Happy 8 month birthday TNA!
April 11, 2009
by Amy Siskind
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8 candles for 8 fabulous months
Where does time go?
It seems only yesterday that 30 women from around the country gathered in my living room. We were upset by how Hillary Clinton was treated and we vowed never again would we be silent when a female candidate or elected official was treated that way. On that day, we decided to put aside our hurt, upset and anger and do what needed to be done. Work on what unites us, not divide us: time to get down to business!
We decided that to have any power, we needed to include all women and like-minded men. We would no longer be split in half by political party nor our view on choice. It’s not personal – it’s business – we need to find the common ground for the 52% – and so we did.
Here’s some of the highlights of our first 8 months together:
- RealClearPolitics covers TNA on August 19th announcing:
The New Agenda wants to become a women’s-voice alternative for the National Organization for Women and NARAL, which they see as moribund and appendages of the Democratic leadership.
- Chris Matthews is our “person of interest”: The LA Times writes in August Women’s group wants Chris Matthews fired. We follow up by having our members contact NBC boss Jeffrey Zucker, and when he doesn’t respond, we refuse to appear on David Gregory’s show when asked. We later learn that TNA and PUMA voices were responsible for Matthew’s decision not to run for the open Pennsylvania Senate Seat. Mission accomplished!
- Starting with our first press release, we are the only national women’s rights group to speak out about the sexism and misogyny aimed at Governor Palin. Our members get involved and we take actions again, and again, and again on FOX.
- We speak out when in The Washington Post when NOW endorses Obama instead of the other two tickets which had women candidates.
- We launch our weekly BlogTalkRadio show Chewing the Fat with Ophelia to focus on women’s issues and our organizational goals.
- We are the only national women’s rights group to speak out against Larry Summers . Our voices are heard as Politico reports that we are in part responsible for Summers coming of the Treasury short list.
- We speak out for powerful women who are silenced such as Brooksley Born and Sheila Bair.
- We are the only national women’s rights group to condemn the Facebook picture of Jon Favreau groping SOS Clinton. As a result, RealClearPolitics comments:
The National Organization for Women, which last struck issuing news releases on why Sarah Palin isn’t a real woman, refused to comment on the Obama speechwriter incident.
The New Agenda, a new nonpartisan group for women’s rights, and perhaps a valid heir apparent to the dying NOW brand, did speak out.
- We launch our Cabinet Watch and speak out in newspapers and on CNN about the lack of women in President Obama’s Cabinet (currently 6 of 24 picks).
- We take on Ms. Magazine for their controversial cover declaring “This is What a Femimist Looks Like” in both an article published in The Daily Beast and on CNN.
- We push for Governor Paterson to fill Hillary’s senate seat with a qualified woman. We celebrate his appointment of Kirsten Gillibrand in The Washington Post and New York Area newspapers.
- We speak out about against violence against women such as the beheading of Aasiya Hassan and NY State Senator Hiram Monserrate’s indictment for 6 counts of assault.
- We hold our Violence Against Women Forum one week from today!
Fasten your seat belts. The best is yet to come. We fight on!!!
Happy Birthday, TNA! It’s nice to see all our accomplishments listed like that. It’s been great to be a small part of what the group has done. You’ve done an outstanding job of keeping us focused, Amy. Rather like herding cats, I imagine.
Amy,
Congratulations! My only hope is that TNA will also consistently speak up for women within the Obama administration – when appropriate – who can play a pivotal role in addressing disparties in pay, employment opportunities and health care for women. I know you have done short pieces on some of them but my guess is that there have been more articles on Sarah Palin and HRC than on all the other women cabinet level members combined.
I am not talking about being cheerleaders for women like Sheila Bair, Christina Romer, Hilda Solis, Kathleen Sebelius but I think it would be a helpful continuation of the Cabinet Watch Blog to track the efforts of the women who were selected to lead important areas.
While I do not always agree with the general anti-Obama trust of TNA, I am very supportive of your passion and mission.
Continued success!
“It’s not personal, it’s good business” How long have I waited to have a women’s organization who understands this concept. Happy Birthday!
Every time out, pulling it back to the issue. What a superb achievement. I hope you are all celebrating, dancing in the moonlight tonight. Congratulations. It is so good to see.
A marvelous accomplishment!
Kevin I’ve not seen any “anti-Obama t(h)rust” here. What you call anti-Obama looks to me to be criticism of his behaviour, policies and actions, pre-and post-election. You seem to think TNA should just mpzhtythph over it.
I’ve been following a fascinating discussion about Obama, by the most well-known, articulate, and iconic Canadian native group.They think he’s: racist, sexist, and crooked. They’re not having any, no matter what colour the skin. And they don’t mince words. Getting in all your little digs, then pulling “continued success’ over it. I always wonder why you think you can exhibit such disrespect here. You’d not be hanging around their site telling them what’s what.
Kevin: Obama paid the women on his staff far less than the men during this election cycle. The Democrat/Obama machine used the most ugly misogynist attacks against the two female candidates in the election and in doing so institutionalized misogyny for the future as the way for an ambitious inexperienced man to win. Team Obama issues fashion news flashes as a way to communicate with women. Why would you believe he has any intention of doing anything for women. If he or the token women he has appointed ever actually accomplish anything for women I will be amazed but I will acknowledge it. In the mean time my attitude to Obama is Just do it, because I quit listening to all the talk long ago.
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