Rebuilding the GOP after Watergate

Bring your lunch and join author Suzanne O'Dea for a discussion of her new book, Madam Chairman: Mary Louise Smith and the Republican Revival after Watergate. For much of her career Mary Louise Smith stood alone as a woman in a world of politics run by men. After devoting over two decades of her life to politics, she eventually became the first, and only, woman to chair the Republican National Committee. Suzanne O'Dea examines Smith's rise and fall within the party and analyzes her strategies for gaining the support of Republican Party leaders. O'Dea's other books include Legislators and Politicians: Iowa's Women Lawmakers. Part of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics 20th Anniversary Celebration.