OPINION: Erasing Idaho’s Republican women?

“I do everything the man does, but backwards and in high heels,” said famous dancer Ginger Rogers.

My favorite Republican, Ronald Reagan, understood the value of women in the male dominated political culture. Making up more than half the population it is reasonable to believe there are smart, capable women qualified to hold powerful positions. U.N. Ambassador Jean Kirkpatrick, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole were all appointed by President Reagan. Each was the first woman in her position.

Idaho has a rich tradition of leading in the arena of women’s equality. After all, we were the fourth state to grant women the right to vote, 20 years before the rest of the country, and three years ago the first state to draft legislation protecting women’s sports.

Women have played an important role in the Republican Party for well over a century. Women’s suffrage and pro-life activist, Susan B. Anthony, started out in the anti-slavery movement before her crusade for women’s right to vote. Jeanette Rankin was the first woman to hold Federal Office when she was elected to represent Montana in the U.S. House in 1916, four years before the 19th Amendment was ratified. There are now more women holding elected office than any point in history. The Republican party would not be where it is today without the scores of Republican Women who have been the fundraisers, event planners, party activists and educators, and campaign volunteers.

It’s bad enough the far left has been in overdrive to erase women by insisting biological men can be women, undoing decades of progress for women’s equality. Now we have leaders in our own party determined to turn back time and diminish the voice of women by removing the Idaho Federation of Republican Women’s (IFRW) vote. On June 23-24, the Idaho GOP will consider major rule changes during the summer meeting, including removing the vote of the IFRW President on the state GOP Executive Committee, as well as removing College Republicans and Young Republicans.

Ironically, a recent Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) resolution declared the importance of Republican Women to the party yet stopped short of keeping IFRW as a voting member of the ID GOP Executive Committee — sending the message that Republican Women are good enough to do the grunt work, but not valued enough to have a vote. This is just one more attempt to keep a traditional conservative Republican organization such as Republican Women from pushing back on a new radical agenda that wants to cancel anyone who isn’t compliant with their new regime. Today, it is Republican Women they are trying to silence. Tomorrow it will be you.

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Becky Funk is a founding member of the North Idaho Republicans (NIR). North Idaho Republicans support a diverse group of independent thinkers and so not every member may agree with the opinion expressed above. That is our wide tent, and we would like you to join us. Visit www.northidahorepublicans.org for more information.