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Making our Representatives Representative
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Carolyn Kay
I don’t usually read Parade, because it’s so right wing. But today’s Intelligence Report (which won’t be available online until Wednesday) had this to say:
How a male in the House of Representatives votes on bills concerning women’s safety and reproductive rights may depend on how many daughters he has. Ebonya Washington, a Yale economist, found that legislators who have just girls—or more girls than boys—take more liberal positions on issues such as abortion and access to birth control. This held for Republicans as well as Democrats.
I found the original study posted on Stanford University’s website (it’s a pdf).
Reading this information gave me an idea. We can make sure that people representing us really understand what we’re facing by changing the requirements for office. Here’s my list:
Family requirements to run for office:
At least as many daughters as sons
A family member who’s gay
An interracial marriage within two degrees of kinship
Pay and benefits:
A specified multiple of minimum wage as their pay
Medical coverage that’s exactly like Medicare
No retirement pay except Social Security
What are your ideas?
Comment at Democrats.com, Daily Kos, Democratic Underground, Soapblox-Chicago.
