electing women to congress/parliament can be narrowed. many countries have moved far ahead of us because visionary political leaders have employed concrete strategies to make it happen -- instead of just giving lip service to equal representation for women, but then going along with the status quo. actually, the election of women to some state legislatures has gone backward!

you are such a visionary leader, i believe -- so today I would ask you embrace the "Every OPEN SEAT A Woman's Seat" strategy in your future DFA efforts to help recruit and support candidates at every level, and also add it to your "platform" for being elected chairperson of the democratic national committee. we have gone far too long not taking specific steps to make equal representation a reality.

additionally, studies have shown that elected women have changed government for the better -- and there can be no doubt that taking advantage of the perspectives/skills women have to offer will lead to a "better, stronger, safer, healthier america" sooner rather than later.

i look forward very much to your response. in the meantime, happy holidays!

sincerely,
paula xanthopoulou

PS: you might be interested in reviewing my own thoughts
(www.withoutboundaries.com)regarding a new way to look at electing women to congress --
also no blue states or red states, actually no states at all!