You’re about to hear a lot about Geraldine Ferraro this week — one of my favorite public servants from history. A tough as nails Italian-American woman from Queens who made history. Take the chance to learn more about her and start here: https://www.nytimes.com/video/obituaries/1194826919047/lwferraro.html">https://www.nytimes.com/video/obi...

After being an educator, a lawyer, and creating the special victims bureau (yes THAT special victims bureau), she went to Congress. Six years later, she became the first woman nominated for VP by a major party. Her speech was — well, listen for yourself: https://youtu.be/Lw0MF-I85XE ">https://youtu.be/Lw0MF-I85...

She called out the hypocrisies of the Reagan administration long before reporters, pundits, or historians were willing to go there. And when George Bush patronized her, she didn’t let him get away with it: https://youtu.be/gnbtzOiZ5BM ">https://youtu.be/gnbtzOiZ5...

Most people today remember the “tax scandal” that weighed down her bid. It’s important to note how the scandal perfectly played to both sexist stereotypes & backwards thinking about Italian-Americans. (And the fact it only happened because she RELEASED her returns)

How did Gerry respond to this? She held a press conference where she sat for hours and answered Every. Single. Question. that the press had of each other. (imagine...) It led to this iconic photo:

After 1984, she ran for the U.S. Senate, only to be narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary due to the same contrived allegations that followed her during the national campaign.

In 1998, after a second failed Senate campaign, Ferraro was diagnosed with multiple myeloma — a rare blood cancer. Doctors knew little about treating the disease, so in 2001, Ferraro testified for and secured increased research funding — money that saved and extended lives.

Anyway, take this opportunity to learn more about her incredible career. Her campaign speeches on C-SPAN are electric and her interviews show you her sharp tongue and commanding wit.

In the end, Gerry was the first and paved the way for a new, more inclusive politics — for the gains of 1992, for Hillary, for this week. RIP to this legend. I would have loved to see her on the news this weekend sharing her thoughts about the election to come. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❤️" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💙" title="Blaues Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Blaues Herz">