Women across the country staged marches to celebrate the one- year anniversary of the presidential inauguration of Donald J. Trump. The economy is booming, consumer confidence has rocketed out of the national malaise of the Obama years and is at a 17 year high. Unemployment numbers of women and African Americans are at a historic low, and the unemployment rate of the general workforce is likely to drop to its lowest since 1969 by 2019. Sounds like the past year deserves a celebration.
Oh, wait. That’s not what happened at all. The pink pussy hat brigade revived itself after months of psychotherapy, screaming at the sky, and ugly social media posts to take to the streets of American cities Saturday. In my city of Houston, a local news station sent out a tweet with quotes from the mayor (@SylvesterTurner) and the police chief (@ArtAcevedo) – both Democrats – with a plea for more women in elected office and don’t forget “we’re in Texas”.
“#WomensMarch2018 Houston City Leaders rocked the crowd today at City Hall. “Let’s elect a whole lot of women to positions of power!” – @SylvesterTurner “You cannot stop humanity from moving forward. And, let’s not forget, we’re in Texas. Don’t forget our history.” – @ArtAcevedo”
Thanks for the mansplaining, guys. While I, too, would like to see more women in elected office, make no mistake. These two men are not imploring conservative women to run for office. The Women’s March has made it perfectly clear that only women of liberal political philosophy are welcome. For instance, pro-life women are not welcomed. Did I miss the supportive quotes for the annual March for Life yesterday from these guys? The Women’s March organization is a progressive women’s organization. (Independent Women’s Forum)
The women who went to the Women’s March in D.C. last year were concerned about what the new president would mean for the country. Many were understandably disappointed that Hillary Clinton had failed to become the first female president. They were disturbed by recordings of the president’s crude remarks on the infamous “Billy Bush tape,” as well as his tweets and other statements about women. They didn’t know what policies the president would enact and had been encouraged by activists and many media figures to expect the worst.
Yet a year later, while the president continues to make rash tweets and pick personal fights that seem juvenile, the worst fears of those who took part in that initial Women’s March haven’t been realized.
There hasn’t been a roll back of women’s rights, and the government’s checks and balances remain firmly in place. The president has made meaningful progress in rescinding executive orders issued by Barrack Obama, which had massively expanded government’s power without legislative approval and created a thicket of red tape that slowed the economy. As a result of this and the important tax reform package passed last year, the economy, at long last, is improving, more people are working and wages appear set to finally start to climb.
That’s good news for everyone, especially women who now are primary or sole breadwinners for more than 40 percent of U.S. homes and manage household budgets.
What rights have women lost? There are none. This president doesn’t even threaten to try to do away with Roe v Wade. With the economy growing and thriving, all people, including women benefit. Women business owners benefit from aggressive de-regulation. Just as political strategist James Carville once said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Americans vote their pocketbooks and that probably has the left quite concerned. I’m old enough to remember being told if Trump won the election, the stock market would crash and we’d all be living on the streets.
As is his style, Trump took to Twitter to send a perfect message to the marchers:
“Beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all Women to March. Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!”
The main event was organized in Nevada.
Organizers chose Nevada to host the main event this year because it “was rocked by the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, recent sexual assault allegations against elected officials and has become a battleground state that will shape the Senate in 2018,” according to the Women’s March website.
What? The Las Vegas shooting tragedy is Trump’s fault? Of course not. They just weren’t able to be honest and just use the real excuse on its own – Nevada is a swing state.
March all you want, ladies. Just stop pretending it’s a march for all women. Hillary Clinton won Nevada in November 2016 but not the presidency. For me, that’s some real cause to celebrate every day.