It was a coincidental to open up this morning’s POLITICO and find a great profile of IWF friend Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) at the same time as I was boarding a plane to Seattle, Washington – McMorris Rodgers’ neighboring district. The “rising GOP star” currently serves as co-chair of the House Republican Caucus, and is now running against Georgia Rep. Tom Price for the chairmanship – also the 4th highest position in the Republican leadership.
According to POLITICO:
She has snapped up the endorsement of seven top committee chairmen — many of them are helping her whip for support. As is South Carolina Rep. Tim Scott, an elected House leader. So are members of Speaker John Boehner’s inner circle.
In September alone, she visited 30 congressional districts and raised $980,000 for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in addition to doling out hundreds of thousands of dollars from her leadership PAC. She’s touched down in 21 states during this election cycle, people involved in her race say.
McMorris Rodgers’s supporters aren’t mincing words; they are publicly saying she has already locked up enough support to win the race.
I first met McMorris Rodgers after her press secretary spotted an article I wrote about female candidates during the 2010 midterm elections. I’ve written before (and here too) about the fiscally conservative Congresswoman who is determined to bring more women into the GOP by speaking to them about the issues that matter to them most – namely economic growth and job creation. McMorris Rodgers has consistently helped send a message to President Obama and Democrats that women are not interested in playing gender politics. And more importantly, she has helped make clear that women benefit from less government and more freedom.
POLITICO recognizes the significance of this upcoming chairmanship election:
If McMorris Rodgers beats Price, it would place a woman in one of the top slots of Republican leadership for the first time in a half-dozen years. If she loses, Republicans would run the risk of having no women in positions of power.
I’m not overly concerned with having a woman in a “position of power" per se. But I am interested in having a woman in power who understands that progressive policies fail women and their families, and who values the economic and personal liberty that matters most.