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What do Young Republican Women Want? 4 Things We Learned

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While Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his most passionate supporters don’t seem very concerned with diversity, some big questions remain: What does the future of the Republican party look like, and how can it include more women, people of color, and members of the LGBT community?

On Tuesday, Glamour and Facebook hosted a conversation between three rising stars in the Republican Party to find out what they want to see. Politico reporter Anna Palmer sat down with RNC Chief of Staff Katie Walsh; Rachel Hoff, the first openly gay Republican on the party’s platform committee; and Cheramie Law, executive director of Guardian for Heroes, in front of an audience of reporters, delegates, and congressional staffers. The event was part of a year-long 51 Million partnership to elevate women’ voices around this year’s election.

1. Everyone wants a dialogue. Hoff, who tried unsuccessfully to include support for LGBT people in the Republican platform, said that becoming more inclusive would move the party toward its original principles, and that her work on LGBT issues is a part of that. “The goal was to start a dialogue, and in that way we were successful,” she said. “There was a good discussion among committee members—just not what I was looking for.”

“Sometimes you have to have a big family discussion, and that’s what this convention is—that will help us all feel better about the issues,” Law added. Dialogue was also the focus of a lunch held in New York, featuring actors like Jessica Williams and Uzo Aduba and political leaders like Rep. Nita Lowey. It seems like everyone, regardless of where they are on the political spectrum, wants to have productive conversations about diversity, equality, and respecting people with different views—and yet America seems more divided than ever.

“This is a very politically charged country right now,” Walsh said. “I don’t think it’s specific to the RNC. I think we’ll see the same thing next week at the DNC.”

2. It’s possible to succeed as a woman and as a Republican, but you’ll probably be lonely. All three panelists said that they relied on guidance and support from mentors during their careers, but that they weren’t sitting down with a crew of women to talk about their days and offer moral support. “Most of my role models are men. I’ve worked most of my career for men,” said Hoff, adding, “It’s important to not wait for a role model who looks like you.”

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From left: RNC Chief of Staff Katie Walsh, Facebook's Katie Harbath, Politico reporter Anna Palmer, Guardian for Heroes executive director Cheramie Law, Republican platform committee member Rachel Hoff, Facebook's Crystal Patterson and Glamour's Emily Mahaney.

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3. There are some bright and exciting young women in office—but they were noticeably absent in Cleveland this week. “I think the three of us being on this stage would indicate that we have more than just ‘old, white men’ speaking for the party,” said Walsh. “On the Senate and House members who we have running for reelection—the diversity in our party is pretty incredible.” She listed women like Martha McSally, Elise Stefanek, and Carly Scarvella—all of them women that Republicans should want to see in office. One snag: they couldn’t be seen in Cleveland this week because they all declined to come to the RNC.

Officially, they were doing outreach work in their districts. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was at the convention, but she declined a speaking spot.

4. There is a lot of work to be done. According to Hoff, only 9% of registered voters in Washington, D.C. are Republicans. The vast majority of voters in America identify as Independent, and less than 25% of voters identify as Republican—and those voters are getting older and whiter as time passes. Walsh, Hoff, and Law all have hope that Republicans can find a way to present their message—"personal freedom, investing in leaders and...a country in which they have the same opportunity to succeed,” as Walsh put it—to a wider and more diverse group of potential voters. We'll learn in November whether those aspects of the Republican ideology will win voters over.

Watch Tuesday's full panel discussion here, and join the conversation on social using #51MillionVoices.


Source: http://www.glamour.com/story/what-young-republican-women-want-4-things-we-learned-at-the-rnc
What do Young Republican Women Want? 4 Things We Learned What do Young Republican Women Want? 4 Things We Learned Reviewed by Unknown on 7/21/2016 Rating: 5

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