It appears that Wendy Davis will, shortly, take up the time-honored tradition of the filibuster in defense of the right to choose abortion. Here are some reasons you know Texas Senator Wendy Davis is the person you want to pick for your team each and every time.
1) Eleven Hours on Your Feet? Try Being a Single Mom.
Hard knock stories are political gold. Jim Hightower famously said George H. W. Bush was born on third base, but thought he’d hit a triple. If that’s the case, Wendy Davis wasn’t even eligible to be on the team. At 14, she was working two jobs to help her single mom support Wendy and her 3 siblings. By 19, Wendy was herself a working single mother. She went from there to community college, to a four-year college degree, to Harvard Law School. (Her website is down now or I’d link to it.)
2) This is Filibuster #2
In the 82nd session, she filibustered to protect Texas schools from a finance plan that under-financed them by $4,000,000,000—that’s billion with a B. She’s not afraid to do whatever it takes, per the Senate rules, to stop bad legislation. To thank her for her service, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst removed her from the Senate Education Committee.
3) She Knows About Winning When Odds are Long
Her last race was expensive and close. Republicans wanted her seat desperately, and the district demographics were, in many ways, stacked against her.
3) She’s Not a Show Horse. She’s a Work Horse.
It was Rick Perry who called her a show horse. Some suspect he just said it because he is jealous of her hair. But seriously, if Rick Perry could look away from the mirror long enough to look at the long list of bills Senator Davis has worked on, advocated for, and collaborated on, he’d be impressed, and then terrified. This is a politician who gets stuff done.
4) She Doesn’t Let Anything Stop Her
In May, 2012, one of her district offices (perhaps her only one) was firebombed. At first, we all assumed that it was related to her advocacy for women’s health and abortion rights, which is sad, but given the history of anti-choice activist violence in our country, it seemed like a logical conclusion. The person arrested has been framed as a lone wolf with mental health challenges, and we’ll likely never know what motivated the perpetrator. Senator Davis reacted by reminding her constituents that her door would always remain open to them.
5) She’s Not the Kind of Woman Who Pulls the Ladder Up Behind Her
Senator Davis received early campaign support from Annie’s List, a political action organization that funds pro-choice Democratic women running for office in Texas. She stumps for Annie’s List every chance she gets. She knows that her strength, smarts, and determination alone didn’t get her to the Senate—she’s willing to help the group that helped her, and that will ensure we get more women like Wendy Davis into the Texas House and Senate. Be like Wendy and support Annie’s List!
nonsequiteuse 
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