This will be a homecoming for Jarrett and Tchen who will know just about everybody in the crowd. The event will also serve to introduce Klobuchar, a rising Senate star, to an important Chicago network of Democratic activists.

Schakowsky’s “power lunch” funder–her major event–brings together mainly women from the Chicago’s feminist, progressive, Democratic activist, charitable communities.

Last year, Michelle Obama was the speaker and outlined in broad strokes what her agenda would be if she became First Lady.

Schakowsky said she will decide by June 8 is she will give up her House seat to jump in the 2010 Illinois Senate primary.

Women don’t get far because to many of us put everyone else first. We don’t stick together because we don’t think we deserve our rights to be front and center. We believe that every other group with a grievence should be made whole before us. One flaw in a famale candidate and it is women who are the most critical and first to reject her. Meantime, we accept sexist males of all races and sexual orientaions over a women with a single flaw. I am pro gay marrage, but I am sick of voting for sexist men who are pro everyone elses rights but women, whether they be gay rights, civil rights for minority races or something else. We just got a belly full of left wing misogyny during the presidential primaries and election. Some of the sexist things that came out of the mouths of male democratic elected officials was comparable to the racism of the 1950s. It was like the democratic party had become the women hating Klan.

And just in case you didn’t know, President Obama is against gay marriage.

Amy, I want to let you know that I understand completely what your goal is for The New Agenda.

I just spent 12 days in Europe and for some of that time I stayed with two women friends in Madrid. They explained to me that it is a LAW in Spain for women to have 50% representation in government. 50%! My friend Angeles says she believes it is a little over 50% at this time in Spain, but it struck me when she said, it is the LAW.

Spain has universal health care, gay marriage is legal, abortion is legal with certain restrictions. These important issues which Americans call “socialist” are WOMEN’s issues. I believe that electing women is the goal we must strive for. Gay marriage is of course an important issue, but more important, we need women representation. Gay marriage will follow naturally.