On Wednesday afternoon, House Democratic women staged a protest, walking out of the Capitol and straight into a demonstration meant to show “solidarity” with the radical “Day Without a Woman” strike.
The strike was organized by a coalition of women’s groups, most prominently the Women’s March organization responsible for assembling nationwide protests the day after President Trump’s inauguration.
Dozens of House Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, spoke to a gathering of protesters on the steps of the Capitol, taking turns at a podium to criticize Trump, call for equal pay and shout platitudes such as “immigration rights are women’s rights.”
It is notable that these elected officials chose to demonstrate their solidarity with this particular protest given its unequivocal roots in radical anti-capitalist philosophy. It was first proposed by the International Women’s Strike, a group that includes communist activist Angela Davis, in an op-ed highlighting the “need to target the ongoing neoliberal attack on social provision and labor rights.”
Last week I reported that the International Women’s Strike is staunchly opposed to “lean-in feminism” and sees its march as fundamentally “anti-capitalist.” In announcing the strike, the group declared that violence against women also necessarily includes “the violence of the market, of debt, of capitalist property relations.”
Both the Women’s March and the International Women’s Strike confirmed on their websites that Wednesday’s protests are a cooperative effort.
Even though the literal author of “lean-in feminism,” Sheryl Sandberg, donated thousands of dollars to Nancy Pelosi in 2016, today, Pelosi headlined the rally supposedly working to undercut Sandberg’s efforts.
The women’s movement is routinely allowed to be as radical as it pleases without consequence — Democrats will continue to align themselves with the cause and the mainstream media will continue to leave their extremism unchecked.
Wednesday’s strike is no exception.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
