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Democratic senator Wendy Davis launched into the national spotlight yesterday when she attempted a 13-hour filibuster in the Texas state senate to block a bill that would impose new abortion restrictions throughout the state of Texas.
The Texas Tribune livestreamed and liveblogged the whole thing, which began at 11:18 am. According to filibuster rules, in order to hold the floor the senator was required to remain standing, without leaning on her desk or taking any breaks, including pauses to eat or use the bathroom. Her chair was removed when she began speaking. She wore a pair of pink Mizuno Wave Rider sneakers rather than dress shoes, which, hell, we sure would too.
The NYPost describes Davis as "a petite woman who stays in shape by jogging and cycling," and reports that she "tried to stay comfortable and sharp by shifting her weight from hip to hip and slowly walking around her desk while reading notes from a large binder on her desk."
The goal was to hold the floor until midnight, which was the deadline for voting on the bill. According to the Washington Post, Davis made it nearly 11 hours until 10:07 before Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst ruled that Davis "had three times violated the Texas Senate's procedural rules for a filibuster, which requires a senator to stand continually without assistance and remain on topic."
It was long enough, however. Though the bill was voted on near midnight, it was officially declared too late by Dewurst around 3:00 am, Newsday reports.
Mizuno Women's Wave Rider 16, $114.99 at Mizuno.com
And as for those Mizunos, they're still available through the brand's website for $114.99. Though if Davis's rapidly increasing popularity is any indicator (Newsday reports that her Twitter following went from 1,200 yesterday morning to more than 20,000 last night), they might not be around for long.
· Wendy Davis filibusters, abortion bill vote misses deadline [Newsday]
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