Women to the Rescue? In the US Female Senators Come up with a Plan

There certainly are examples of women leaders who are just as tough, misguided and unsavory as their male counterparts: Sarah Palin,  Margaret Thatcher and Bev Oda are examples.

But sometimes it seems that the Old Girls' Network can come up with good stuff.  That may be the case in the current  mess in Washington.  The New York Times reports that the authors of a plan that may save the US from default on its debts and put government back to work are a handful of women of both parties who've worked together in the past on legislation.

The story says:  "In a Senate still dominated by men, women on both sides of the partisan divide proved to be the driving forces that shaped a negotiated settlement. The three Republican women put aside threats from the right to advance the interests of their shutdown-weary states and asserted their own political independence."

It goes on: "Of the 13 senators on a bipartisan committee who worked on the deal framework, about half were women, even though women make up only 20 percent of the Senate. Senator John McCain of Arizona joked at several points in their meetings, “The women are taking over.”"

Good on them.  But it remains to be seen if the Tea Party types will put the good of the country before their ideology.