Wendy Davis Should Run for the Senate and not Governor

Texas State Senator Wendy Davis became a liberal icon last year when she undertook an 11 hour filibuster to run out the clock against an anti-abortion bill, Senate Bill 5, in the Texas Legislature. She was successful in blocking the bill, but it was only a short term victory. Texas Governor Rick Perry then called a special session of the Texas Legislature. As expected, the abortion restrictions were enacted. Senator Davis took advantage of her instant fame, and promises of substantial contributions, to announce her candidacy for Texas Governor. Texas is a red state, but she offered a compelling personal statement – a life story that appeals to Americans. She grew up poor. She was a single mom as a teenager, lived with her daughter in a trailer park, and climbed up. First in her class at Texas Christian University and then cum laude at Harvard Law School through scholarships and loans.. “Up from her bootstraps!” That plays Deep in the Heart of Texas. “From trailer park to Harvard Law” You have to love it. She made it – the Great American Success Story. The truth came out in a Dallas Morning News article. Her story is still compelling, but embellished. She got divorced at 21. She was not a single, teenage mom. She only lived in the trailer for two months prior to moving to an apartment. Wendy remarried at 24 to Jeffrey Davis, 13 years her senior. They had a daughter together. Jeffrey paid her tuition and expenses at TCU and Harvard. He cashed in his 401K and executed a ten-year note to cover the Harvard costs. She left the two daughters behind with Jeffrey in Fort Worth while she attended Harvard. She left Jeffrey the day after the last payment on the ten-year note. That’s cold. He filed for divorce with the petition asserting adultery on her part. The final divorce decree though does not include adultery as grounds for the divorce. He received custody of the two daughters. Wendy worked her way up politically in Fort Worth as a moderate Republican. She acquired a reputation for hardball politics. She became a Democrat in 2008 when running for the Texas Senate. Senator Wendy Davis is smart and opportunistic. The filibuster was opportunistic grandstanding. Everyone in Texas knew Governor Perry would call the special session and that the abortion restrictions would be enacted. By way of contrast, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (also of Harvard Law School) was excoriated by the media in mounting his 21 hour filibuster against ObamaCare. The best defense is often a good offense. The response by the Davis campaign to the newspaper article was to lash out at Attorney General Greg Abbott her Republican opponent, for mounting “dirty tricks” against her. A campaign statement against the Attorney General had Wendy Davis saying Greg Abbott “never walked a day in my shoes.” That’s absolutely correct. Greg Abbott has been a paraplegic for 25 years. They now assert that maybe he doesn’t need to be in a wheelchair. Imagine dirty tricks and hardball politics in Texas, the home of Landslide Lyndon? Why should Senator Davis run for the United States Senate? Because she would fit right in. Background veracity is not a qualification for the Senate. Senator Elizabeth Warren misrepresented herself as Native American (remember the “high cheek bones”) to take advantage of affirmative action in climbing the academic ladder. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D. Conn.) and Mark Kirk (R. Ill.) embellished their military record in running for the Senate. There was no need for them to do so. Let us not forget that Senator Al Gore invented the internet. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota was a professional comedian as well as a tax cheat before getting elected to the Senate. He is also a graduate of Harvard. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was poor when he moved to Washington, but has become rich through sweetheart real estate deals. Wendy Davis is no Anne Richards.