Mama grizzly is a term that former U.S. vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin coined to refer to herself that has since been applied to female candidates she supported or endorsed in the 2010 U.S. midterm elections (collectively called mama grizzlies). Palin first used the term in a May 2010 speech at a fundraiser for the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion women's group, and used it in a July 2010 YouTube video produced by SarahPAC, Palin's political action committee, for the 2010 elections. The persona largely served as a device by which Palin could "blend [her] feminine and masculine qualities and capabilities." [1] By September 2010, mama grizzly was deemed to be "part of the lexicon" of the election by Newsweek magazine. It has never been made clear if the term is meant to refer to all women candidates supported by the former governor, or if it is just a general concept about real-life moms entering politics because they fear for their children's future. [2]
The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos), is known for its aggressiveness; females are especially protective of their young. [3] The state of Alaska is home to more than 70 percent of the grizzly population in the world. [4]
During her tenure as Governor, Palin chose a design showing a grizzly bear grasping a salmon in its mouth as Alaska's contribution to the 50 State Quarters series of commemorative coins. [4] At the April 2007 unveiling of the design, Palin said, "I like to think this is a mama grizzly doing what she does best: taking care of her young." [4]
Nearly one year later, while promoting the Alaska natural gas pipeline project to federal officials in Washington D.C., Palin said, "Don't tell me that we should ever be on our knees to any dictator because of our desperation for energy, not when we have supplies here at home." Referring to her son's imminent deployment to the Iraq War zone, she added, "This mama grizzly ... has more reason than ever to protect our young." [5]
By October 2008, Palin's usage of the bear metaphor to describe herself was reported in a New York Times article, "Provoking Palin's Inner Bear," which quotes her as saying that negative media coverage about her children makes, "the mama grizzly bear in me [come] out, makes me want to rear up on my hind legs and say, 'Wait a minute.'" [6] Soon, other media outlets began picking up on Palin's self-description. In January 2009, Margery Eagan of the Boston Herald penned a column, "Unbearable Mama Grizzly clawing way to Oval Office" in which she noted that a YouTube interview of Palin had nearly three quarters of a million views, proving "that mama 'grizzly,' as she called herself, remains irresistible." [7] The Vancouver, Washington newspaper, The Columbian , commented in January 2009 that, "Sarah Palin is on the prowl, snorting that when the media poke fun at her family, it brings out the mama grizzly in her." [8] The connection between Palin and mama grizzly was made internationally in July 2009 when the New Delhi, India-based Hindustan Times reported on a Palin tweet describing mama grizzly bears in Alaska. [9] In August 2009, an opinion piece in The Columbian suggested that Sarah Palin could serve as a Mama Grizzly head of a third or a fourth U.S. political party. [10]
Speaking before the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List organization in May 2010, Palin called certain novice female political candidates running in the 2010 election "momma grizzlies". Referring to her earlier self-description as a "pit-bull" in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, [12] she said, [11] [13]
If you thought pit bulls were tough, you don't want to mess with mama grizzlies.
Later that day, Shannon Bream of the Fox News Channel reported that, "Palin says, women who she calls Mama Grizzlies will lead a national Republican wave in November." [14] In July 2010, Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC, released a video pushing the mama grizzly meme as representing herself and "her fiercely independent, common sense conservative" candidates. [15] The day after the 2010 midterm elections, Palin released a video showing a montage of her winning grizzly candidates, a roaring grizzly bear, and narration in which she says "this is our morning in America". [16]
Publications such as Newsweek explored the impact of "Mama Grizzlies" on the 2010 election cycle, prominently featuring Palin-endorsed women candidates such as Michele Bachmann, Nikki Haley, Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell in cover art and photos accompanying the story. [17]
The 2010 general elections placed a historic number of Republican women in Congress and "many were also ... heralded by Sarah Palin as being 'Mama Grizzlies.'" However, these women did not affiliate themselves with the term or discussions about gendered identities at all. [18]
Emily's List, a political action committee that supports pro-choice female candidates, launched a website and a video ad called "Sarah Doesn't Speak for Me," to oppose Palin, her "radical agenda," and the candidates she had endorsed. [19] In the video, women dressed as bears say they are "mama grizzlies" who fight for their cubs' right to choose, and that is why they oppose Palin and her candidates. Politico reporter Andy Barr described the ad as an attempt "to raise money off of Sarah Palin and the vitriol that she inspires". [20]
New York Times columnist Gail Collins said the use of the term made it seem as if there were more female Republican candidates running for high office than there actually were, and remarked that their Democratic counterparts "suffer from the lack of a cool name". [21]
In September 2010, Newsweek reported that mama grizzly was now "a familiar part of the lexicon" but questioned whether the grizzly candidates stood for policies that were good for women and children. [22]
On August 23, 2010, The Washington Post published an article titled "In South Dakota, Democrats' own 'mama grizzly' vs. 'the next Sarah Palin'" which used the term to refer to South Dakota's Democratic party nominee for U.S. Representative, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, as well as its Republican nominee, Kristi Noem, though at the time the article was written, neither candidate had been endorsed by Palin. [23]
In Slate , Noreen Malone used the term to describe conservative women at the Smart Girl Summit, and their effective use of social networking in 2010 political campaigns. [24]
Lisa Ann Murkowski is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Alaska, having held the seat since 2002. She is the first woman to represent Alaska in the Senate and the Senate's second-most senior Republican woman, after Susan Collins of Maine. She became dean of Alaska's congressional delegation upon Representative Don Young's death.
EMILYs List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast". Malcolm commented that "it makes the dough rise". The saying refers to a convention of political fundraising: receiving many donations early in a race helps attract subsequent donors. EMILYs List bundles contributions to the campaigns of Democratic women in favor of abortion rights running in targeted races.
Soccer mom is a term that broadly refers to an American, Canadian, or Australian, middle-class, suburban woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting school-age children to youth sporting events or other activities. It came into widespread use during the 1996 United States presidential election and over time has come to take on an unfavorable connotation.
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee under U.S. Senator John McCain.
The 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain, the longtime senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, was launched with an informal announcement on February 28, 2007, during a live taping of the Late Show with David Letterman, and formally launched at an event on April 25, 2007. His second candidacy for the Presidency of the United States, he had previously run for his party's nomination in the 2000 primaries and was considered as a potential running mate for his party's nominee, then-Governor George W. Bush of Texas. After winning a majority of delegates in the Republican primaries of 2008, on August 29, leading up to the convention, McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate for Vice President. Five days later, at the 2008 Republican National Convention, McCain was formally selected as the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential election.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is an American 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the US, by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA Pro-Life America Candidate Fund political action committee.
The sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live aired several critically acclaimed sketches parodying then Alaskan Governor and vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin in the lead-up to the 2008 United States presidential election. The sketches featured former cast member Tina Fey, who returned as a guest star to portray Palin. Fey won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin.
Sarah Palin is an American politician, commentator and author who served as the ninth Governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. She was the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election alongside Arizona Senator John McCain.
Sarah Palin was a member of the City Council of Wasilla, Alaska from 1992 to 1996 and the city's mayor from 1996 to 2002. Wasilla is located 29 miles (47 km) north-east of the port of Anchorage, and is the largest population center in the Mat-Su Valley. At the conclusion of Palin's tenure as mayor in 2002, the city had about 6,300 residents, and is now the fifth largest city in the state. Term limits prevented Palin from running for a third term as mayor.
Sarah Palin, while serving as Governor of Alaska, was nominated as the first female candidate of the Republican Party for Vice President of the United States. Following the nomination, her public image came under close media scrutiny, particularly regarding her religious perspective on public life, her socially conservative views, and a perceived lack of experience. Palin's experience in foreign and domestic politics came under criticism among conservatives as well as liberals following her nomination. A poll taken by Rasmussen Reports just after the Republican National Convention in the first week of September 2008 found that Palin was more popular than either Barack Obama or John McCain; however, this perception later reversed. At the same time, Palin became more popular among Republicans than McCain. A February 2010 ABC News/Washington Post poll showed 71% of Americans felt Palin lacked the qualifications necessary to be President of the United States.
Levi Keith Johnston is best known as the twice-former fiancé of Bristol Palin and father of their son Tripp. He first received media attention in August 2008 when U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced that her daughter Bristol was five months pregnant by Johnston and that the two were engaged. The couple ultimately ended their relationship, and Johnston and the Palin family engaged in several public feuds.
Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser is an American activist who is the president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an American political organization that seeks to advance anti-abortion women in politics. She was brought into the organization as its executive director in 1993, shortly after its founding by Rachel MacNair.
Game Change is a 2012 American political drama television film based on events of the 2008 United States presidential election campaign of John McCain, directed by Jay Roach and written by Danny Strong, based on the 2010 book of the same title documenting the campaign by political journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. The film stars Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Ed Harris, and focuses on the chapters about the selection and performance of Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin (Moore) as running mate to Senator John McCain (Harris) in the presidential campaign.
Sarah Palin's candidacy for Vice President of the United States was publicly announced by then-presumptive Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain on August 29, 2008. As part of the McCain presidential campaign, Palin, then the incumbent Governor of Alaska, was officially nominated by acclamation at the 2008 Republican National Convention on September 3. The McCain–Palin ticket lost the 2008 presidential election on November 4 to the Barack Obama–Joe Biden ticket.
Women in conservatism in the United States have advocated for social, political, economic, and cultural conservative policies since anti-suffragism. Leading conservative women such as Phyllis Schlafly have expressed that women should embrace their privileged essential nature. This thread of belief can be traced through the anti-suffrage movement, the Red Scare, and the Reagan Era, and is still present in the 21st century, especially in several conservative women's organizations such as Concerned Women for America and the Independent Women's Forum.
Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women is a 2010 non-fiction book written by the American journalist Rebecca Traister and published by Free Press. The book focuses on women's contributions to and experiences of the 2008 United States presidential election. Traister places particular focus on four main political figures—Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, and Elizabeth Edwards—as well as women in the media, including the journalists Katie Couric and Rachel Maddow, and the comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who portrayed Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton on Saturday Night Live, respectively. Traister also describes her personal experience of the electoral campaign and her shift from supporting John Edwards to Hillary Clinton.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent senator Lisa Murkowski won reelection to a fourth full term, defeating fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka and Democrat Patricia Chesbro.
Melissa Deckman is an American political scientist. She is the Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs at Washington College, where she has also been Chair of the Political Science Department. She studies religion, gender, and American politics. Her research includes books on women and politics, the political activities of clergy members in the United States, and the role of women in the Tea Party movement. She currently serves as the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute.
The November 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska was held on Tuesday, November 8, to elect a member of the United States House of Representatives to represent the state of Alaska. Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola won reelection to a full term in office, defeating Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III and Libertarian Chris Bye in the runoff count.
The 2022 Alaska at-large congressional district special election was held on August 16 to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Republican incumbent Don Young. Mary Peltola was elected in a 3-way race against former governor Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III in the election, becoming the first Alaska Native and woman to represent Alaska in the House.