When is it acceptable to portray a female candidate as a pole dancing stripper? Never.

As Founder of an organization dedicated to electing Democratic female candidates, I believe that no matter what party, all women should take note of the recent ad running against California Congressional candidate Janice Hahn. It is degrading to women everywhere as well as offensive in so many other ways. But, I can’t stop thinking about the ramifications of this kind of advertising.

The advertisement from Turn Right USA uses offensive language and images that undermine the political process. There should be a certain level of dignity and respect for our political process, but the false sense of anonymity in our electronic age appears to be eroding our basic societal civility. We should heed the old saying that civility costs nothing, yet buys everything.

Some of the comments I read mention how funny this ad is. Are we all just supposed to laugh at this? When we as a society accept this type of character assassination that incorporates pornographic illustrations, we have all but eliminated social decorum. By allowing ourselves to become desensitized to the basics of sexual harassment or targeting women as being ‘less than’ within the electoral process, then we are traveling down a slippery slope.

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Sitting with Rep. Chu’s family, friends and staff, we reminisced about her background. She has long been a fierce public servant and she understands the importance of navigating the electoral pipeline. From my perspective, as an advocate to build the pipeline of future leaders, her story is important.

Rep. Chu began political life in her San Gabriel neighborhoods, but she’s no typical valley girl! During her more than 20 years as a public servant, Rep. Chu has served on the Garvey School District as a Board member, was a three term Mayor of Monterey Park, was elected to the California State Assembly, and was elected to the Board of Equalization where she served as Chair.

Rep. Chu has fought to protect working families, end discrimination, save healthcare, protect the environment, protect women, protect consumers, improve education and worked to close special interest tax loopholes. Now she has distinguished herself as the first Chinese American woman to ever serve in Congress winning her seat with 62% of the vote in the March special election. With her background, we can all rest assured that Rep. Chu will bring her passion, commitment, and integrity to represent our State in the Nation’s capitol. article continues...

While running his campaign, President Barack Obama promised that, if elected, his administration would champion the rights of women, especially in the area of equality. True to his pledge, he has already begun working on this vital issue, a mere 53 days into his Presidency. As the Founder of CALIFORNIA LIST, a group that fosters women’s rights in the political arena, I was particularly moved by President Obama’s signing of an Executive Order on March 11 establishing the White House Council on Women and Girls. Citing his mother, grandmother, and wife as personal examples, President Obama wants to make clear that areas like equal pay, family leave and child care are not just women’s issues, but that they are family and economic issues.

Those of us who work tirelessly to advance this cause realize that we are still far from equality, especially in the workplace. During his announcement the President said, “The purpose of this Council is to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy.” I say, it’s about time! article continues...