Two days after Texas lawmaker Wendy Davis vaulted into the political spotlight for helping defeat a bill restricting abortion rights by staging an 11-hour-long filibuster, Gov. Rick Perry said it was unfortunate she had not learned that “every life matters,” given that she was the child of a single mother who went on to earn a Harvard law degree.
In a speech to nearly 1,000 delegates at the conference near Dallas, Mr. Perry struck hard at Ms. Davis, 50, asking the crowd, “Who are we to say that the children born in the worst of circumstances can’t grow to live successful lives?”
Then he cited Ms. Davis, as an example, saying she was the daughter of a “single mother. She was
a teenage mother herself. She managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas Senate.“It is just unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential and that every life matters.”
Ms. Davis released a statement that said Mr. Perry’s statement was “without dignity and tarnishes the high office he holds. They are small words that reflect a dark and negative point of view. Our governor should reflect our Texas values. Sadly, Gov. Perry fails that test.”
How totally patronizing and inappropriate. I have rarely heard any remarks that judgemental. I can’t believe that any person in that room who personally witnessed Perry’s words wasn’t just mortified for him.
