All of that was enough for Josie Valdez to grab hold and go.
Valdez, a veteran Latina and Democratic activist in Utah, had heard of the WHP through its "Vote, Run, Lead" campaign, which conveniently hooks into the inaugural season of the ABC-television drama "Commander in Chief." The series stars Geena Davis as Mackenzie Allen, who reluctantly assumes the U.S. presidency after the sudden death of a male Republican president. The show can be seen locally on KTVX Channel 4 on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Using "Commander" as a vehicle, the White House Project invites women to host a "house party," in which they invite female friends to watch the show, initiate discussion around the plot and hopefully, get politically activated in the process. People with a good memory will find familiarity in this model; it was used effectively by the Howard Dean campaign last year as the virtually unknown Democrat tried to earn name recognition and campaign cash via small donations on the Internet and at house and garden parties hosted by supporters.
"It was exactly what I've been looking for to get smart women together, especially Latino women, to talk about our role in politics and how to get organized," says Valdez. She hosted the first party around the Sept. 27 premiere of "Commander" and says the dozen or so women who showed up stayed two hours after the episode to talk.
"One topic led to another. Everything in the show is a discussion point. You see the back stabbing, the sexism, the sarcasm of the Washington scene. And that led to discussion of how this woman is trying to do things differently. And that led to our talking about just how, exactly, women can enter politics."
Last week, a group of women watched the show as Valdez led discussions during commercial breaks and at the conclusion. In the episode, President Allen had spent a particularly nasty few hours prepping for her first summit and state dinner with a hostile Russian president. Speaker of the House and Allen's chief nemesis, Nathan Templeton (played as a deliciously evil opportunist by Donald Sutherland) was busy lining up political embarrassments for her, including the resignations of two Cabinet members just before the summit began.
Oh, and did I mention her teenage daughter was rebelling by refusing to attend the dinner?
All in a day's work.
All of this led to lively discussion among Valdez's guests. They hashed out the power of compromise over personal agendas, as Allen ultimately decided to give the Russian president further leverage in the World Trade Organization. He agreed to work toward freeing jailed Russian dissident journalists.
Valdez and friends plan to meet monthly to view the show and get organized.
"I want to have my own voice on issues," she says. "I am the kind of person who needs to speak for myself. I don't want to let others talk for me. I want to be counted. I am sure there are many women who feel the same way."
To learn more about house parties and other WHP issues, go to http://www.thewhitehou- seproject.org
hmullen@sltrib.com
Eighty-four years after women gained the right to vote, the statistics still have the power to startle.
* Of the 11,744 representatives in the history of the U.S. Congress, only 223 have been female.
* Not a single woman of color has ever been a state governor.
* More than 15 million women ages 18 to 34 failed to vote in the 2000 presidential election.
