The Republican War Against Women: An Insider's Report from Behind the Lines

By Tanya Melich

Book Overview

Disillusioned and angered by her party's hostile strategy toward women, birthright Republican Tanya Melich walked out of her delegation to the 1992 national convention in revulsion at its deliberate adoption of policies designed to create hostility between the sexes in exchange for votes.

Her acclaimed 1996 book, "The Republican War Against Women", cites chapter and verse to document the GOP's twenty-year history of hypocrisy toward women. Powerful and persuasive, this updated edition of the book not only illustrates how these actions created a gender gap that cost the party the 1992 and 1996 elections -- it demonstrates why the only hope for its future is to adopt a vigorous new vision. In two thoughtful new chapters, Melich calls for all those for whom traditional party affiliation has become an obsolete concept -- moderate Republicans, centrist Democrats, and the 39 percent of voters who identify themselves as independents -- to join in a New Center Republican party whose equitable agenda is attuned to the needs of all America's citizens.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553378163
• ISBN13: 9780553378160
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The insider's view

Republicans might write this book off after reading the title, but this is not some "undercover" investigation by a reporter or (worse) a democrat. The author is a lifelong republican, who rose in the party to become a serious activist and repeated delegate to the national convention. Her experiences at the conventions during the 1970s that changed her view of her own party and led her to fight from within to save the "party of Lincoln" from itself. This is a fastinating read...much better than anything written by an outsider or nonpartisan academic.

Confirms your worst feelings

In painstaking and non-partisan detail, Melich proves the Republican party (and not the American public) as it presently is incarnated is the real threat to American families.Although a majority of Americans regardless of political affiliation are pro-choice and favor GLBT rights, the GOP has capitalized on fear regarding the civil rights movement and social change to win elections. Melich explains why this tactic has roundly backfired on them. From the Silent and Moral Majority to the Christian Coalition, these social conservatives have been allowed to warp the electorial system for their own personal benefit. 1192 was the first year a majority saw through the blinders and took a real stand for America. Evem if I disagree with Melich on identification, it is refreshing to know that it was not just myself who sensed the misogyny at the 1992 Republican National Convention. It is impossible to have a serious discussion about individual rights with opposition to legalized abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Wonderfull reality check

I was in junior high when the infamous 1992 convention rolled into Houston, and seeing all of the hate on TV was very scary.Although my parents were not political, they were opposed to the religious right's agenda.....We became staunch Clinton advocates that year, and do not regret a minute of it.

A Review from Someone on the Other Side of the Lines

As a bookstore employee, I see more books than I have time to read. When I saw Ms. Melich's book, I was immediately interested. I was surprised by the title, coming from a woman who has been a Republican for so many years. As a Democrat, I was anticipating a book full of mere justifications from a woman who would voluntarily be a Republican. After reading the first paragraph, I knew I would insist that all women I know should read this book. The book is, at times, very dense reading as I had to stop every few lines to tell someone how passionate I felt about the situations Melich describes. I admire her fight. Although she may not subscribe to the same political philosophy as I do, she has fought the good fight against the establishment. To conclude, I placed the book on our "What We're Reading" shelf at the bookstore. We sold quite a few. Many times, however, I would walk by and notice the book had been turned over to hide the cover. Some people refuse to face reality

A contemporary history of misogynism in the Republican party

Although I am a Democratic woman, I found Tanya Melich's book to be a sympathetic and provocative history of misogynism in the Republican Party -- which was the party of choice for my parents, and, which I expected to embody Democratic principles, because -- well, this is America. Author Melich describes the platform and other battles during Republican conventions and the rise of such anti-feminist leaders as Phyllis Schlafly and Newt Gingrich. Pertinent to Americans of both sexes is the concurrent rise of power of the Religious Right and the attacks being made on the separation of church and state -- fundamental to our Democratic principles. The book serves as both an historical overview and a call to action for Americans of both sexes who want to maintain the freedom and equality instilled in our political system by the Founding Fathers.