The Craft Vote

Women voters have historically been key to presidential elections, and they're predicted to play the same role in the upcoming 2008 election.

Slate.com Magazine thinks crafters will make the vote for this upcoming election, featuring a set of Do-It-Yourself campaign crafts that are appropriate for both "DemoCrafts" and "RepubliCrafts."

According to Slate.com Magazine, "Forget NASCAR dads and security moms- it's the craft vote that can no longer be ignored. The candidates already missed an opportunity to woo craft leaders at the inaugural Craft Congress, which convened in Pittsburgh this March. But it's not too late for campaigns to embrace the crafting kind."

The crafts featured on Slate Magazine's web site are absolutely comical and poke fun by making witty commentary on political stances of both the Democratic and Republican parties. The irony in it all is that historically in politics, anti-Equal Rights Act groups attempted to get legislators to vote against the legislation by using the tactic of serving homemade products such as dishes of food. The idea was to remind U.S. legislators just how good they have it by keeping women at home to cook up delicious homemade products. Homemade products are now being featured by Slate.com Magazine as inclusive of liberal issues and marketing homemade products to a target "hip young audience" as opposed to legislators. The world of crafting is taking on the role of politics; all is fair game.

Among my favorites is the first craft featured on the website, crafted by Jessica Vitkus entitled, "RepubliCraft No. 1: Department of Homeland Security Blanket." The project claims a witty endorsement by the White House and Fox News, and uses colorful scraps of fabric to make a quilt that resembles the security alert chart we have all become familiar with in our era of "terrorism." What's interesting about the order of the colors is their sequence, which resembles a rainbow that has often symbolized joy and happiness. In actuality this rainbow is representative of a scare alert that was not meant to feel warm or cozy. The blanket featured assortments not only of color but also in descriptions with, "Severe," "High," and "Low" as some of the categories. The chart's security alert levels are not mistaken, "each level is labeled with embroidery to distinguish a DHS Blanket from a gay-pride flag." The project also includes a disclosure that states, "Note: Blanket is not a safety device. In case of a terrorist attack, DHS Blanket will not protect you." I never thought the chart was all that protective to begin with.

If you're laughing at this homemade craft with political message there's more, such as, Andy Coolquitt's project, "DemoCraft No. 3: Righteous Recycler's Bin." Everybody recycles these days. But for many women voters, environmental concerns are a top issue. This crafted recycling bin makes the actual recycling bin out of recyclable materials. It's shaped as if meant to engulf recyclable materials and uses crushed aluminum stacked on top of one another that make leaning towers. It makes me wish I could buy this recycling bin and end the LMU recycling controversy. But with women being key to the election, will candidates Obama or Hillary make their own recycle bin? Who will take on the environmental issues?

Finally, Coolquitt concocts yet another craft entitled, "RepubliCraft No. 5: Coalition of the Willing Dolls," taking on the most taboo issue of all, The Patriot Act. The project also uses fabric scraps, but in a less colorful way. Instead it makes "an American soldier, a British soldier, a Romanian, and maybe a lone Dane." These miniatures are placed in a shoe box on its side so one can play puppet master and "role-play surprise inspection and mess tent scenarios." With the shoe box and some wire you can also "make a secret prison and detainee. There are no Geneva Conventions in your own handmade world of crafts. Hours of kid-friendly fun." Ouch.

There's more to be seen: projects that butcher the American Flag into homemaker oven mittens and felt necklaces that carry your RU-486. I don't know what I enjoyed more, the pictures of these witty crafts or the sarcastic word play of the descriptions that accompany them . To see more check out Slate magazine online at http://slate.com/id/2172095/.