We are living through “the year of the woman.” Following the mid-term elections that delivered a female tsunami, naive believers have glommed onto the myth that depositing a wave of women on the steps of the capitol—simply assuming that swapping the gender of those who prop up our power structure will change everything. This is akin to believing in the magic of fairy dust.

Some of these “new” women actually believe that if they had been in power, bad things wouldn’t have happened. I say, “dream on.”

When I roll out of bed, I usually do my stretching in front of the television. I want my weather beamed from a 32-inch flat screen, not a phone sitting in my palm.

Before switching the channel to our local news affiliate, I caught the last five minutes of this morning’s MSNBC’s First Look. Their final segment had yet another variation of “the woman have arrived to save us” narrative that’s in vogue with lazy journalists.

Generally, I wouldn’t have paid much attention to the screenshot of a group of about a dozen women, but one name “jumped out” at me, identifying her photo. That would be Gina Raimondo, the new head of the Democratic Governors Association.

Yes, Raimondo is a woman. I’m also aware that men have done more than their fair share of damage to the planet. But she is not a woman I’m cheering for in her role leading an organization that’s “dedicated to electing Democratic governors and candidates.” Oh, glory!

Women in power suits, making plays for power.

You see, Raimondo is the former governor of Rhode Island. You might remember that my late son, Mark Baumer, was a resident of the state and her constituent. And if you knew anything about Mark, you knew he was a committed activist. Oh, and he had a history with the former governor.

Like many Democrats, Raimondo was skilled at talking out both sides of her mouth: citing her support in addressing climate change, and on the other hand, doing little or nothing to limit carbon in the atmosphere. How else would you justify her ongoing support of the construction of a power plant in Burrillville that relied on fracked natural gas as it’s primary fuel source?

Mark was a member of FANG, an activist group that opposed the ongoing proliferation of natural gas pipelines throughout New England. He marched with FANG to Burrillville, from Providence prior to his final walk, the one where he was killed. As a reminder to anyone who may have forgotten: the driver who hit and killed Mark, walking against traffic in the middle of the paved shoulder of the highway, was a woman. Just saying.

He happened to be protesting an appearance by Raimondo at RISD in 2016. He stood outside and asked her about her decision on the power plant. For his efforts, he received a citation for standing on a public sidewalk. Did you notice the RISD woman (I’d guess she was a good liberal, too) who walked up to Mark, telling him he couldn’t be on a public sidewalk because somehow, he posed a threat to a governor deadset on building a polluting power plant? So much for woman and expressing First Amendment rights.

I know that many Americans are simpletons at-heart. Being reductivist isn’t limited to people who are registered to vote Republican.

It might make you feel better that women in power suits like Raimondo are being placed in positions formerly held by men. However, the results are likely to be the same for those of us who don’t inhabit the corridors where power resides and deals get made. At least she won’t be running for president in 2020. I actually didn’t know this was a thing for her. I’ve kind of lost touch with her power moves since my son died.

Sorry if I’m not cheering wildly for good ole’ Gina. She is craven for a seat at the table, just like a man.