John Chenoweth: “I am often asked by women in my district if there is a glass ceiling in this Congress for women who serve here, and I…”

“I am often asked by women in my district if there is a glass ceiling in this Congress for women who serve here, and I tell them no, there is not a glass ceiling as far as I am concerned. I tell them that I am reminded of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Remember, Fred Astaire was a spectacular dancer, but some people forget that Ginger Rogers had to do everything he did, except she had to do it in a long dress, high heels, dancing backward, with a smile on her face. The point of this friendly jibe is that we as women oftentimes have to work differently or harder, but we are working toward the same goal side-by-side with the gentlemen in this body. Some Members would have us believe that women are some sort of a third political party, that there are a special set of issues that only women care about. One of my colleagues recently claimed that there was a war against women in this body. Such a charge is hollow rhetoric. The real issue is that the most important concerns women have are really no different than all Americans.”