But last week that changed. When Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) took the senate floor ina special session to filibuster an odious GOP bill that would close down 37 of the 42 clinics in Texas that perform abortions, thousands were inspired as they watched a live feed of the filibuster (and saw Davis speak for over 10 hours). The Republicans were able to stop the filibuster by abusing senate rules, but other Democratic senators took up the fight and delayed a vote for nearly two hours, using parliamentary procedures. Then the crowd in the senate gallery, inspired by Davis and the other senate Democrats, took over and killed the bill by shouting & disrupting until time had run out (a very effective act of civil disobedience).
The result was that many thousands of Democrats were re-energized across the state. They experienced a hope for, and belief in, change that they hadn't had for years. Now, it would probably have been smart for Texas Republicans to accept this defeat and go home -- in the hope the energy of Democrats would die down before the next election. But right-wing teabaggers are more hard-headed they smart -- so Governor Perry decided to keep the issue alive by scheduling a new special session (which started on July 1st).
And Texas women and Democrats responded. They organized a demonstration for the opening day of the special session -- and thousands showed up in Austin wearing orange (the color chosen to display outrage over what the GOP is trying to do to Texas women), turning the capitol grounds into a sea of orange (see pictures above).
The Republicans are going to try and ram that odious bill through the legislature again -- and they might well succeed in doing that (since they have the numbers, and have already shown a willingness to abuse the legislative rules). But doing that will just make sure that the issue stays alive until the next election, and that Texas Democrats (and women) remain angry and energized.
There is already talk of Senator Davis running for governor in the next election, and that would be guaranteed to turn out Democrats (and many Independents) in larger numbers than in many years. I think Wendy Davis might actually have a chance to be elected, but even if she falls short, she could turn out enough voters to flip several Republican seats in the legislature and change the balance of political power in the state -- and that would be a very good thing (especially with demographics favoring the Democrats in the future, as minorities become the majority population in the state).
Even perennial candidate for governor (and political gadfly) Kinky Friedman seems ready to jump on board the "Wendy" bandwagon. He said:
People texted me last week about Wendy Davis, saying this is the most excited they’ve felt about politics in a long time. . .She’s the Joan of Arc of the Texas Democrats. . .For Democrats to win again, they need to show some courage and get back independent voters. She’s doing that.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/29/4972503/to-kinky-friedman-a-wendy-for.html#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/29/4972503/to-kinky-friedman-a-wendy-for.html#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/29/4972503/to-kinky-friedman-a-wendy-for.html#storylink=cpy
For the first time in over 20 years, the political winds of change are blowing in the state of Texas -- and it feels good. Democrats are energized, and once again ready to fight for control of the state -- and ready to end the right-wing insanity that has gripped the state for far too long.