I will. I love to win.
I don't mind losing, either. That probably suits us fairly well in federal life. If you are competitive, you are able to handle these things of nominations and getting elected. Women are often criticized for being competitive or assertive. They—whoever “they” are—have a word for that, but I won't say it now.
My philosophy is DSI—“don't sweat it”—because you know what? If you get offended and spend your life offended, I don't think you'll accomplish a whole lot. Nellie McClung, one of the Famous Five, said, “Never retreat, never explain, never apologize. Get the thing done and let them howl.”
Three, I am committed. I am committed to serving, to encouraging, and to mentoring, a gift that we have been given as women. Yes, I believe men and women have different gifts and different strengths. You can't run and cry, because you know what they'll say, at the first sign of danger or defeat. My job as a woman is to see it through, get it done, help a constituent, fight for my marriage, and spoil my grandbabies.
Here is what I am not. I'm not a victim because I am a woman. I can stand on my own two feet. I have two feet. I can stand on them. I can fight my own battles and my own campaigns. Give me a playing field and I'll go toe to toe with anyone. Don't pity me, because if you do, I'll pity you for pitying me. We don't need pity as women.
Secondly, I am not a percentage or a number. Yes, I'm a woman. Yes, we happen to be 50% of the population, but I don't want to be on a quota system and have somebody say, “There's Deb Grey. She got elected because she was a woman.”
If anyone introduced me to someone and said, “Please vote for Deb because she's a woman”, they would see my south end going north. I actually don't want any part of that.
Let me tell you a real barrier to women—and some men—in politics: to be told by a man, no less, that I am unfit for public office because I happen to believe in religious freedom, because I happen to be pro-life. You know what? I am not unfit for public office, as a woman, clearly. I served four terms.
Do you know who should decide that, and the only ones who should decide whether I'm fit or unfit for public office? It's the voters. They should decide if I'm good enough to be in public office, and—you know what—I guess I was.
Thank you.