Posted on 11/08/2014 10:18:30 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Joni Ernst's feat this week was one that many thought was impossible: a Republican victory in a blue state that Obama won twice, and the first woman ever elected to Congress from Iowa. Not only did Ernst win a U.S. Senate seat, she clobbered her Democratic opponent by an 8-point margin..
So how did she pull it off in a state that has so long resisted making women its top leaders? A weak opponent, a breakthrough ad in the hog barn that went viral, and a carefully cultivated image that female politicians from Hillary Rodham Clinton to Sarah Palin have struggled to translate into votes. Tough, strong, but nonthreatening.
Ernst, a little-known state senator and lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard, burst onto the radar of national Republican strategists late last year, as the Iowa primary field was still taking shape. She was a complete unknown — a 5-foot-2, self-described southwest Iowa farm girl.
Half a dozen state and national strategists summoned Ernst to the state Capitol and fired questions trying to take her measure. Was she was ready for the rough-and-tumble of a competitive U.S. Senate campaign?
Ernst was quiet and composed in her answers. As they wrapped up, one skeptical strategist leaned in: "We've been talking here for a while," he said, alluding to the softness of her voice. "Do you think you can command a room of 500 activists and get them fired up?"
She paused for a moment and straightened up: "I command Iowa's largest [military] battalion," she answered. "I don't think it's going to be a problem."(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Joni is as gutsy as Sarah has been, however, I also get the impression that she will remain more businesslike vs being the ‘Funtime Celebrity Gal’. We in the Tea need to stay focused, disciplined, using this historic election to our full advantage.
I’m glad she won, but I detest it when they make it a gender issue.
I listen to the candidate’s views, and if they explain the best view, then they get my vote.
I could care less about gender race and the like. In fact these things turn me off faster than about anything.
I agree. I thought most folks would understand that.
Yeah, and the way to do ‘non-threatening’ is to refer to castrating hogs? I'd say being as tough as you actually and truly are on your own terms and in your own way is what those other idiots don't know how to do...because they aren't tough and never will be.
Heck, watching her speak on TV, I thought she was about six feet tall.
And she has them squealing already.
Joni is nonthreatening because she has been quoted as saying that her first job if elected Senator will be to persuade Mitt Romney to run for president again in 2016.
As I said, nonthreatening to the GOP or the bipartisan Ruling Class, just like Mitt Romney.
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