By Bettina Duval, at Calitics

When did it become politically incorrect for women candidates to be passionate about running for public office? As I sit here reading the events surrounding the resignation of the Obama campaign’s foreign policy advisor, Samantha Power, I can’t help but feel this strikes yet another blow for fight for equal representation for women. Yes, Ms. Power’s remarks crossed a political boundary, but even more disturbing is her reasoning for using the word she did. Ms. Power twisted Senator Clinton’s passion, drive, ambition and commitment to her presidential bid with a negative spin comparable to that of little children on a playground. Is this typical of how the average woman views female candidates?

Unfortunately, I am finding through my work as Founder of the CALIFORNIA LIST that Ms. Power is not the exception to the rule. Women elected officials are in decline in California and female candidates are becoming more and more a tough sell - even to their fellow women. Why? Recent focus groups of women voters moderated by pollsters at Fairbank, Maslin, and Maullin found that those traits that make a woman inherently feminine are sometimes the biggest obstacles. Women candidates who are passionate about the issues are instantly labeled in the media as emotional or wimpy and those who are too restrained are cold and un-nurturing. I don’t know about you, but compassion and strength are high on my list of must haves for those I want representing me. After all, insatiable passion has been the catalyst to some of American’s greatest heroines. Cady Elizabeth Stanton’s passion for equality drove her to spearhead the American women’s movement securing a women’s right to right. Rosa Parks’ passion against racial inequality drove her to sit in the “white section” of that Alabama bus. Passion is essential and ambition is the breeding ground for all positive change. Research indicates that women electeds consistently champion those issues women voters number as a top priority such as education, health care, the environment, and reproductive choice. It follows that women need to equal the playing field in the male dominated political arena to have our voices heard. Electing women matters and supporting viable women candidates give that us the voices that represent our choices.

The mission of the CALIFORNIA LIST is to augment the pipeline of Democratic women candidates and elected officials in statewide offices. Our goal is to create a future generation of progressive female leaders while strengthening the bond between informed voters, statewide representatives, and political activists in California. Visit our website and let us know why you think women are a declining resource in the California political landscape.

Bettina Duval is the founder of the California List, a political fundraising network that helps elect Democratic women to all branches of California state government.