What Wendy Davis did last week was amazing. When I was a kid growing up in Austin, my dad was an attorney for a prominent state agency, so I have been in the capitol building often. I remember once watching a filibuster in the late seventies and my father explaining to me what all the legislator had to do to keep it going. I called my dad the other night while Davis was hitting about hour ten of her stance. He predicted exactly what was going to happen. He told me the Republicans would catch her on a point of order regarding staying on topic. Given their numbers, they would win out too he said, even if what they were saying was bunk. Like he is so many times, my dad was right on.
But, I just wanted to point out that Wendy Davis was a hero/champion to many of us already in Texas for what she did two years ago. That is when she filibustered the state budget on the last day of the session and forced a special session because of the cuts to public education. Her efforts made it clear that there were many parents/public school employees who were outraged by the drastic cuts made two years ago. She survived a Republican push in her election to get rid of her. Despite getting kicked off the education committee this year, she still led the fight to stop a movement to create a voucher system a la Louisiana. A large amount of money was restored to public education this session. Of course it was not enough, but without Wendy Davis, I doubt it would have been as healthy as it was.
I shook her hand in the rotunda two years ago, and thanked her for what she did. Brush with greatness I guess. I hope.