If Obama holds off Clinton, Who is up next as a Potential Woman POTUS Candidate?

A great many educated Women like myself are expressing disappointment here in my present West Coast environment that Senator Hillary Clinton might not be the nominee of the Democratic Party in August. Those of you in Pennsylvania aren't privy to West Coast speculation, but many out here are already looking four to eight years in the future. What if John McCain wins? It is not outside the realm of possibility, people!

This Morning I'm going to introduce you to two progressive, forward thinking women candidates you might be interested in, under the right circumstances in 2012, or even 2016.

That would be United States Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray of Washington.

Senator Murray was first elected in 1993, at the age of 43, and Senator Cantwell was first elected in 2000, at the age of 41. Both of these women were successful in private business before entering politics. Next week I'll write about Senator Murray, but today I want to give you some background on Senator Cantwell. I like both of these women, and I regret it a little bit that I'm moving back to Fogelsville, and may never have the chance to vote for either of them, unless one of them does eventually (or hopefully) run for President.

Maria Cantwell has Midwestern roots. She grew up and graduated from High School in Indianapolis. She attended Miami University in Oxford Ohio and graduated with a B.A. in Public Administration. She came to Washington State in 1984 to work on a unsuccessful Democratic Candidate's Presidential campaign. She got a job on the ground floor of an start up Internet company called RealNetworks that pioneered the first live stream data broadcasts. When she ran for Senate in 2001, she refused all PAC money, financing most of her campaign by selling 110,000 of her shares in Real Network at $44 a piece.

Maria is a single woman, and has no children. In her own words, she is "100% pro-choice", and in the Senate serves on 20 different committees, including Appropriations, Foreign Relations, Intelligence, and to my personal interest, Energy and Natural Resources. A complete list of Senate Committee assignments is here: http://www.unityparty.us/committees-senate-house.htm

The Energy Committee is important, especially to Pennsylvania residents, because Maria Cantwell has a history of taking on Energy Companies over unfair rate hikes. In 2002, she zealously urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expedite its investigation into fraudulent contracts by the ENRON Corporation during the Western States Energy Crisis.
My friends in Tamaqua and other parts of Pennsylvania have been keeping me informed of the outrage being expressed by citizens concerning the pending deregulation of Electricity and PP&L's proposed rate hikes, at the same time they are posting obscene profits. (She does remind me politically somewhat of PA State Senator Lisa Boscola, but without the personal issues.)

Senator Cantwell also joined with 43 other Senators, including JOHN MCCAIN, in a vote that stopped proposed drilling in the Alaskan Wilderness refuge in 2005. Maria Cantwell is an advocate for developing alternative energies and decreasing America's dependence on foreign Energy, and she has been advocating it since taking office, back when gas was a $1.25 a gallon, in the good old days before Bush and his boys first took charge.

In 2006, President Bush proposed a Federal budget including legislation that would have allowed Utilities in the Northwest to raise rates more than a Billion dollars or more a year. Senator Cantwell and Senator Murray co-wrote a letter to the President expressing their opposition, and have a track record of representing regular people against the larger conglomerates.

I like Maria Cantwell, and I like the kind of self made millionaire that she is. She didn't inherit her wealth, she made it on her own through her own efforts. She believes we need to be an energy independent nation, and she has worked to that end. She has come out in support of Hillary Clinton for President, and shares the onus with Hillary Clinton of having voted to approve the resolution giving George Bush the Authority to wage war. However, when she cast that vote, she spoke on the Senate floor as to her reservations, and her doubts.
Maria Cantwell says what is on her mind, and is firm in her beliefs. I don't know if she has any Presidential aspirations yet, but her resume is as good as anyone else's, male or female.

Many people question Hillary Clinton's readiness and experience, and yes, Maria Cantwell comes from a less populous state, but she definitely has campaign experience. She defeated a sitting Republican in a bitter campaign in 2000 by less than 2500 votes. In 2006, many so called experts thought her vulnerable, but she won re-election by 16 percentage points and over 300,000 votes. She represents the State of Washington and its concerns well. I think she could do very well as "Madame" President. to see her current website, click here:
http://cantwell.senate.gov

Next Monday Morning I will profile Patty Murray. Unless you crazy people in the Lehigh Valley do something incredibly crazy this week, giving Mike Gravel a write in victory as a Democrat, I will see you next week. saracat66@yahoo.com