By Request
Yesterday evening, my personal favorite statewide Democratic candidate, Leticia VanDePutte, came by our Democratic Headquarters to speak. I love all our candidates, but Leticia is a wonderment. She spoke to a standing room only crowd.
My sweet Bubba, who is the county chair, gave me the honor of introducing Leticia. A bunch of people (okay, 3) asked me to put the introduction on my website because they wanted to steal it when they had a chance to introduce her.
In the speech, I refer to the 23 words. For you people from foreign states, here they are:
Steal at will because everyone across Texas should know these true words about Leticia.
The night of the filibuster, those of us watching were bowled over when Leticia took the microphone and asked the question that no woman in Texas will ever forget. She spoke for me, your grandmother, your sister, and most importantly, your daughter. She spoke for every woman in Texas.
For me, I will remember her question that night because she was the one who turned the filibuster over to the people. It was in response to her simple question – with only 23 words – that the gallery went wild. She continued to stand silently in respect – giving voice to those who actually own the government. She trusted our voices.
Leticia, I will love you every moment of my life for that incredible gift. As we say in this part of Texas, “Honey, you git it.”
She’s as smart as Rice University with a 50 pound dictionary.
She’s as sweet as a Grandmother’s kiss.
She hunts wildcats with a stick.
She will fight a rattlesnake on the devil’s back porch with one arm tied behind her back and give the snake three bites head start.
When she yells scat, you damn well better hunt your hole.
She is Leticia Van De Putte, and the point is NOW!
Give ’em hell, Leticia! You have all women who don’t have to “ask their husbands how to vote” behind you!
1Weak men fear strong women.
I wish Leticia great success.
2AMEN AND GLORY HALLELUJAH! I’m with Leticia. I also have a T shirt with her lifetime famous saying on it. Maybe she oughta have another one made saying “When Mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy.”
3When she yells scat,she means wingnuts(Special Category of American Taliban) or terrorists or turds,etc.
4I am obviously missing something here … I didn’t see this happen. She asks when a woman needs to raise her hand or voice to speak? Generally that is what one does when one wants to speak. If you just sit there quietly not doing or saying anything, then no one knows you have something to say.
What am I missing?
Not meaning to be difficult or disrespectful, just don’t understand the quote I guess. Maybe in full context it makes more sense?
I learned in kindergarten that if you wanted to speak you had to raise your hand.
Perhaps she is talking about raising a hand against someone in anger?
5Mark: she had raised her hand and was ignored.
6We who are her constituents have known for a long time.
7Mark, when women raise their hands or voices to speak in a group consistenting largely of men, they are all too frequently ignored. I think a number of us can speak from experience.
8Mark, if you had watched the webcast of the filibuster that evening you would have seen for yourself that David Dewhurst, Texas lieutenant governor and as such the president of the Texas Senate, did everything he could to cut off the filibuster and call a vote on the anti-abortion rights legislations before the midnight legislative deadline.
It was a despicable performance by Dewhurst, a despicable individual. And he failed as Leticia VanDePutte stood patiently on that Senate floor. After many polite attempts to be recognized, Sen. VanDePutte finally gained her chance to speak after her Democrat colleague, Minority Leader Kirk Watson, kept the ball away from Dewhurst and passed it to her.
9@Biggomama, that she was being ignored makes a little bit more sense. But not much.
@Rhea, I am well aware that women are too often ignored in these situations. I guess it is the odd wording and grammar construction that is confusing me. When she asks “at what point must a female senator raise her hand …” what she really means is “I’ve raised my damn hand, so what the hell does it take for a woman to get the floor to be able to speak?”
10Mark, Mark, Mark…why be so difficult? You had to have been there!
11Uppity women are the greatest!
12@Mark … I think you got it right in your response to Rhea!! Exactly … what the hell does it take?!? It takes what Leticia did and it brought the house down.
13Minutes before the filibuster was to end before midnight because Republicans had declared three strikes against Wendy Davis, Leticia, who had come from her father’s funeral, asked to be recognized for a point of order. A male Republican was recognized before her and she asked….
14http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=By4pcLr4ZN0
Thanks Susan/Juanita. There are those of us outta-staters who are rooting for success in turning TX blue. You’re showing us what needs to be done.
15Mark, face it. You got nuthin!
16But oh, gabberflasted, I’ve got plenty o’ nuttin’.
It seems that those “23 words” are a great rallying cry for those insiders who know the super secret handshake.
Which is lovely. Anything that gets people excited and voting is fine by me.
17Context for the question about Senators raising their hands — they don’t. In Texas a Senator stands to be recognized. When Senator Van de Putte stood to be recognized, Senate President Dewhurst improperly recognized a male Republican colleague instead of Senator Van de Putte who had risen first. Which gives the true context of the quote: “At what point must a female senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over her male colleagues?” Because a female Senator should not have to raise her hand or her voice to be recognized; she should be able to rise and be recognized as were her male colleagues.
18Her saying those words broke my heart open with joy after all the dirty tricks the bastards were doing to disable Wendy’s filibuster. She’ll be remembered fondly forever for calling that spade a spade.
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