The GOP Needs More Sarah Palins

Since Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, something has been missing from the ranks of her GOP detractors: women. The departure of Sarah Palin and President Bush’s estrogen-packed Cabinet from the national spotlight has exposed the dearth of Republican women, David Bernstein writes for the Boston Phoenix. “It's shocking to me that they're not in crisis mode,” said an academic.

GOP women were once abundant. But since 2003, all 16 rookie Republican senators have been male, and popular female senators are often marginalized for taking moderate positions. “Republicans will be hard-pressed to find anyone but men to put on TV, which will only reinforce the stereotypes,” Bernstein writes. “That's terrible for the GOP, but probably good for future Sotomayors.”
(More Sarah Palin stories.)