On Wednesday, September 16th, the second Republican debate was hosted by CNN with all 15 candidates present and accounted for. The question arose of which woman would the members of the panel like to see featured on the $10 bill when it is redesigned in 2020. And the answers ranged from heartfelt to the ridiculous and the bizarre.
Carly Fiorina gave the most heartfelt answer saying, “I wouldn’t change the $10 bill or the $20 bill, I think honestly it’s a gesture, I don’t think it helps to change our history. What I would think is that we ought to recognize that women are not a special interest group, women are the majority of this nation, we are half the potential of this nation and this nation will be better off when every woman has the opportunity to live the life she choses.”
There were a few good suggestions from the men; Rand Paul suggested American feminist, women’s suffrage pioneer and abolitionist, Susan B. Anthony. Chris Christie suggested Abigail Adams and Marco Rubio nominated civil rights pioneer, Rosa Parks with Ted Cruz agreeing. Trump laughed the question off, saying his daughter, Ivanka, deserved it for sitting through the debate and then just went along with Rosa Parks.
Is it too much to hope that these candidates are versed enough in American history to come up with a name that isn’t their mother or already mentioned by a previous candidate? Well…yes, apparently, it is. The most bizarre response came from Jeb Bush recommending former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. His answer begs the question: Why not just go full boar and say Her Majesty, The Queen? Come on, Jeb. You couldn’t think of a single American woman in history deserving of that recognition? You can do better than that, Jeb.
And the most insultingly sexist response came from Mike Huckabee saying, “I’d put my wife on there. That way she could spend her own money.” Mike, Mike, Mike…any hope you had of securing the vote from Republican women just disappeared faster than…honestly, I don’t have an analogy for this…it’s just gone. Your chance is gone.
What amazing woman from American history would you like to see honored on the $10 bill? Leave us a comment below!
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