Friday November 9, 2012, 9:59 am
(Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren takes the stage at her election night party at the Copley Plaza Hotel in downtown Boston, on Election Day, November 6, 2012. (Photo: Evan McGlinn / The New York Times)


The election on Tuesday of five new women to the U.S. Senate, four of them Democrats, means that the 113th Congress will have 20 female senators, the most ever in U.S. history.

There has been a steady increase in the number of women in the Senate, but this was expected to change this year when Republican Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson (Texas) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) retire.

Not happening! Instead, that number is increasing, and the women elected come from excitingly diverse backgrounds.

Meet The New Female Senators

Elizabeth Ann Warren, D-Massachusetts, a fierce consumer advocate, won easily over Senator Scott Brown. You may remember that Brown swept to an upset victory in a 2010 special election, winning the seat previously held by the late Senator Edward Kennedy. So now that loss is avenged. Warren is a high-profile Harvard Law professor and architect of the Wall Street reform package and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau passed by Congress in 2010. Now she has made history, as she becomes the first woman to represent Massachusetts in the US Senate.

Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, is a Tea Party favorite and state senator in Nebraska who defeated Democratic opponent and former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey to take this Senate seat from Democrats. Nebraska voters had previously elected Kerrey as governor and to two U.S. Senate terms, but he left the Senate in 2000 and moved to New York City, where he became president of The New School. He returned to Nebraska to run for office this year after Democratic Senator Ben Nelson retired. This one was not a huge surprise: Fischer, who criticized her opponent for spending the past decade in New York City, held a decisive lead for most of the election.

Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin made history on Tuesday night when she was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first openly lesbian, and first openly LGBT, member of the upper chamber.

As Care2′s Steve Williams writes:

Despite opponents attempting to smear her as a “radical lesbian” and her Republican rival Tommy Thompson aping his favorite talking point, “Tammy Baldwin is so liberal that even Nancy Pelosi has to turn left to talk to her,” Baldwin managed to secure a narrow victory over her rival.

Baldwin campaigned heavily on fiscal responsibility, job creation and health care. During her time as a Representative she has backed the Buffet rule and, among a number of other initiatives, called for higher tariffs on Chinese imports so as to promote American manufacturing. She also campaigned heavily for the Affordable Care Act and also supported improvements to veteran healthcare.

Democrat Mazie Hirono yesterday became Hawaii’s first female senator. She is also the first Asian-American woman to serve in the Senate. A woman who is friendly to LGBT rights, Hirono was running against Linda Lingle, the state’s governor, who has vetoed civil unions legislation. Earlier this year, Hirono captured the attention of the Net Roots National Conference as she recounted how her mother escaped an abusive husband in Japan and moved to Hawaii to start a new life with her children. The Hawaii seat opened up when Senator Daniel Akaka retired.

And last, but definitely not least:

Democrat Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota narrowly defeated her Republican opponent Rick Berg, with the results only emerging late on Wednesday afternoon.

From The Chicago Tribune:

Heitkamp prevailed by nearly 3,000 votes, or just under 1 percent, out of nearly 320,000 votes cast, according to unofficial state election returns.

Berg conceded the election to Heitkamp on Wednesday and thanked supporters. He said he did not expect the outcome to change with the final certification of the vote.

In addition, female senators re-elected were: Sens. Diane Feinstein, D-California, Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri.

Congratulations to our new women senators!
************

By Judy Molland, Care2 | Report | Truthout |

Friday November 9, 2012, 11:20 am
Maybe some things will get done now!

Friday November 9, 2012, 11:41 am
20.....is just the beginning.... :)

Friday November 9, 2012, 11:42 am
Excellent article. Noted. While most people are celebrating the reelection of the President, the truly wonderful and historic event of this election was all these wins for women. Not to downplay anything positive that the President has promised or may even do in this term, the reality is that these women will actually accomplish so much more to transform our government and to lead our nation in a new direction.

Friday November 9, 2012, 1:44 pm
Welcome to the age of matriarchy, out goes patriarchy. My congratulations to each of the newbies who hopefully will stir up things now. Rmoney got his binder full a bit late but the more powerful now in "his state".

Friday November 9, 2012, 2:34 pm
Now if we could get 300 women in the House we'd be Progressing into the 21st Century!!!:)

Friday November 9, 2012, 3:39 pm
Thanks.

Friday November 9, 2012, 5:35 pm
I LOVE this use of the "BINDER" meme!!!
Long may it continue! The Mittster might just have, INADVERTENTLY of course, done Women a SERVICE by this construction!
Still laffing my head off at continuing "Binder" jokes.....

I am happy to say, that my Democrat Congresswoman, Maria Cantwell, was one of the Women re-elected to the Senate in this Election. So glad about the new ones!

Friday November 9, 2012, 6:20 pm
The beginning of the end for the "good ol' boy" network. That's real progress.

Friday November 9, 2012, 6:47 pm
Lots of NEW "Binder" jokes.
LOTS and LOTS of Halloween "Binder" costumes! Women, men, Women in groups, and couples!

And then there's THIS {from that site}:
THAT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION, MA’AM. GLAD YOU ASKED.

YES, WOMEN WHO ARE MENSTRUATING MAY STILL VOTE, BUT SHOULD USE THE SPECIALLY DESIGNED ‘MOON TIME’ BOOTHS LOCATED AT THE REAR OF THE FACILITIES SO AS TO AVOID TOUCHING ANY OF THE VOTING MACHINES MANUFACTURED BY COMPANIES IN WHICH GOVERNOR ROMNEY MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE INVESTMENTS. THE VOTES WILL NOT BE COUNTED, OF COURSE, FOR AS IT STATES IN THE BOOK OF LEVI YOU MUST BE KEPT APART FOR SEVEN DAYS, BUT THEY WILL BE TALLIED BEFORE THE BOOTHS ARE BURNED AND THE MEN BATHE AND PRAY TO WASH THE UNCLEANLINESS OF YOUR MENSES FROM THEM. THOSE ‘MOON VOTES’ WILL BE KEPT IN BINDERS. WE’RE VERY BIG ON BINDERS.

ALSO, THANKS TO FURTHER FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING INTIATIVES RECENTLY PUT FORTH IN A REPUBLICAN HOUSE BILL, THE HOLDING PENS PRESIDENT ROMNEY INTENDS TO BUILD IF HE IS ELECTED WOULD ALLOW UNCLEAN WOMEN TO BE SAFELY HERDED TOGETHER DURING THE RECURRING WEEK OF THEIR MOON BLOOD WITHOUT MISSING ANY OF THE WORK SO GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED BY THE JOB CREATORS IN THIS FINE NATION.

THANK YOU, AND WE’LL SEE YOU AT THE POLLS.
;-D

Friday November 9, 2012, 6:58 pm
This is the site for "Binders":

http://bindersfullofwomen.tumblr.com/

That site is now CLOSED for further submissions. But you still can view!
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and the nice person who sent me the link!
;-D

Friday November 9, 2012, 10:14 pm
I saw a funny cartoon on this subject that I'd like to share. It showed a picture of Hugh Hefner in his signature smoking jacket, smoking his pipe and wearing his sh!t-eating grin with the following caption: "I support Mitt Romney. I like to keep women in binders, too."

I'm extremely pleased that Elizabeth Warren is now Senator-Elect Elizabeth Warren and that four additional women won Senate seats, for a total of 20! This is long overdue and proof of what can be accomplished when we take the time to study the issues and the candidates and then get out and vote!

Saturday November 10, 2012, 2:46 am
Ouchies, Well BM sure would Love Wisconsin, o.0 ...UgH..Chris One of my team was going to be posting a bunch of the great news, but I don't see it on yet, TY Kit, Tammy is a Friend of mine and she is off to DC, sad to see her out of the state, cause now Wis. is totally Rep. controlled. But, like to see maybe some good news in other States... Watch inbox, I have some happiness to share with Care2...It's a HUGE HUG :))))

Saturday November 10, 2012, 6:45 am
Terrific! I hope and expect every one of them to be leaders and compromise. by not voting with their party blocs. We need a return to the middle.

Saturday November 10, 2012, 7:22 am

High expectations for women and continued low expectations for men?

Well John, I feel confident that these women and more women will meet and exceed your expectations. When the Congress (both Houses) actually represents the true face of each constituency, then things will be done toward a more fair tomorrow. Old grey men, with mean angry faces - that is not the face of this country. We are and we have been a country of building on dreams, that means we do believe that hope can be made real. All the races, heritage back grounds, sexual orientation or preference mean nothing for the growth of a democratic society if we don't see the faces, language. customs and know the hopes, dreams and desires of all the many divergent people that make this nation. Quick-- John, how many first nation people are in the Congress?

Saturday November 10, 2012, 6:16 pm
Noted. Such good news! Only 1/5 of the Senate so far, and we are more than half the population...so, I predict the next election will add 5 more female Senators, and many more to the House. We'll just have to keep adding a few more at every election, and by the time my granddaughters are adults, maybe things will be more equal.

Saturday November 10, 2012, 10:58 pm
Restoring the balance!

Noted, Thank you Kit.

Monday November 12, 2012, 9:29 am
IT'S ABOUT TIME! Considering that more women vote in the US than men.....it's about time!

Unfortunately, we haven't done a good job encouraging young women to become active...it takes money and available time to run for office and women are still on the shorter side of that page.

GIVE US TIME AND SUPPORT!

Monday November 12, 2012, 10:26 am

There ya go, Pam. Give us time and support.

Wednesday November 14, 2012, 9:36 am
which is still just 1/5th of the 100 senators....and we still have not had a female president though many other countries including 3rd world countries have.