WASHINGTON -- The Democratic National Convention Committee Wednesday announced a lineup of convention speakers who will further solidify the party's standing with female voters.
The list, passed along by a source from the committee, includes the following names:
- Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
- Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Tammy Duckworth.
- Sandra Fluke, Georgetown University student.
- Denise Juneau, state superintendent of public instruction, Montana.
- Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.
- Caroline Kennedy.
- Lilly Ledbetter.
- Eva Longoria, Obama campaign co-chair.
- U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, together with the women of the U.S. Senate.
- Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
There are issues beyond gender that draw these women to the convention. Longoria has helped the president with Hispanic outreach. Baldwin and Duckworth are running for office. Ledbetter's name is attached to the first bill that the president signed into law. Kennedy ties the party back to its 20th century royalty. Keenan and Richards have been champions of abortion rights. Fluke has become a public advocate for requiring insurance companies to put contraception coverage in their policies.
Collectively, the list of speakers -- who join the previously announced speaker, Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren -- represents a clear effort by the Obama campaign to drive home the point that one party is tolerant of women's issues while the other is blind to them. It helps matters, of course, when the GOP is dealing with the fallout of Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin trying to draw a distinction between "legitimate" and illegitimate rape.
In addition to Warren, previously announced speakers include: San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, former President Bill Clinton, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.
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