Battling Bella The protest politics of Bella Abzug

Leandra Ruth Zarnow, 1979-

Book - 2019

Bella Abzug's promotion of women's and gay rights, universal childcare, green energy, and more provoked fierce opposition from Republicans and a split within her own party. The story of this notorious force in the Democrats' "New Politics" insurgency is a biography for our times. Before Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, or Hillary Clinton, there was New York's Bella Abzug. With a fiery rhetorical style forged in the 1960s antiwar movement, Abzug vigorously promoted gender parity, economic justice, and the need to "bring Congress back to the people." The 1970 congressional election season saw Abzug campaigning on the slogan "This Woman's Place Is in the House--the House of Represent...atives." Having won her seat, she advanced the feminist agenda from gaining full access for congresswomen to the House swimming pool to cofounding the National Women's Political Caucus to putting the title "Ms." into the political lexicon. Beyond women's rights, she promoted gay, privacy, and human rights, and pushed legislation relating to urban, environmental, and foreign affairs. Her stint in Congress lasted just six years--it ended when she decided to seek the Democrats' 1976 New York senate nomination, a race she lost to Daniel Patrick Moynihan by less than 1 percent. Their primary contest, while gendered, was also an ideological struggle for the heart of the Democratic Party. Abzug's protest politics had helped for a time to shift the center of politics to the left, but her progressive positions also fueled a backlash from conservatives. This deeply researched political biography highlights how, as 1960s radicalism moved protest into electoral politics, Abzug drew fire from establishment politicians across the political spectrum--but also inspired a generation of women.--

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Subjects
Genres
Biographies
Published
Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press [2019]
Language
English
Main Author
Leandra Ruth Zarnow, 1979- (author)
Physical Description
x, 441 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780674737488
  • Introduction: Out front
  • Political ties that bind
  • A new politics
  • Office bound
  • Campaign for the people
  • Not one of the boys
  • Year of the woman
  • Performing political celebrity
  • Government wrongs and privacy rights
  • Running for a democratic future
  • International women's year at home
  • Epilogue: Frankly speaking.
Review by Choice Review

Although Bella Abzug (1920--98) served just three terms in Congress, her brashness as an activist and legislator made her stand out. As related in this absorbing biography, Abzug's life opens windows into such matters as McCarthyism, the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s, antiwar politics, privacy, and the changing orientation of the Democratic Party after 1968. Zarnow (history, Univ. of Houston) leaves no stone unturned in discussing Abzug's upbringing, her activism on behalf of peace and social justice, her emergence as a feminist icon, and her brief but impactful political career. Zarnow makes a strong case for Abzug's significance, particularly her success in building Women Strike for Peace into a formidable lobby and her head-butting with Richard Nixon, the surveillance state, and executive privilege. Zarnow does not ignore her subject's flaws, among them sharp elbows and a me-first mentality. Looked at in perspective, Abzug represents a "rebellious reform" (p. 6) that meshed with the spirit of the times. She was a zestful character, floppy hats and all, a happy warrior for progressive causes across a broad front. A "stubborn idealist " (p. 307), Abzug never abandoned her core beliefs, and she ended her life journey as a champion of global women's rights. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. --Michael J. Birkner, Gettysburg College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

University of Houston professor Zarnow debuts with a dynamic exploration of the political career of New York congresswoman Bella Abzug. Born in the Bronx in 1920 to Jewish immigrants from Russia, Abzug earned a scholarship to Columbia Law School in 1942. As a young lawyer, she convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution of a black Mississippi man convicted of raping a white woman. During the 1960s, she served as the director of Women Strike for Peace, turning the grassroots organization into a "decisive lobbying powerhouse" that, according to Zarnow, helped to push Lyndon Johnson out of the 1968 presidential election. Running as a "leftist urban populist" in the 1970 midterms, Abzug "attempted to connect emerging identity politics with the bread-and-butter issues that mattered most to the Democratic Party's blue-collar base." Zarnow writes that Abzug found herself "quickly isolated" in Congress, but managed to pursue her antiwar and feminist agenda through the "savvy" use of procedural measures. After losing back-to-back bids for the Senate and New York City mayor, Abzug became the presiding officer of the 1977 National Women's Conference. Zarnow sketches a vibrant picture of Abzug's tumultuous era and draws apt comparisons between her firebrand subject and the latest crop of progressive congresswomen. This well-researched biography will appeal to liberal activists and students of political history. (Nov.)

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