Conservative Republicans nationwide made a resounding comeback last Tuesday night, recapturing the majority in the U.S. House by picking up more than 60 seats – the biggest gains since 1948! In addition to the historic night in the House, Republicans added 6 seats in the U.S. Senate, 18 State House chambers switched, and there will be 11 new Republican governors starting in 2011.
President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and soon-to-be-ex Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi saw a repudiation of their irresponsible and out of touch left-wing agenda, and the comeback of a vibrant and hopeful conservative movement – with women leading the way.
A large number of Republican women ran for Congress this year – 51 to be exact – and those winning their races included Sandy Adams of Florida, Diane Black of Tennessee, Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, Jaime Herrera of Washington, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and Martha Roby of Alabama, all of whom took over seats previously held by Democrats. They will join Fire from the Heartland cast members and incumbent Congresswomen Michele Bachmann, Cynthia Lummis, and Jean Schmidt in the House this January.
Some of the other notable GOP women who prevailed include rising stars Nikki Haley and Susana Martinez, the first female governors of South Carolina and New Mexico, respectively, and Kelly Ayotte, who trounced liberal Rep. Paul Hodes to become the junior U.S. Senator from New Hampshire.
When one traces the roots of the conservative movement, women have always served as its back bone.
The leadership of strong conservative women throughout history such as Clare Boothe Luce, Phyllis Schlafly, and Margaret Thatcher brought forth the leaders of today like Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin, which in turn yielded this year’s crop of female leaders.
2010 has truly been the Year of the Conservative Woman and Fire from the Heartland tells many of these women’s stories in their own voices. Strong women like Sonnie Johnson, Dana Loesch, Jenny Beth Martin, Michelle Moore, Deneen Borelli, and Jamie Radtke felt compelled to spring into action and become the voices of today’s conservative movement because they saw their families’ futures threatened.
We saw “Mama Grizzlies” who had never been involved with politics before take to the streets and lead Tea Party rallies. As Rep. Bachmann says in the film, “It’s not that men don’t see what’s going on, but women feel it.” It is with these thoughts and concerns that American women led the charge to take our country back.
Conservative women lit a fire from the heartland and on election night we saw that fire spread from coast to coast in the form of GOP victories.