diy politics

oh, that disturbingly perky helena guergis tonight on 'talk politics' sure got my blood boiling, as she is wont to do. all fired up, she was, about stephane dion's plan to strike a task force for the liberal party to examine how to increase its number of women candidates in the next election, and about how he might even go so far as to appoint women candidates, to up the ante. guergis chirped on and on about democracy, as if she has a deeper comprehension of the concept beyond the weekly talking points

if only helena et al within the quaint conservative women's caucus only knew what it's like for most women to contemplate entering politics, do you think they'd change their tune? oh wait, maybe they DO have a clue, but simply don't Give A Fuck. dion's plan to figure out formal ways for women to run simply "offended" guergis. offensive, indeed, the idea that a party might actually attempt to put its money where its mouth is in terms of female representation. hate to break the news to helena and the girls, but the ol' boys club persists in politics, indeed in the house of commons. if a party wants more women to run, it has to do more than just SAY so. it has to PROVE IT. that means doing the very "offensive" work of levelling the playing field, a concept that makes the conservative women cringe. they didn't require such assistance, apparently, so no one else should.

so i suppose the guergis et al message to women - replete with pom poms and a free cosmetics kit - is: do it yourself, girls. we made it. you can too. never mind whatever your personal circumstances are. find the political sphere intimidating or off-putting? buck up! don't have enough money or human resources to mount a viable campaign? pull up your bootstraps! you can do it! and if you can't, your party should in no way insist on a way to help you ascend. because if i can do it, so can you!