The president and CEO of the largest public policy women’s organization says conservative women have to make a commitment to get engaged in political and policy debates if they want to see the United States turn in a more favorable direction.
Penny Young Nance is also the author of “Feisty and Feminine: A Rallying Cry for Conservative Women.” The book provides facts and ways to engage friends and neighbors on key issues while also explaining why Nance believes women are being sold destructive lies about policy and our culture as a whole.
The book comes as America moves closer to the first woman being nominated for president by a major political party, and Hillary Clinton has even suggested at times that her being a woman ought to be a reason women support her.
Nance says another female White House hopeful was much closer to the truth.
“Carly Fiorina said, and I thought it was so wise, ‘Don’t vote for me just because I’m a woman. Vote for me because you think I’m the most qualified. It is demeaning to suggest the only reason I deserve your vote is because I’m a woman,'” said Nance.
The fact remains that women tend to vote Democratic, especially in presidential elections. But the problem for conservatives and Republicans is more specific. While married women tend to vote their way, the ever-growing population of single women overwhelmingly back Democrats.
Nance says the reasons for that divide are easy to see but the instinct to look for the government to help needs to be confronted.
“We know if you’re a single mom, you’re much more likely to live in poverty and so are your children. We also want to make sure that we’re securing a future for our kids so that they can do better. When we settle for socialism, we are consigning them to a life no better than the one that they have,” said Nance.
Pointing out that there are many opportunities for finding well-paying careers outside of the traditional four-year college plan, such as vocational school and other educational opportunities, Nance says education is the key to success and to converting voters.
“The way for these kids to get out of poverty is for them to not be consigned and sent to these substandard schools, trapped in these schools. We need to have school choice for these kids so that they can do better than the generation before them,” said Nance.
“When you talk to a mom on that level about opportunities for her children, she hears you,” said Nance.
In “Feisty and Feminine,” Nance says America is facing an Esther-like moment, referring to the biblical queen who risked her own life to expose a plot to exterminate Jews in Persia. She says Christian and conservative women need to speak up.
“I believe we are called to be salt and light in our culture. Part of that responsibility, when we’re caught in these moments, when people feel perfectly comfortable denigrating our beliefs right to our face, we need to be prepared with an answer. We need to be able to clear our throats and lean in and be part of the conversation,” said Nance.
Nance says many people feel intimidated to speak out if they are outnumbered or believe they don’t have a strong enough command of the facts. She says conservatives need to be well armed, both with scripture and other evidence.
“There are situations you are in where you can quote scripture, but you will not bring anyone to your side because they don’t believe scripture. So we also need to be prepared with the facts and the stats and a story or science that can also help them understand why we believe what we believe,” said Nance.
In addition to the political debates. Nance is on a mission to help women reject lies that she says liberals have tried to force upon them, starting with her controversial claim that women are contributing to their own degrading.
“At some point we developed Stockholm Syndrome. We started to cooperate with our captors. There was a day when we believed that pornography objectified and hurt women. Now the conventional wisdom, particularly among radical feminism, is that somehow it’s empowering,” said Nance.
Nance says she regularly speaks with young women and implores them to reject what society tells them they should want in favor of what God wants for them.
“Listen, forget ’50 Shades of Gray.’ You deserve 50 years from a man who loves you, who will support you, who will respect you, who will be your life partner and loves you and will be faithful. Stop settling for pig slop when God has a banquet of filet mignon for you,” said Nance.
