[media-credit name=’Derek Montgomery’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Former Democratic Texas Gov. Ann Richards visited the Monona Terrace in Madison Friday to provide support for the Kerry-Edwards campaign. She focused on rallying women to vote for Kerry, using the slogan “W does not stand for women.”
Richards has a long record of civil service, not only being governor of Texas, but also being a strong advocate for recovering alcoholics. Her name is also synonymous with helping to raise health awareness for women in risk of osteoporosis. Friday’s agenda, however, was a bit different.
“For women and [their relationship with] the Republican Party, it’s like a marriage gone bad,” Richards said in a thick Southern accent. “He’s spendin’ all the money on a hunting trip and a camo jumpsuit!”
President George W. Bush narrowly defeated Richards in 1994 in the Texas gubernatorial elections and Friday she made their differences known.
She explained how she has never seen such a united and vision-oriented Democratic Party in all her life. Richards said she hopes to reach out to the 22 million women that did not vote in the 2000 election.
Richard’s focus on women centered on support of women’s organizations like “Take 5.” This organization encourages women to take five minutes to talk to five women about voting, registering and getting to the polls.
Further pushing women to vote Democratic, Richards discussed the willingness of the Republican Party to advocate the “looking through [of] hospital files to find terminated pregnancies to prosecute those women.” She also criticized them for the removal of birth control from many health plans and for the continued support and funding sent to male impotency drugs such as Viagra.
“They’re willing to pay for the fun but not the responsibility,” Richards said.
Richards accused the Bush administration of planning the war in Iraq before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and described the Republican’s foreign policy as one that alienates America’s allies. She also expressed concern with the state of civil liberties and the environment in the United States.
“What about the safety of good drinking water and clean air?” Richards questioned, referring to the alleged failure of the Bush administration to provide many communities with either. She also remarked on the proposed bill allowing drilling companies to bore for oil in parts of the Alaskan wilderness.
Richards questioned the current administration’s track record on civil-liberties policy, saying it has “destroy[ed] our civil liberties through the Patriot Act,” adding the legislation allows the FBI to access your most private medical records, your library records, your student records and can prevent anyone from telling you it was done, without a warrant and without probable cause.
Richards also condemned the “No Child Left Behind Act” which she calls, “No Child’s Behind is Left” Act, for the failure to provide adequate funding for public schools around the nation. She made comments about the audacity of President Bush to visit two schools in Wisconsin Friday that had not met standards for the “No Child Left Behind Act.”
UW junior Liz Sanger, who chairs College Democrats, echoed many of Richards’ sentiments, especially the importance of a woman’s involvement in politics. Sanger said prominent women in politics like Richards, Wisconsin’s Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and Lieutenant Governor Barb Lawton encourage female involvement in government.
“It’s great to have a woman who shows it’s okay for women to be in politics,” Sanger said. “They inspired me to continue to be involved in politics.”
Sanger also said the push for women to vote is especially crucial in this election, with points of interest like fair pay for women.
“Because so much is riding on big elections like this presidential election … I think the female vote in this country is so important, specifically for rights for women,” Sanger said.