Althouse: "My paraplegic opponent... 'hasn’t walked a day in my shoes.'"

January 21, 2014

"My paraplegic opponent... 'hasn’t walked a day in my shoes.'"

There's a gaffe for the ages.

73 comments:

B said...: Slow clap. *kisses fingertips* Bravissimo!; 1/21/14, 3:28 PM
Carl said...: I also like the bit where she knew she had to struggle to give her daughter a better life -- which she did by turning over the daughter to her next husband to rear. That was probably win-win.

I expect she's running to improve the state of women in Texas, and she'll do just that by losing sufficiently badly that millions of women who would've been appalled had such a cynical narcissist represented their sex on the national stage, won't have to be.; 1/21/14, 3:33 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Unforced error, which couldn't have happened to a more deserving politician. Yes, she was a single mother for a couple years, having gotten married and pregnant much too young, but was quickly saved by her father pimping her out to an attorney half a generation older.; 1/21/14, 3:33 PM
Mr. D said...: That's so Bidenesque we can only assume that for her next move she'll plagiarize a speech from Neil Kinnock.; 1/21/14, 3:36 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I cried because I had no shoes until I met a paraplegic who had no wheels.; 1/21/14, 3:39 PM
traditionalguy said...: Texans are hard to fool. She could have been herself and done well. But creating a Walt Disney Fairey Tale persona is going to backfire big time.; 1/21/14, 3:42 PM
Fen said...: Here's the actual link. Its a great takedown.

http://neoneocon.com/2014/01/21/wendy-davis-empowerment-and-the-poor-little-woman-struggle-and-the-man/; 1/21/14, 3:47 PM
Fen said...: "The irony that this is supposedly a feminist approach that will empower women only points out the blatant hypocrisy of Davis and her supporters, and way too much of feminism as well."; 1/21/14, 3:49 PM
paminwi said...: She took a man for all he was worth and then dropped him. Get what you want out of a relationship and get rid of your problem. Sounds like why she is in favor of abortion. Have your jollies and dump the problem.

She is disgusting. Makes me understand why liberals love her.; 1/21/14, 3:50 PM
madAsHell said...: "I'm told Chuck Graham, state senator, is here.
Stand up Chuck, let 'em see you.
Oh, God love you.
What am I talking about.
I'll tell you what, you're making everybody else stand up, though, pal."; 1/21/14, 3:52 PM
Rob said...: Of her invented narrative, Ms. Davis stated, "My language should be tighter. I’m learning about using broader, looser language. I need to be more focused on the detail.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/01/19/wendy-davis-admits-to-fuzzy-facts-in-bio/

I'm sympathetic. At the age of 50, all of us have parts that could stand a little tightening up.; 1/21/14, 3:54 PM
a psychiatrist who learned from veterans said...: I'm lazy. Are you paraphrasing?; 1/21/14, 4:00 PM
mesquito said...: I'd like to read the Professors view on Davis' bizarre libel litigation

http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Republicans-say-Wendy-Davis-libel-suit-says-much-5098715.php#/0; 1/21/14, 4:07 PM
Joe said...: The above link is behind a log in page. In summary:

"During her failed 1996 City Council campaign bid, Davis was the subject of negative news coverage in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, including an editorial which criticized her negative campaign tactics. Subsequent to her electoral loss, Davis filed a libel lawsuit against the paper, and parent companies The Walt Disney Co. and ABC Inc., to attempt to obtain an award for damages."

"...[The] claim against the newspaper was unceremoniously thrown out by the Court – as Judge Martin Richter granted a summary judgment against Davis without hearing any testimony. Rather than moving on, Wendy Davis appealed the case to a higher court."

She appealed and lost in a 3-0 opinion with the zinger "...cannot conclude a person of ordinary intelligence would perceive the statements as defamatory.”

She appealed again! To the Texas Supreme Court which told her to fuck off, though, unfortunately, not in those words.; 1/21/14, 4:19 PM
Bob R said...: Who's want to walk in those pink shoes?; 1/21/14, 4:37 PM
Pettifogger said...: I am no Wendy Davis fan, and she did use the walk-in-my-shoes metaphor but not in the same breath as referring to Greg Abbott. So it's not good, but it's not as bad as it was made to sound.; 1/21/14, 4:44 PM
Beldar said...: I yield to no one as a critic and political foe of State Senator Wendy Davis. She's a nothing-burger — someone who's accomplished nothing as a public servant or politician, with the sole exception of having briefly grabbed a national spotlight in a cause I deplore. She wasn't even an effective obstructionist in the Texas Legislature on this single issue, much less an effective or constructive public servant on any others. The Texas Democratic Party has a thin and weak bench, but before her abortion hoohah she was at its far and least consequential end.

That said:

I actually wouldn't make much about this particular gaffe, which depends on imputing a metaphor to a particular person who wasn't directly or even very indirectly referenced in Davis' own words.

Greg Abbott doesn't make a big deal about being in a wheelchair. As a courtroom lawyer in Houston, I appeared before him when he was a state district judge here, and he didn't make a big deal about it then either. But he did command — and deserve — the respect of everyone in his courtroom. In marked contrast to Davis, Abbott has been a diligent and effective public servant, and he has a record of real accomplishments in addition to a compelling personal story. He's also a genuinely nice guy, for what that's worth.

The last Democrat to run for Texas Governor, the very popular and capable former Houston mayor Bill White — with whom I went to law school, and who I can also confirm to be an honest and likeable fellow — was a vastly superior candidate to Wendy Davis in every respect except the most superficial and trivial, personal attractiveness. And Rick Perry whipped Bill White in the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election like the proverbial rented mule.

To me, that makes funnier the other thoughtless metaphor quoted in the Neo-Neocon post that Instapundit linked — the formal statement by Davis supporter and financier Grace Garcia, executive director of Annie's List, that "Greg Abbott is running scared and for good reason."; 1/21/14, 5:08 PM
William said...: A Republican woman with her background would be soundly ridiculed. Except for conservative precincts, her background and gaffes will pass unremarked and mostly unnoticed. See Elizabeth Warren.; 1/21/14, 5:09 PM
ddh said...: Wendy Davis is a genuine $3 bill.; 1/21/14, 5:16 PM
dbp said...: Best use of ellipsis in a long while.; 1/21/14, 5:16 PM
The Godfather said...: I confess to a prejudice here: I have Abbotts in my ancestry (my great great grandfather was an Abbott).

That said, I think it's interesting that, as someone far distanced from Texas politics, I know that Wendy is a female victim, but I didn't know that Greg used a wheelchair.

My guess is that both of them think that's the way it should be.; 1/21/14, 5:18 PM
jr565 said...: Is the speaker Joe Biden? Because that sounds like something he would say.; 1/21/14, 5:21 PM
Wince said...: The truth is that at age 19, I was a teenage mother living alone with my daughter in a trailer and struggling to keep us afloat on my way to a divorce.

"First off, I am 35 years old, I am divorced, and I live in a van down by the river."; 1/21/14, 5:30 PM
Michael K said...: "She appealed again! To the Texas Supreme Court which told her to fuck off, though, unfortunately, not in those words."

Was she an editor of the Harvard Law Review ?

Just asking.; 1/21/14, 5:31 PM
Beldar said...: @dbp (1/21/14, 5:16 PM), who wrote: "Best use of ellipsis in a long while."

Prof. Althouse was quoting Prof. Reynolds, and her post links his; the words "[m]y paraplegic opponent" were his. Prof. Althouse appropriately used single-quotes around the phrase from Wendy Davis, "hasn't walked a day in my shoes."

There's nothing improper in Professor Althouse's use of an ellipsis here, in other words; the elided phrase ("doesn't understand my struggles") was also something Prof. Reynolds wrote. And Prof. Reynolds linked to a fuller set of quotes, also linked to their original sources, from blogger Neo-Neocon.

If you're merely pointing out that which I and others have also pointed out in comments here — that Sen. Davis' "walked a day in my shoes" line wasn't a direct reference to Gregg Abbott by name — then we agree, but I think you're being snarky and redundant. Even so, the arguably overreaching paraphrase was Prof. Reynolds', not Prof. Althouse's.

Pedantically yours,

— Beldar; 1/21/14, 5:31 PM
Wince said...: I guess it's only funny when it's a man.; 1/21/14, 5:31 PM
Anonymous said...: Wendy Davis graduated with a law degree from Harvard Law School. She has no excuse for lying under oath about her age at her divorce (she said she was 19, she was 21 when the divorce finalized). It was irrelevant to the case, but that sort of slack with the facts behavior is not something you want from someone in power.

Attacking a paraplegic for not walking a day in her shoes is just par for the course. This is going to be a fun race to watch.; 1/21/14, 5:32 PM
Big Mike said...: Wendy Davis, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama.

Democrats, if that's a sample of your best and brightest then you ain't got nothin'; 1/21/14, 5:33 PM
Paul said...: Wow... she really stepped in the do-do that time.

What will be the next gaff... he doesn't know what it is like to abort a baby?

Or hey, he doesn't know what it is like to marry a guy for his money and then dump him when he is of no use?; 1/21/14, 5:34 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Don't get into a My Struggle versus Your Struggle with a paraplegic unless you are a quadriplegic.; 1/21/14, 5:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Some of the more high-brow progressives like Elizabeth Warren may be a little embarrassed at this striver.; 1/21/14, 5:50 PM
pm317 said...: How is it that everybody but Obama gets caught for similar offenses?; 1/21/14, 5:51 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Divorcing your second husband the day after he's signed the last check paying for your HLS tuition is just cold. My understanding is that Texans have something of a soft spot for mean bitches, but really, there are limits.; 1/21/14, 6:13 PM
dbp said...: @Beldar,

No snark was intended to our hostess. Having read the Insty and Neo contributions as well as what is here, I cannot fully untangle the authorship of the phrase. I do however approve of it and think it is fair since it does not pervert the meaning.; 1/21/14, 6:14 PM
Known Unknown said...: I just named my new band The Wendy Davis Implosion.; 1/21/14, 6:32 PM
Johanna Lapp said...: I've heard Bill O'Reilly tell WaPo's Charles Krauthammer he's a "stand-up guy." More than once. Never heard an apology or walk back.

Will he slam Wendy tonight?; 1/21/14, 6:34 PM
Sam L. said...: Well, ever' thang's biger in Texas. Especially the fools. And she is one.; 1/21/14, 6:42 PM
David said...: Huge gaffe!

That's why it's all over the tv and newspapers.; 1/21/14, 7:22 PM
Gahrie said...: The truly sad thing is, most Democrats in Texas will still vote for the gold digging, child abandoning bitch.; 1/21/14, 7:57 PM
Quaestor said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/21/14, 8:20 PM
Quaestor said...: So what is it about colorful biography makes a candidate especially fit to be elected? Isn't a record of diligent, faithful, and successful public service a superior trump?

The last time a politician successfully used "his struggles" as qualification for high office was 1933.; 1/21/14, 8:22 PM
J Lee said...: The out-of-state media and supporters who have mostly fawned over her are really killing her hopes in-state, because they're promoting Davis and pushing the narrative under the idea that a Democrat in Texas can run for governor as if she's running for the job in California or New York.

Tying her support of the abortion filibuster into her life history means even though she represented a swing district in the Texas Senate, the only thing voters are being told about her his her support for women's choice, and how her background led to that support.

Blow holes in the background, as Wayne Slater did, and voters begin to wonder if a woman who not only divorced her husband right after he finished paying for her Harvard law degree, but gave him the kids, including the older one from her first husband, may not be a militant abortion rights backer because it empowers women, but because there are times when she finds having kids around just deters you from your other goals in life. That's not a good impression to leave, even in New York or California.; 1/21/14, 8:48 PM
Brent said...: Wendy Davis and her feminist backers are strict bullies.

Wendy Davis is a liar. I am so looking forward to Rachel Maddox and her oh so straight shooting blogger servant Steve Benen using all their smarts showing everyone how dishonest caring mother Wendy is. Since we all know MSNBC is all about honesty.

Welcome to Bitch Bullies, Texas Chapter.; 1/21/14, 9:09 PM
The Godfather said...: @ Johanna Lapp: Krauthammer IS a "stand up guy", even though he uses a wheel chair. Just as Ray Charles was "insightful" although blind.; 1/21/14, 9:35 PM
TOTWTYTR said...: Is Sally Field too old to star in the biography?

They could call it "Not with my daughter".; 1/21/14, 9:38 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Okay, so I read up on her background. No man with that background would be accepted as a serious candidate, would he?

Say a man after a young, failed marriage (which nearly everyone forgives) marries an older woman with some money. She pays for the rest of his college, then he takes off across the country to Harvard Law, leaving his children with the wife, including one child from his first marriage, and having her cash out her 401(k) and take out a loan to fund him. Then he leaves her when it's all done. Yow!

Yeah, let's trust that person with power. What could go wrong?; 1/21/14, 9:59 PM
SteveR said...: Some of my Facebook "friends" were going crazy when Wendy was doing the fillibuster thing. Crickets; 1/21/14, 10:01 PM
Brad said...: Gahrie said...

The truly sad thing is, most Democrats in Texas will still vote for the gold digging, child abandoning bitch.

Probably because they consider that a feature, not a bug.; 1/21/14, 10:10 PM
toadold said...: Windy and here backers are toast. They didn't check the district by district sentiment on her. It was low and now declining. There are not enough "liberal" districts to overcome even the conservative rural districts alone. Also they have ticked off many established democrats in the legislature. No matter where she was born she now has the "carpet bagger" and outsider label attached to her.; 1/21/14, 10:20 PM
traditionalguy said...: I want to see how far she goes. She is a TCU girl, so she understands exactly what she is doing and has no fear of Texas political forces.; 1/21/14, 10:24 PM
avwh said...: "No matter where she was born she now has the "carpet bagger" and outsider label attached to her."

And those labels are somehow WORSE in Texas than the liar, gold digger, and opportunist she's been proven to be??; 1/21/14, 10:33 PM
Anonymous said...: "I'm sympathetic. At the age of 50, all of us have parts that could stand a little tightening up."

Maybe Davis should revert to an old joke, by saying her resumé could use tightening up a few stitches.; 1/21/14, 10:57 PM
steve l said...: And those labels are somehow WORSE in Texas than the liar, gold digger, and opportunist she's been proven to be??

yes, yes they are....elected officials are assumed to be lying, gold digging opportunists; 1/21/14, 11:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Eric the Fruit Bat, you are brilliant!; 1/21/14, 11:14 PM
Skyler said...: In an age of easily available birth control and absolutely no stigma for being an unwed mother, subverting the two biggest reasons for the Supreme Court making abortion a constitutional right, Wendy Davis became famous for having a hissy fit because of a law that women should take advantage of that "right" before the 20th week of pregapnancy.

And she was such a terrible mother that a court allowed her second husband to have custody of both her own children, one of whom he hadn't even fathered.

Wendy Davis hates babies.; 1/21/14, 11:15 PM
Unknown said...: Took me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here! It’s always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained!
Back Office support; 1/21/14, 11:42 PM
Theranter said...: Bbbbbbbbbbbbut her nanny said she was nice!:
"http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20140118-as-wendy-davis-touts-life-story-in-race-for-governor-key-facts-blurred.ece
I was a nanny for the Davis children during Wendy Davis's senior year at TCU and continued in touch with the family while she was at Harvard. There are inaccuracies in this story. While Wendy Davis was at Harvard, some of the time Amber lived with her and attended a private Boston school and Dru lived with her as well. Jeff Davis and his parents lived together during part of this period, and the three of them cared for Dru and sometimes Amber. The last year of law school, Wendy attend SMU with permission from Harvard Law School and lived with her children and husband Jeff. While she lived in Boston, Wendy also flew home for weekends frequently to be with her family. She was a caring, loving, and concerned mother when I was her children's nanny; to weigh my judgment, it might help readers to know that I worked for child protective services (then child welfare) for 12 years.
I've had experiences since with Wendy Davis on a non-profit board and continued to be an acquaintance of her and her daughters subsequent to the Davis divorce. While at Dru's high school graduation party, I talked with another guest who had lived in the trailer park with Wendy and other guests, some with influence and money, and others who were working class. Wendy thought to invite me to the party even though I cared for Dru 16 years earlier. Somehow this article was spun to where her warmth and inclusivity were missing."; 1/21/14, 11:48 PM
Gary Rosen said...: "Somehow this article was spun to where her warmth and inclusivity were missing."

Sure she's a lying gold-digger who mocks disabled political opponents. But she's warm and inclusive so let's elect her governor.; 1/22/14, 1:43 AM
Bradoplata said...: What kind of mom doesn't want her kids? Do you want someone that detached making decisions that effect people on a personal level?; 1/22/14, 3:00 AM
Banshee said...: "Caring, loving and concerned" because she keeps a politician's large guest list, and because she farms out care of her kids at her house, until she leaves her husband who's just finished paying for everything.

Of course, her husband was paying the nanny's salary too, so it would seem that the nanny should be grateful to him more than her....; 1/22/14, 5:04 AM
Skyler said...: And she had a nanny! She really hates kids.

Working for child welfare doesn't really set a high bar for judging patenting skills. Almost all the parents she had seen had neglected, failed to protect, or abused their children. "Your honor, compared to child molesters, Wendy Davis was pretty nice."; 1/22/14, 6:02 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "There's nothing improper in Professor Althouse's use of an ellipsis here…"

Thanks… Beldar...; 1/22/14, 6:15 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Apparently, she is under a bit of pressure now: Reeling Wendy Davis Grasps for Guns, Tells AP that Her Origins Story Is Now Off-Limits.

She is now claiming to be in favor of gun rights, by pushing for broader concealed carry laws. But, in the past, she tried to kick gun shows out of Fort Worth, and supported background checks for private sales. As that article pointed out, that isn't going to sell all that well in Texas, and if she really wanted to push gun rights, she would push for open carry. (After you get used to it, open carry is not that scary - see it a bit in both AZ and MT, the latter primarily for the wildlife).

She really won't be able to make her background off limits - since she was the one who made it an issue in the first place. Good luck trying though.; 1/22/14, 6:22 AM
Bandit said...: WD 'But Elizabeth Warren didn't have to put up with this $h!t, and I never said I was a Cherokee'; 1/22/14, 6:22 AM
Dog said...: Clearly Ms. Davis has never witnessed Mr. Abbott wheeling his chair through the crowd of 100,000 during the TX-OU game to find a men's room stall. I have, more than once. Our seats are near where he watches from a wheel chair row behind everyone else.

The times I saw Mr. Abbot he was always polite, always forgiving. and most especially, always patient. It's a rowdy crowd. The Cotton Bowl has a narrow concourse and was not initially designed for the crowds that attend that game.

It's no exaggeration to suggest Wendy Davis is an idiot. From my lips that is an apolitical statement reserved for a very few.; 1/22/14, 6:37 AM
SGT Ted said...: Democrat are always for the 2nd amendment until they get elected.; 1/22/14, 7:16 AM
damikesc said...: I also like the bit where she knew she had to struggle to give her daughter a better life -- which she did by turning over the daughter to her next husband to rear. That was probably win-win.

The husband, mind you, who didn't actually create the child.

I am no Wendy Davis fan, and she did use the walk-in-my-shoes metaphor but not in the same breath as referring to Greg Abbott. So it's not good, but it's not as bad as it was made to sound.

It's a dumb comment --- that would be the main thing lefty blogs focus on if it were a Republican (like the story involving Romney and his dog).

Playing by the same rules isn't always fun.

The truly sad thing is, most Democrats in Texas will still vote for the gold digging, child abandoning bitch.

In my state, Alvin Greene didn't get an insignificant number of votes in the Senate election --- and he was a moron.; 1/22/14, 7:26 AM
Bruce J. Russell, Sr. said...: The best, thing? She vacuumed in 11 million from Democrat donors.; 1/22/14, 9:10 AM
Willys said...: Wendy Davis is nothing more than a pawn in the Democratic Party effort to turn Texas blue, an attempt by the Donks that will end more like a blue movie.

After the election Davis will become an also ran, but not nearly as far as Gregg Abbott... to relate to her metaphor.; 1/22/14, 9:11 AM
Richard Fagin said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/22/14, 11:00 AM
Richard Fagin said...: This reminds me of Ann Richards at the 1992 Democratic convention deriding Bush 41 as having been born with a silver foot in his mouth. Two years later, Bush 43 gave her a silver foot in the hiney and kicked her out of office.

Wendy Davis is going to get run over by Greg Abbott's wheelchair so hard that there will be tire marks on her back.; 1/22/14, 11:04 AM
Anonymous said...: Y'all are missing the best part.
Wendy's mother, who somehow managed to attend Muleshoe High School despite having only a 6th grade education, is named...

Ginger Cornstubble.

She's on Facebook.

Wendy is not a politician.
Wendy is a country-western song lyric.; 1/22/14, 12:14 PM
Anthony said...: I'm not sure I'd rule out Texas becoming at least purple in the near future. With California withering and Texas booming, a lot of Californians could end up moving there and changing the demographic considerably. Washington (state) used to be pretty red until they infested the place. Now we elect card-carrying Socialists as well as the stealth sort.; 1/22/14, 4:36 PM