Must Reads: The GOP’s Other Women Problem, Multiplying State of the Union Responses, and More
Every a.m., Mediaite publishes a primer of what the interweb machine is writing, talking, tweeting, and blogging about, so that you may fool friends and family into thinking you are a trove of information and insight. Today: the GOP’s other other women problem, all the State of the Union responses you could want, Tunisia approves a constitution, de Blasio woos Israel, and more.
“Republicans Don’t Have a Single Woman Running a Battleground Senate Campaign” (Alex Roarty, National Journal)
According to National Journal’s Alex Roarty, only two of the thirty-three 2014 GOP Senate candidates have female campaign managers, and neither of them is in a competitive race. Roarty writes:
Voters won’t care if campaigns don’t have female staffers. But GOP strategists worry campaigns that make major decisions – like the crafting of TV advertisements – without the guidance of female operatives risk ham-handed messages that can repel the very voters they’re trying to attract.
“GOP’s Hot New Craze: Why Everyone Wants to Give a State of the Union Response This Year” (Alex Pareene, Salon)
Alex Pareene, on how the GOP’s multiplying (or are they splintering?) responses to the State of the Union express perfectly the Republican Party’s breakdown of hierarchy, while still managing to matter as little as the old official responses. Worst of both worlds!
“Inside The Syrian Opposition’s Media War” (Mike Giglio, BuzzFeed)
The Syrian opposition has been struggling on the ground in its civil war against the Assad regime, but it’s finally waking up to the potential of winning on the international stage. It has Twitter and Facebook accounts, press agents, media strategies—and, as the regime yells its way through the Geneva peace talks, all this seems to be making an impact. The question now is whether it will be enough to convince the world of the opposition’s viability against Assad’s forces.
“Tunisia Signs New Constitution in Big Step Toward Democracy” (Reuters)
Meanwhile, some rare good news from the region. Tunisia signed a constitution on Sunday:
After years of autocratic rule under Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia’s charter has been praised as one of the most progressive in the Arab world, designating Islam as the state religion but protecting freedom of belief and sexual equality.
This is, of course, in marked contrast to the more tumultuous experiments in democracy in nearby Egypt and Libya.
“The Selective Secrecy Of Bill De Blasio” (Andrew Sullivan, SullyDish)
Andrew Sullivan asks a question: if support for Israel is non-controversial, why did de Blasio keep his remarks to AIPAC off his agenda?
[Image via PBS Newshour]
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