On not giving money to political parties, especially after Women's no-Equality Day!

(Courtesy of equalrepresentation.org)     Subscribe in a reader

Got a letter in the mail today from Barack Obama asking me to write a check for the Democratic National Committee. Guess he did not know that I have not been a registered Democrat since going NPA in 12/06. Makes one wonder about their record-keeping, mailing lists and statistical pronouncements...In any case, why would I want to send the DNC a check?

The request came after 2+ years of President Obama not doing enough for women and a perfunctory statement -- authorized by law to mention both suffrage and the events of 1970, BTW -- released by the White House last Friday on Women's no-Equality Day. It's wonderful that two women were appointed to the Supreme Court and that the White House has honed in on women's issues unlike our former president. But there is still no actual plan/lobbying for Equal Rights or Equal Representation!

President Obama seems to think (like many) that Women's no-Equality Day is mostly about the right to vote, which "empowered America's women to have their voices heard in the halls of power." Nowhere did he mention the empowerment of women to look out for themselves through a fair share of seats at the tables of Congress. As de facto head of the Democratic Party, he'd like us to use the power of the ballot to vote for Democrats -- but how about specifically for the election of more women promoted and supported by his party to boost the USA's standing of #91 in the world for electing women? Same must be said about the leaders/programs of the Republican Party.

Just last week, some women's groups launched a national effort to stop attempts to take away women's health and economic rights by getting women to the polls in 2012. That's not a bad idea, but no one mentioned that electing more women along the way would be a more powerful way to preserve those rights. And before you scream not like Michelle Bachmann (running for President) and Sarah Palin (not yet running for anything), let me remind you that a Center for Women in American Politics at Rutgers University study on the state legislative level found that: "Women legislators of both parties are more likely than male legislators of either party to work on legislation specifically intended to benefit women." Both Democrats and Republicans will be elected to Congress by both Democrat and Republican voters (duh!), and more of both need to be women.

Congress is currently dominated by men who have other priorities. Women hold a measly 16.8% of the seats in Congress and have one seat on the Supercommittee formed to save us from economic destruction. Until those numbers change considerably, women's rights/programs will always be in jeopardy and we will always be dependent on men of both parties - and that appears to be just the way they like it.

Making very good sense these days is Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who recently called on business executives to stop giving money to DC lawmakers until they get their act together. And why should they/we fund billion-dollar campaigns that will only make us crazy in the coming months with over-the-top messages and partisan food-fights? And why should women fund any political party entities that have failed to come up with concrete blueprints for accelerating the election of more women toward real empowerment? Why - except to maintain the political status quo.

Thus I joined those who not only reject political party pleas for dollars that appear in their mailboxes, but do so by sending a message via the conveniently-supplied, postage-paid return envelope. My response to President Obama (and DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz) was to draw a line through the money form and write "Not until the DNC makes concrete plans to elect MORE women," and off it went back through the mail. My political donations will go directly to women's campaigns -- and you can make most of those online.

Try it - I guarantee you'll like it!

Tweet -- then click HERE to access "The Truth About the Political Status of U.S. Women: What are we going to do about it?" on smashwords.com..