Despite a slew of high-profile female candidates -- and an aggressive push by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to promote "mama grizzly" Republican women -- the number of women in Congress is poised to decline for the first time in decades, according to several independent analyses. The hits may be most severe for Democrats: Up to a quarter of Democratic women in the House are considered vulnerable, and two senators elected in the history-making "Year of the Woman" in 1992, Barbara Boxer (California) and Patty Murray (Washington), have had tough races. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), the first female chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is running behind in her re-election bid. And of course, if Democrats lose the House, the first female House speaker, Nancy Pelosi (California), will lose her post. The GOP has just one woman in its leadership ranks, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Washington), who is vice chairman of the Republican caucus. Republican women, too, have had a reality check: Fewer of them won their primaries this year than in 2004, according to an analysis by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers. Here's another reality check: The Tea Party rhetoric about "taking our country back," "wanting our freedom back" and "returning to the good old days" requires a return to second-class citizenship for women. That is the time period that they, including some of their staunchest female supporters, like Palin -- a woman who clearly "wears the pants" in her marriage -- are championing. If you're willing to sell out the majority of women for your personal gain, then it stands to reason that the number of women in Congress in both parties will decline. Rhetoric doesn't just exist in a bubble -- it lives in the hearts and minds of people. As the Republicans continue to trot out their ultraconservative bombshells spewing sexist rhetoric that calls for their own subjugation, don't be surprised when the number of women in Congress and other positions of power decline as well.

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