A Seat at The Table with Donna Brazile and Kelly Ayotte

There has been controversy on college campuses around speakers and that clash between what we can say and what the constitution allows us. We always bump up against first amendment rights. Whether we are on the left or right side of it, or have colleagues with different political opinions, we must engage in civil discourse.  

Two women with two different aspects in civic engagement joined together to speak about politics and how the world needs more women involved in politic engagement and leadership. University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee in partnership with the Tommy G Thompson Center on Public Leadership welcomed Donna Brazile and Kelly Ayotte Monday night for a lively and thoughtful discussion on women leadership, contemporary feminism, and the political outlook at A Seat at The Table: Women in Leadership and Civic Engagement. 

Kelly Ayotte, former U.S. Senator and former Attorney General, is noted for her leading role in passing the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act, a national response to improve prevention, treatment and recovery efforts to stem the tide of addiction.

Ayotte has never been to Milwaukee other than this event. She was very excited to be in Milwaukee for the first time, especially since the Democratic National Convention will be in Milwaukee in 2020. Both Ayotte and Brazile said they would be attending. She made history in many ways. She was the first female Attorney General of the state of New Hampshire serving from 2004-2009. Ayotte was also elected senator for New Hampshire, where she served from 2011-2017.

The politician strategist, campaign manager, lecturer, activist and former Chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile, works with young people, encourage them to vote and to run for office. 

She has been involved in the community and politician engagement since she was a kid. She won a NAACP image award this year. She joined the NAACP when she was 10 years old and it was $5, which back then was a lot. She joined because she believed in their mission when she was 10 years old. She expressed a time when her teacher sent her home with a writing assignment, where she had to write and that taught her to write, to express herself and speak out. Brazile’s background and history says a lot about the person she is and what she always strived to be. 

A Seat At The Table: Women in Leadership and Civic Engagement was less of a debate but more of a live talk show with Joan Prince, Vice Chancellor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Ayotte and Brazile.  

The tone of the discussion was to encourage and to inspire women of all backgrounds. Both Ayotte and Brazile believe that it’s important that women start taking more control and leadership in the political field. They expressed that women should not second-guess or feel under qualified when it comes to leadership. They also expressed the fact that we need more representation from all upbringings and it’s not fully represented in our country.

“We all need to run, not just as Democrats, but also as Republicans. We need to look at ourselves; we need to stop telling ourselves we are not qualified,” Brazile said.

In recent news, we have seen that this is possible. Recently, the United States has broken records in numbers of new Congresswomen running for office. Currently, there are five women running for presidency for the 2020 election.

Both shared their frustration on the double standard they see between men and women when it comes to taking in new positions.

“When a man looks in the mirror and say I’m going to run for senate or president. He looks once and looks twice and says I’m running. A women looks once and think am I qualified, second do I have enough education, third can I raise the money, fourth family demands. We need to step up. We are not utilizing women and we are the biggest consumers,” said Brazile. 

The two political figures are activist for civic engagement and want to see more women in these kinds of roles. They both agree that women deserve more respect and its time that it is recognized.

“We see more women running for office but we don’t have enough,” Ayotte said. 

Media has always been an influence in politics. Brazile has recently taken a position on Fox news as a political contributor. She feels that politicians have lost it and don’t really talk to one another and are quick to jump the gun and point fingers at one another. But she is excited and honored to be there.

“I love it; I love being a part of a network that allows me to be who I am, and say what I say, because I felt who I am and what I believe in. I have no problems,” she said.

To wrap up the live discussion, it ended with some inspiration questions. The question that was asked, what words of inspiration would you give your 10 year old self knowing what you know now?

Ayotte answered, “You can’t look out to people for approval because I find that as you get older you are looking out to older people instead of your own soul. I would say to my 10 year old self don’t be afraid to fail and try things and learn from them.”