Year of the Conservative Woman? Betsy Reed Debates the GOP’s Princella Smith

Year of the Conservative Woman? Betsy Reed Debates the GOP’s Princella Smith

Year of the Conservative Woman? Betsy Reed Debates the GOP’s Princella Smith

With more men than women supporting Sarah Palin, who really benefits from the GOP’s ‘Year of The Conservative Woman’?

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

"If you look at who likes Sarah Palin, it’s mostly men," argues The Nation‘s executive editor Betsy Reed in conversation with former GOP Congress candidate Princella Smith on Democracy Now!. In her latest article, Sex and the GOP: Why Women Aren’t Buying What the Party Is Selling, Reed cites recent polls showing that women continue to prefer Democratic polices which prove that women are "not stupid" and can see past the GOP’s marketing strategies.

Smith, on the other hand, thinks that Sarah Palin’s greater popularity among men "is a testament to the strength of Sarah Palin." Smith says that the GOP promotes "real feminism."  But as Reed points out, female GOP candidates have actually adopted policies that are hostile to women on issues such as abortion rights, reproductive health and sex education.

—Joanna Chiu

Hold the powerful to account by supporting The Nation

The chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration reaches new lows each week.

Trump’s catastrophic “Liberation Day” has wreaked havoc on the world economy and set up yet another constitutional crisis at home. Plainclothes officers continue to abduct university students off the streets. So-called “enemy aliens” are flown abroad to a mega prison against the orders of the courts. And Signalgate promises to be the first of many incompetence scandals that expose the brutal violence at the core of the American empire.

At a time when elite universities, powerful law firms, and influential media outlets are capitulating to Trump’s intimidation, The Nation is more determined than ever before to hold the powerful to account.

In just the last month, we’ve published reporting on how Trump outsources his mass deportation agenda to other countries, exposed the administration’s appeal to obscure laws to carry out its repressive agenda, and amplified the voices of brave student activists targeted by universities.

We also continue to tell the stories of those who fight back against Trump and Musk, whether on the streets in growing protest movements, in town halls across the country, or in critical state elections—like Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court race—that provide a model for resisting Trumpism and prove that Musk can’t buy our democracy.

This is the journalism that matters in 2025. But we can’t do this without you. As a reader-supported publication, we rely on the support of generous donors. Please, help make our essential independent journalism possible with a donation today.

In solidarity,

The Editors

The Nation

Ad Policy
x