Commentary on Phyllis Schlafy

My collegue, Arno Natapradja, writes in his blog, Lone Star Gazer, about an article that references Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the conservative group, Eagle Forum, and the advice she gives to the Republican Party. As Natapradja summarizes in his blog, Shlafly’s radio interview on Focus Today advises the Republican party to stop reaching out to Hispanic voters and focus on reaching out to white people.  I agree with the view that Ms Shlafly projects racist views and will only hurt the Republican Party in the long run. 

I find it alarming that Ms Schlafly would have support for her ideologies; however, she has a history of success to implement her policies. Back in the 1970’s, she organized a movement called STOP ERA and almost single-handedly stopped the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment that feminists had long fought to ratify.  Her campaign created fears that were based on misinformation, such as suggesting that women would be subject to the draft and that alimony protection would be eliminated. At the last minute, five states that had voted to ratify the ERA amendment rescinded and the amendment did not pass.  She currently tries to use the same tactic of using misinformation to mischaracterize Hispanics. My point is that Ms Shlafly may still have her supporters, maybe not in the same numbers as the 1970’s, but enough to cause further rift in the Republican Party and further contribute to split their Party with differing ideologies.  Instead, the Republican Party should focus on how to include a population that is increasingly more racially diverse.