Bachmann for president? I’ll take the glass ceiling
Bachmann for president? I’ll take the glass ceilingEditor’s note: Jennifer L. Lawless is associate professor of government at American University. She is co-author, with Richard L. Fox, of “It Still Takes A Candidate: Why Women Don’t Run for Office” (Cambridge University Press 2010). She ran in the 2006 Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District.
There is no question that something seems fundamentally wrong with a political system in which women hold so few positions of political power.
But if shattering the glass ceiling means supporting Michele Bachmann’s presidential bid and the candidacy of a woman who is dramatically out of step with mainstream America, then I’d prefer to keep the ceiling intact. We can’t afford to make that kind of history.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jennifer Lawless.