As I walked into my classroom, donning my signature pearls and high heels, I noticed that something wasn’t quite right. For the first time in my three years at a 53% female, top-tier university, I found myself alone. Out of sixteen students, I was the only female enrolled. 

I’m typically not one to harp on gender equality, and I certainly am not a bra-burning feminist, but this situation concerned me. The boys didn’t worry me too much—I’ve learned how to handle them with a flip of the hair and a bat of the eyes—instead, I was concerned about the subject matter: conservative political thought. 

 

I took a peek at the syllabus. The gang was all there: Burke, Kristol, Kirk, Hayek, Friedman, but apparently no female conservative thinkers received the invitation. Or maybe, I thought, there just aren’t any. When I came home from class, I researched a few of the prominent conservative think tanks. My findings didn’t surprise me. At the Heritage Foundation, just twenty percent of the policy experts are women, and even worse, out of eighty-nine experts at the American Enterprise Institute, only seven are female.  I guess it wasn’t a matter of invitation.

 

For the past few months, political pundits have cast their lots as to who McCain will choose for his vice-president. As a conservative woman, I can’t help but notice that there aren’t too many ladies entering the discussion. David Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union, is betting on a McCain-Sanford ticket and has also considered Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) for the job. Pat Toomey, president of The Club for Growth, is pushing for Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX), or businessman Steve Forbes, and at The Weekly Standard, Stephen Hayes has suggested Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, while others throw around names like Michael Steele and Mitt Romney.

 

A few women have come up in the VP conversation. The big three seem to be Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Rice and Hutchison have already dismissed any veepstakes rumors, though, which leaves the GOP with the lone conservative governor. Let’s be real, though, what does a 44-year old woman who has served little over a year in the non-continental United States have to offer to the McCain ticket other than a pretty face and three electoral votes?

 

While conservative gals like Ann Coulter are throwing temper tantrums about John McCain, I’m shaking in my heels about his number two. If the best woman we can conjure up is Palin, then the future looks grim for the conservative women’s movement. Unfortunately, we don’t have many viable options. Republican women only hold three gubernatorial positions while liberal ladies hold five. In the senate, GOP women hold only two seats while the Democratic damsels hold eleven, and in the House, we hold a mere eighteen seats to the other side’s forty-three. Even if McCain wanted a woman as his running mate, he would have little more than twenty of us to choose from.   If we want to increase that number, the GOP good ole’ boys need to take action before they lose the few conservative daughters they have left.

 

How do we rise up this new generation of strong, conservative women? First, feed the elephant. Conservative women’s organizations such as the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute provide college women with conservative female lecture series, activism seminars, and research-based internships. These organizations are great resources for our young women, and they would love to tap into our capitalist coin purses. Second, teach the elephant. Encourage young women to engage in the political discussion, and invest in their education the same way you would the boys’.   Give them opportunities, send them to CPAC, and teach them what grassroots politics is all about. Finally, let the elephant run! In order to raise up the next generation of conservative women, we have to get away from the age-old “carry water for the elephant” philosophy and let him carry his own bucket for a change. While the idea of paying dues before running for office is commendable, we simply don’t have the luxury of time. We need more women in office, and we have to start filling these positions right away. These women may not have a chance to pay their dues, but in the end, the trade-off will be well worth the sacrifice.

 

The GOP action plan is simple: feed the elephant, teach her, and let her run. As for this Republican dame, we’re discussing John Adams in class tomorrow, and I think I might just bring up another conservative great: his wife.  “Remember the ladies,” she said in a letter written to John, “and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.” It’s a shame that Abigail isn’t around for ‘08. She would’ve made one heck of a running mate.