Briefing: Betsy Reed and Rebecca Traister on Sarah Palin’s ‘Mama Grizzlies’

Briefing: Betsy Reed and Rebecca Traister on Sarah Palin’s ‘Mama Grizzlies’

Briefing: Betsy Reed and Rebecca Traister on Sarah Palin’s ‘Mama Grizzlies’

After Sarah Palin declared that the "Mama Grizzlies" were taking over the Republican party, the media reacted as if Republican women were an undiscovered species. Is there really anything new about this year’s crop of conservative female candidates?

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

After Sarah Palin declared that the "Mama Grizzlies" were taking over the Republican party, the media seized on the meme of Republican women as if they were an undiscovered species. Is there really anything new about this year’s crop of conservative female candidates, and are the Democrats missing their chance to be the real party of progressive women’s causes?

Joining us to elucidate the much-hyped phenomemon are two veteran political journalists who’ve spent years watching right-wing women as well as their progressive counterparts: Rebecca Traister, senior writer at Salon and author of the new book Big Girls Don’t Cry: The Election That Changed Everything for American Women, and Betsy Reed, executive editor at The Nation and co-editor of Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare.

The Nation on GRIT TV is a weekly video collaboration between The Nation and GRIT TV with Laura Flanders. Watch for Monday briefings, Wednesday commentaries, weekend conversations and more at TheNation.com. For full half-hour episodes of The Nation on GRIT TV, or local television air times visit www.grittv.org.

Time is running out to have your gift matched 

In this time of unrelenting, often unprecedented cruelty and lawlessness, I’m grateful for Nation readers like you. 

So many of you have taken to the streets, organized in your neighborhood and with your union, and showed up at the ballot box to vote for progressive candidates. You’re proving that it is possible—to paraphrase the legendary Patti Smith—to redeem the work of the fools running our government.

And as we head into 2026, I promise that The Nation will fight like never before for justice, humanity, and dignity in these United States. 

At a time when most news organizations are either cutting budgets or cozying up to Trump by bringing in right-wing propagandists, The Nation’s writers, editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, and illustrators confront head-on the administration’s deadly abuses of power, blatant corruption, and deconstruction of both government and civil society. 

We couldn’t do this crucial work without you.

Through the end of the year, a generous donor is matching all donations to The Nation’s independent journalism up to $75,000. But the end of the year is now only days away. 

Time is running out to have your gift doubled. Don’t wait—donate now to ensure that our newsroom has the full $150,000 to start the new year. 

Another world really is possible. Together, we can and will win it!

Love and Solidarity,

John Nichols 

Executive Editor, The Nation

Ad Policy
x