When Democrats controlled the House, Dingell ruled like a land baron over the Energy and Commerce Committee, holding hearings on whatever subject he fancied and reducing witnesses to quivering Jell-O by his mere presence. First elected in 1955 during the Eisenhower administration, he has lived through many changes in the Congress and in his party. For better or worse, he hasn’t always moved with his party on the hot-button social issues. He remains a board member of the National Rifle Association and continues to oppose abortion rights despite pressure from the women’s groups that have gained an important voice in Democratic Party politics.
Which is why it seemed surprising to find Dingell taking the lead in touting a new government report on the “glass ceiling” in 10 industries employing women between 1995 and 2000. There he was in a Save the Children tie, the only man at the table explaining to more than a dozen female reporters the injustice of women losing ground in the workplace. Next to Dingell sat New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, an unabashed feminist and his partner in this effort. Maloney has been identified with women’s issues for the five terms she’s been in Congress, with admittedly mixed results. She said she turned to Dingell, the dean of the Congress, because he has influence where she might not. “When he decides to do something, he’s incredibly effective,” she said.
The next morning, Dingell appeared at a breakfast with actress Lorraine Bracco of “The Sopranos.” The image of Dingell and Tony Soprano’s psychiatrist championing women’s rights give a whole new meaning to political odd couple. Who’s next with a testimonial? Mullah Omar from the Taliban?
Cynics will say that Dingell is sprucing up his feminist credentials because he’s facing a spirited primary challenge from a woman who is pro-choice and pro-gun control. Michigan is losing a seat because of redistricting, and the Republican-drawn plan pits Dingell against neighboring Rep. Lynn Rivers, an Ann Arbor liberal. EMILY’s List, the national PAC for women candidates, endorsed Rivers last week, and will be pouring money into her race much to the chagrin of not only Dingell but his wife, Debbie Dingell, a prominent General Motors executive who is active in many women’s causes (though not EMILY’s List).
Whatever his motivation, Dingell is showing a new mellow side of himself. I’ve been in Washington for more than 20 years, and I never imagined that Dingell had been a single parent until he revealed it at this week’s luncheon. “One of the hardest things in my life was doing this job and raising four kids,” he said. “Without the help of my sister and, some years later, Debbie, I couldn’t have done it. The youngest was 2 when the divorce was final and I got custody.”
Dingell said he has been voting for equal rights in jobs, housing “and all manner of things” almost from the first day he arrived in Congress, and the gap for women is there, and getting wider. He recalled going out on a cold, wet day with Maloney and a handful of their colleagues to reintroduce the Equal Rights Bill. The father of two daughters and grandfather to two granddaughters, he said he thought the world would look better for them.
Gender discrimination is not a new story. Seven different reports documenting various kinds of gender bias were stacked on a table nearby. All tell a tale of women lagging behind. None received much attention either in the media or on Capitol Hill. This latest study, prepared by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, reveals that women have lost ground at the managerial level in seven out of the 10 industries studied, including the mainstream media. Maloney said she was “shocked” by the findings, especially with regard to the media, which she had thought of as “an open, friendly, nondiscriminatory field.”
Her comment drew knowing looks and laughs around the table. When Maloney asked why an earlier study documenting the small number of women invited on the Sunday talk shows had not gotten wider coverage, a reporter volunteered, “There are a lot of male editors.”
Three industries where women are getting ahead are education, hospital and medical work and public administration, all of which are heavily regulated, and where managerial jobs are more plentiful and carry less status. “There isn’t one line that’s good in this report,” said Maloney.
A reporter from National Public Radio pointed out that in general, people think women are doing well in the society and that, if anything, there is a backlash to feminism and women’s rights. She wondered if there should be a new term for glass ceiling “so it’s not yesterday’s news.” The question appeared to stump Maloney, who like many women of a certain age think that if the problem hasn’t been solved, how can it be old news?
GEPHARDT’S MAKEOVER
Alone in the Democratic presidential field, Dick Gephardt seemed to stand proudly as a traditional old-style liberal. He is a favorite of the labor movement, having opposed free-trade policies in the Clinton and Bush administrations. He’s rarely met a tax cut that he likes, preferring instead to spend money on social programs. But that image as the liberal party stalwart was hurting him in his likely bid for the presidency. And so he unveiled a new Gephardt in a schmooze-fest at the Democratic Leadership Council, the group of centrist Democrats that Gephardt actually helped found. He strayed from their creed in his 1988 bid for the presidency, but now that centrism is back in, Gephardt has adopted the new look. He said he wouldn’t roll back the Bush tax cut. Let Ted Kennedy and the liberals commit hara-kiri on that one. Gephardt is calling instead for a budget summit. If we can stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the war, there’s no reason we should go “toe-to-toe” on the budget, he declared. The DLC speech is the first in a series, says a Gephardt aide, where he will lay out his vision for the next 10 years. Gephardt will deliver the Democratic response to Bush’s State of the Union Message on Tuesday. If he can keep people awake and watching, maybe he’s got a future in politics after all.
