The “Smart Girl Summit” has become a major landmark on America’s political landscape over the last couple of years; but it has evolved from humble beginnings.
Smart Girl Politics began merely as one woman’s blog, and has grown to become a mover and shaker within the conservative movement. From their website’s History page:
Smart Girl Politics started in June of 2008 as a blog by Founder, Stacy Mott. Tired of complaining about politics, she started her blog as a way to vent her frustrations over the 2008 Presidential race. In November of 2008, she posted a help wanted sign on her blog asking for other conservative women to join her to discuss politics and conservatism. She received 60 emails the first week.
Smart Girl Politics Action was founded in December of 2008 by Founder and President, Stacy Mott and Co-Founder, Teri Christoph. Today it is one of the fastest growing premier social networks for conservative women in the country. We are a national organization providing local support to our membership. Our united voice is now over 40,000 women strong and growing daily.
In March of 2009, SGP officially incorporated as Smart Girl Politics Action and filed for 501(c)(4), non-profit status with the IRS. Since it's inception, SGP Action has focused on getting more women involved in the political process as activists and candidates. We have fought for our key principles of limited government, lower taxes, fiscal and personal responsibility. We will rally our members to fight on issues important to the success of conservative women.
On April 15, 2009, SGP proudly co-sponsored the Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party movement in over 850 cities across the country. Our members developed as well as helped organize, promote, and attend voter registration drives at many of the events. While we are no longer key organizers of the events, our members continue to be some of the key players within the movement.
The Smart Girl Summit is an annual conference bringing together politically active women for activist training, education, empowerment, and gathering some of America’s leading conservative voices.
As in conferences past, the 2011 Smart Girl Summit brought together housewives and professional women, veteran activists and neophytes, candidates, bloggers, organizers, observers and issue advocates. Their bond of unity and commonality: a strongly conservative viewpoint and a desire to put it to work in action.
The conference was well organized to incorporate education, training, entertainment, socialization and mingling, motivation and inspiration. Nationally known speakers such as Phyllis Schlafly, Andrew Breitbart, and Herman Cain addressed the attendees, as well as several candidates for House and Senate seats.
A Presidential Straw Poll was taken throughout the conference, and the results announced at the end. Winner: Michelle Bachmann.
One of the highlights of the summit was the screening of Stephen K Bannon’s new film, “The Undefeated”; a documentary highlighting the political history of Sarah Palin. The film very effectively dispels the notion that Mrs Palin is either unintelligent or unaccomplished!
Although Mr. Bannon was unable to make his scheduled appearance to introduce the film, I was able to speak with him by telephone.
Bannon’s motivation for making the film was not political. He denies any “inside knowledge” of any aspirations Sarah Palin may have to ever seek elected office again. He says he was “simply sick of hearing” all those accusations of Sarah Palin’s alleged lack of intellect and competence or experience.
Bannon took no money nor direction from Palin or her associates. He didn’t even interview her for the film. He used stock footage, and audio clips from Palin’s narration of her audio book, “Going Rogue”. Bannon had little contact with Palin beyond securing the rights to use that audio.
Bannon did interview some of the Alaskan officials who served with her, and they appear in the film, along with several commentators such as Andrew Breitbart and Mark Levin.
The film will soon be in limited release in Theatres and on Pay Per View cable before being released as a DVD. Bannon says he does not view the film as “preaching to the choir” but that it will be viewed by many who are ambivalent or even oppose Mrs. Palin’s politics, and it will go far to accomplish his intent to defend Mrs. Palin’s political acumen, accomplishments, and savvy even to those who oppose her politics and policies.
You can learn more about the film at http://www.theundefeatedmovie.com
The Summit closed with Keynote Speaker, Herman Cain’s address to the attendees. Cain likened the problems in Washington to those in business, and spoke of how problems are addressed in the business world. His recurrent theme: “Fix the right problem!”
Cain outlined some of the major problems he wants to address, and his plan of attack. Highlights included cutting the top personal and corporate tax rates to 25%, suspending taxation on repatriated funds from overseas (Trillions of dollars are being kept abroad rather than bringing them home because people are avoiding double taxation), cutting the tax on capital gains to 0%, pursuing energy independence, and replacing the current income tax with the Fair Tax.
He also paraphrased former senator Everett Dirksen’s quote, “When they feel the heat, they’ll begin to see the light”, and he called upon the attendees and other likeminded patriots to be the heat on congress to help him accomplish this agenda.
In his concluding remarks, Cain shared the two events that motivated him to seek the presidency: The birth of his granddaughter (and his desire to see her grow up in a world left better than he found it) and the election of Barack Obama; which he viewed as a threat to that future.
Video of Cain’s address can be viewed at: http://vimeo.com/27113208
There is no doubt that the conservative movement is being propelled forward in large measure by the women who attended the Smart Girl Summit, and those likeminded who were unable to attend! The women of America are no longer, if they ever were, monolithic “Stepford Voters” for the Left. Even more terrifying for the Left is the emergence of increasing numbers of conservative women of color, some of whom were in attendance at the summit. The movement represented by the attendees at Smart Girl Summit 2011 is responsible for a tectonic shift in the political landscape, and most certainly bears watching!
A slideshow of photos I took at the conference can be found at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39436131@N07/sets/72157627319584528/show/
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