This morning, Texas State Senator Wendy Davis (D-Ft. Worth) held a “Twitter Town Hall” during which she fielded questions from constituents about issues important to them. Questions were submitted via Twitter using the hashtag #AskWendy.
Davis, of course, became a media darling in June when she filibustered a bill that would have banned abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy. She appeared on national news shows and traveled the coutry speaking about her fight to keep late-term abortions legal.
On Thursday, however, she refused to answer any questions about abortion. Not a single one. Instead, she answered a series of embarrassing softball questions and took compliments from her fans.
That is not to say people weren’t asking about abortion. Pro-life groups around the country hijacked the #AskWendy hashtag for the event, flooding Twitter with a number of uncomfortable abortion questions, including “Whats the difference between what you believe & what Kermit Gosnell believes,” a question asked by @redsteeze. Others asked Davis to describe a second trimester abortion and when she thinks human life begins.
Instead, Davis answered such hard-hitting questions as “What song best describes your kicking-ass-and-taking-names awesomeness,” a question asked by Amy Lafayette, who lives in Vermont, not Texas. Davis’ answer, by the way, was Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”
“Ms. J. White Feather” of New York City (again, not Texas) asked “Pls define the word ‘leadership,'” to which Davis replied “Be willing to risk, stand for what you believe in, work toward common ground.” Davis did not elaborate as to whether “working towards common ground” involved yelling down state senators so they cannot take a vote, or taking jars of urine and feces into the state capitol to disrupt the legislative session.
Davis did eventually answer some questions on actual issues, including payday loan operators and equal pay for women. She even took a swipe at Gov. Rick Perry, calling his veto of an equal pay bill “Shamelessly political.” A complete transcript of the Twitter Town Hall, which was moderated by the Lone Star Project (which describes itself on its Twitter page as “fighting back against Texas Republicans”), is available for viewing here.
When asked what her hope was for America, Davis said “I want every child to have the same opportunities as I had growing up in this state.”
That does not apply, apparently, to children younger than 20 weeks of age.
Konni Burton, a Tea Party activist, is opposing Davis in her reelection bid next year.
Victor Medina writes for Yahoo News and his political blog WhenLiberalsAttack.com. His other writing credits include The Dallas Morning News and SportsIllustrated.com. He has served as a Dallas County election judge and on the Board of Directors of The Sixth Floor Museum. You can follow him on his blog, VictorMedina.com or on Twitter at @mrvictormedina. He can be reached by email at vic@victormedina.com. Click here to receive a weekly email update from WhenLiberalsAttack.com. To be notified of future stories by Victor Medina, click the SIGN UP or SUBSCRIBE button at the top of this page.
