It’s been a hell of a week for women in politics, and for uteri in general, for that matter. OK, we promise we’re not turning into politicsdork.com (url still available, act now!) but this is important stuff so stay with us here.
Ladies made history, and one in particular, Democrat Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, an Iraq war veteran, was elected the first Hindu American in Congress. She’ll be sworn in come January and it won’t be over the bible, but the Bhagavad Gita, the Huffington Post reports.
Gabbard’s favorite verses are said to be,
— “That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.” (2:17)
— “The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.”(2.23)
About her faith, Gabbard considers it an asset in Congress, where her main focus will be mandating 24 hour yoga and getting all the reps to do a unified tree pose filibuster chanting “Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu.” Kidding! Most of Capitol Hill refuses to get out of supta partisanasana, and besides, we don’t know for certain if she practices yoga yet. Actually, Gabbard will be working on veterans’ affairs, environmental issues, and developing better relations with India.
“It is clear that there needs to be a closer working relationship between the United States and India. How can we have a close relationship if decision-makers in Washington know very little, if anything, about the religious beliefs, values, and practices of India’s 800 million Hindus?” said Gabbard.
“Hopefully the presence in Congress of an American who happens to be Hindu will increase America’s understanding of India as well as India’s understanding of America.”
Which we expect will be more enlightening than the current yoga pants boom and Eat, Pray, Love.
Back to the ladies, the House of Representatives as a whole will see a feminine boost with the most amount of incoming female members since 1992 along with a record 28 women of color. History was also made in the U.S. Senate with a record 20 female Senators now representing (up from 17).
More history-making firsts! Democrat Elizabeth Warren became Massachusetts’s first female Senator. Democratic Representative Tammy Baldwin was elected Wisconsin’s first female Senator and the first openly gay U.S. Senator. Hawaii elected Democratic Representative Mazie Hirono who will not only be their first female Senator but also the first Asian-American female U.S. Senator.
Some stuffy white dudes in a room with a bunch of multi-cultural sister women? Yep, sounds like the usual yoga class. It’s a joke, guys. We love you.
[via]
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Earlier…
“Supta Partisanasana.” That just made my day. Cheers.
j brown – my thoughts exactly!
Love the Supta Partisanasana! bwah ha ha ha!!!
And REALLY love the story – way cool
2014 was actually the year of the Republican woman — not the Democratic one?
You left a few “firsts” out.
1. Joni Ernst, a conservative Republican, was elected Iowa’s first female senator. She is also
the first female war veteran to serve in the US Senate.
2. Sarah Blair, a fiscally conservative Republican, at 18, is the youngest state lawmaker in the country. She did most of her campaigning out of her dorm room and beat her older Democratic opponent by a 2-1 margin.
3. Republican Elise Stefanik, at 30, became the youngest woman of either party ever elected to Congress. history. She won her race in New York’s 21st open district becoming the first woman ever to do so.
4. Shelley Moore Capito became the first female senator from West Virginia. Whoops, she’s also a Republican.
The list goes on. Congress for the first time also has 100 female members — thanks largely to recent gains by Republican women.
Diversity is something, ain’t it? Not for sissies.