Anyway, I'm a little tired of hearing about the first woman Speaker of the House as if this proves something about the power of women in this country. It should make us all realize that the fact that no female has risen to even this middling level position proves instead how slow progress has been. Pelosi can now claim these glorious powers of the Speaker of the House for womanhood:
1. The ability to sit behind the president and blink during the state of the union address
2. The power to become the president if both the president and vice president die in rapid succession.
Past speakers of the house include such notable politicians as pretty much nobody. I think most people wouldn't even know Dennis Hastert's name is it wasn't for the congressional page scandal.
Just to see how great it is to be a man at the top levels of the US Federal Government, check out these statistics:
Percent Male Representation
Congress - 84%
Senate - 84%
House - 84%
Executive - 100%
Cabinet level and above - 77%
Judicial - 89%
Senate - 84%
House - 84%
Executive - 100%
Cabinet level and above - 77%
Judicial - 89%
Apologies to James Polk and Henry Clay. You guys were grand and notable speakers.
2 comments:
The progressive female line was a snoozer, but I have to disagree with your assessment of Speaker authority. The function of appointing members to conference committees rivals the presidents ability to nominate cabinet heads. Although the Democrats will likely punt on most issues (or trip over their own mouths) the ability to control House committees has an enourmous impact on public policy.
snoozer? sorry about that grandpaps. next time i'll be sure to make the font bigger too so that it's easier for you to read.
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