Unmarried: Rose Ferlita has put her political ambition first and foremost, while her opponent is a dedicated family man with two children -- Ferlita is an unmarried woman with a suspect commitment to family values.
So reads a mailer that's making news in the Tampa mayoral run-off. Accusations and denials are flying about the mailer's origin or whether it was actually sent out. But regardless of who's to blame, the bottom line is that this line of attack on Ms. Ferlita's marital status is considered a powerful and persuasive and legitimate political tactic.
This tempest in Tampa is just the example of the stigmatization still faced by single, divorced and widowed women, even in 2011. This is a bias that is widely held according to a study released by Pew in February, which found 68 percent of those surveyed said that single women raising a child without a male partner was bad for society.
America is changing. Unmarried women make up the fastest-growing large demographic group and now comprise nearly one quarter of the U.S. population. One out of every two American women is now unmarried, and unmarried women are raising one quarter of all American children under 18 years old. Two-parent families may be the ideal, but we need to recognize -- not stigmatize -- the lives of the women who are making it on their own and supporting their children and families.
Unmarried women are changing this country in so many ways -- from the housing market to the workforce to the ballot box. Look no further than Colorado. In the Colorado Senate race, the marriage gap was 22 points, according to Project New West and America Votes data. Unmarried women voted for Democrat Michael Bennet over Republican Ken Buck 59 percent to 36 percent, compared with the narrower support for Bennet among married women, 47 percent to 46 percent. If unmarried women had voted as married women, Buck would have been sworn in as senator.
While unmarried women are a force demographically, politically and economically, they still face challenges. According to a White House report, and earlier research by Women's Voices. Women Vote and the Center for American Progress, unmarried women have been hit harder by the economic downturn than their married counterparts. They are struggling to put food on the table and roofs over their heads and the heads of their children. They are more likely to be unemployed, uninsured and have lower incomes than married women.
Rather than demonizing these women, we should be working to understand their needs, come up with policies that address their concerns, and educating and engaging them in the political conversation. Using scare tactics and dog-whistle language is a silly diversion; it ignores the reality of the changing face of America and the future of our society and democracy.
The flier bore the name of Less Government Now, a Tampa-based electioneering communications group that put out an anti-Ferlita flier before the March 1 primary. Democratic political consultant Jonathan Brill of Tampa worked for Less Government Now during the fall elections. But Brill, whom the Buckhorn campaign has paid for research, says he has not worked for Less Government Now in the mayor's race. Both he and the group's treasurer deny having anything to do with the flier.
Meanwhile, the postal service says the flier had a fake postage permit number, leading Buckhorn to call it a hoax
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/womens-vote-could-play-key-role-tuesday-in-tampa-mayors-election/1158529
Could it be that the Ferlita campaign printed a bogus flyer knowing that her Democratic opponent's base would be outraged by this? Could it also be that the reason that this is coming out so close to the election is that they don't want to give the Buckhorn campaign time to prove that they had nothing to do with it?
A Republican up to dirty campaign tricks? No, that couldn't be! Next you'll be telling me that the Easter Bunny isn't really delivering all those colored eggs.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/womens-vote-could-play-key-role-tuesday-in-tampa-mayors-election/1158529
Look at the disclaimers on the( pdf . file) that the author links uses to support her article. It states the the questions don't quantify what people actually reason when they answer the questions.
When you ask a question like" Do you think single moms are good for America" you can have many reasons for your view. I think we should not draw to many conclusions without fully interpenetrating the data with objective reasoning.
Sarah Palin was savaged for being married with children, and not staying home to tend to them.
Face it. Politics is a dirty game and women make especially good targets, married, unmarried, with children, without children ... whatever.
No male candidate would be critized for that and you know it.
The hypocrisy is on those who criticized her thus and then claim to want women to advance in politics, careeres etc.
Stop with the "alternative" label already.
Hundreds and hundreds of articles on her and all they emphasized was that if she were to win she would be the first gay mayor. It was gay, gay, gay, lesbian, lesbian, lesbian, first, first, first and that was it.
In fact, she was very qualified for the job, but if you were a voter trying to find that out, you could not find it from the media. Anywhere.
By the way, did Sarah Palin have a "wife" at home to run things for her five kids while she was out stumping with McCain in 2008? You know, someone to uphold "family values" and all?
So as a Tampan, I'm just glad Mr. Buckhorny has graduated from "exotic dance" expert to "jobs creation" expert.
At this point, many people in Tampa would take a job cleaning the poles at some the strip joints Buckhorny tried to put out of business. :)
But I digress.
It was thought they would make better teachers if the only had their jobs to do and could put all their energies into teaching. Of course male teachers did not have any such restraints. So now in the 21st century we are going back to this kind of stinking thinking . But that's the south land they are still stuck in the past.