Texas politician Wendy Davis announced Thursday that she will be running to replace Rick Perry as the 48th governor of Texas. Davis rekindled her political career during the June abortion showdown during the Texas legislative session and the special sessions that followed.
She gained her new fame when she filibustered the Pro-Life Omnibus Bill in June and helped to facilitate the abortion supporters who rallied behind her infamous pink running shoes at the Texas Capitol. Because of her filibuster, Wendy picked up thousands of supporters (including President Obama, on Twitter) and over a million dollars to use towards her gubernatorial campaign.
Texas Right to Life director Jim Graham, whose organization has initiated a “Truth Team” to expose the facts about Wendy Davis’s extreme abortion support, made the following statement on the day of Wendy’s announcement:
Wendy knew Pro-Life Governor Rick Perry would call the legislature back until the Pro-Life Omnibus Bill passed even if doing so required many special sessions. Neither the inconvenience to her colleagues, nor the cost to the state, let alone the excruciating pain felt by preborn children during late term abortions mattered to Wendy. Wendy needed to make a name for herself to restore her fading political career. The longer Wendy could remain on the stage, the better for Wendy.
Outlets like Politico have attempted to paint Wendy Davis as a moderate on abortion in comparison with her staunchly pro-life gubernatorial opponent, former Attorney General Greg Abbott, saying: “Abbott makes Davis look moderate in comparison and could give her an opening to court the white suburban women who hold the key to victory.” But in reality, it is a well-known fact that Wendy Davis and her agenda do not represent the majority of Texans, or even the majority of Texas women. Wendy used abortion advocacy to gain an arsenal of extreme abortion supporters whose loud and boisterous views may be the only benefit they can offer to Wendy’s campaign.
In a Dallas Morning News opinion piece that says that abortion may be a millstone around Wendy Davis’ political neck, author Rodger Jones asks where – if anywhere – Wendy Davis draws the line on the abortion of fully formed and viable fetuses in utero:
I’d like to hear Davis get specific about where she falls in that range — where she would draw the line on unborn children whose rights were secondary to the mother’s. Maybe Abbott… can get that out of her.
Good question, Rodger, but we won’t hold our breath for an answer.