100 Great Women

Dear women.

We're getting down to the wire here with this election business, and you haven't yet taken the hell over. What's up with that? This is your chance to save the day, to run for office and get elected in a landslide.

You hold the trump card. Sex. You could get everything you ever wanted in terms of freedom and healthcare. Join women all over North Carolina in year of abstinence only. Withhold sex from men until (1) Republicans drop all their birth control bullshit, and (2) the General Assembly revokes the new restrictions placed on women clinics and abortion providers.

These ridiculous Tea Party laws would be changed in a month if you wanted that to happen. Just say no.

This is good news.

Patsy Keever, a member of the NC House from Asheville, will announce her candidacy for the 10th Congressional District Democratic nomination on Thursday.

Keever, a former school teacher, will make her announcement in Gastonia, the home of incumbent US Rep. Patrick McHenry. She will make her announcement at 1:30 p.m. on the steps of the Gaston County Courthouse.

Check her out.

I’m sorry to be a nag, but time is running short. We need you to join in the fight for the heart and soul of our state. We need you to step up and join the campaign of 100 Great Women Running for North Carolina. We need you to declare yourself to be a candidate who will work for women and families.

As the phrase "sane Republican women" accelerates toward oblivion, does the 2012 elections cycle offer a unique opportunity for independent and Democratic women to stage a power play? I think so.

Five years ago when I wrote this appeal to women in politics, I didn't foresee the breadth of the GOP growing war on women and families in North Carolina. From assaults on abortion rights and contraception to cuts in after school programs, teacher funding, and health services, today's Republican party agenda does damage to women and families at every turn.

Which brings me back to my previous request. Will you please take over?

The New York Times today features a sad story about the global growth of reality television. Starved for winning ideas, it seems, US media companies are trolling abroad for proven formats they can get into production quickly, with little risk. So instead of one country suffering under the cultural weight of Biggest Loser, Promzilla, or Freaky Eaters, the whole world gets to go along for the ride.

In the spirit of making lemonade, I have found myself wondering which reality show concept could be mapped onto the 2012 election cycle in a way that would inspire turnout and exploit the moral weakness of North Carolina's Tea Party Republicans. Said another way, what reality show concept would be strong enough to take Thom "Divide and Conquer" Tillis to the woodshed? The answer, I believe, is to join in an epic Battle of the Sexes. Here's why.

I'm not a big fan of "history" months that relegate certain segments of the population to once-a-year acknowledgement. But given that March is indeed Women's History Month, I hope you'll join me below for some food for thought.