#LetLizSpeak and #ShePersisted: Dems protest GOP silencing of Elizabeth Warren
Shortly after Senate Republicans voted to stop Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., from reading a 1986 letter by Martin Luther King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, during Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing Tuesday, the Internet exploded in protest — as the hashtag #LetLizSpeak began trending on Twitter.
In the letter, addressed to then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Strom Thurmond, King expressed her opposition to Sessions, who had been nominated for a federal judgeship in Alabama.
Warren told Yahoo News that she wanted to highlight King’s response to Sessions, who as a U.S. attorney in Alabama had prosecuted civil rights workers for helping elderly black citizens vote — and believes her GOP colleagues simply didn’t want to hear it.
“I think they just didn’t want to hear her letter,” Warren said Wednesday. “And I’ll be blunt: That’s part of the reason once he put me in my chair, and I’m not allowed to speak in the United States Senate, I went outside, I read the letter, I posted it on Facebook. I want everyone in America to read this letter.”
Related: The Coretta Scott King letter Elizabeth Warren wasn’t allowed to read
Republican senators argued that Warren’s quoting the letter violated an arcane Senate rule against “impugning the motives” of a colleague.
“She was warned,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell argued on the Senate floor. “She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
I will not be silent about a nominee for AG who has made derogatory & racist comments that have no place in our justice system.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 8, 2017
If McConnell was hoping to silence Warren, the move backfired as social media users rallied around the progressive firebrand — and “she persisted” became a rallying cry.
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted."
So must we all.https://t.co/JXROGHPNkH
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 8, 2017
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted." – the new mantra for all women, everywhere. #letlizspeak
— Jared Gaburo (@jpgaburo) February 8, 2017
GOP, you messed with the wrong Nasty Woman. #LetLizSpeak
— Vicki Moore (@eileenleft270) February 8, 2017
"She was warned, she was given an explanation, nevertheless, she persisted."
Well be behaved women seldom make history. #letlizspeak— markelajean (@leadership_love) February 8, 2017
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, #ShePersisted." #LetLizSpeak #Resist pic.twitter.com/YHswbZW3Bv
— NARAL (@NARAL) February 8, 2017
Never the less, she persisted-
Elizabeth Coleman, aka ‘Bessie’, was the world’s first black female pilot. #blackhistorymonth #letlizspeak pic.twitter.com/TORb85mH6M— Stephanie (@Stephynb) February 8, 2017
The US Senate is a 1950's law firm that has yet to accept that women can be full partners with votes, clout, and voices. #LetLizSpeak
— (((FUTrump))) (@GildedTrumpTurd) February 8, 2017
We cannot stop calling, or marching, or calling, or showing up at town halls, or calling, or marching… #ShePersists #LetLizSpeak
— Kiers10 (@Kiers10B) February 8, 2017
She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. pic.twitter.com/ebXJRX23Re
— Marc (@MarcSnetiker) February 8, 2017
CALLING ALL Y'ALL CROSS STITCHERS: wanna stitch "Nevertheless, she persisted" in exchange for @PPact donations? https://t.co/dGNMDrwS5e
— Kristen Coates (@kristenlcoates) February 8, 2017
in production. online now. in DM later today, in IC, CR, and KC tomorrow! https://t.co/GRdCjhTbsK #raygun #NeverthelessShePersisted pic.twitter.com/i0st33uZE5
— RAYGUN (@RAYGUNshirts) February 8, 2017
Warren’s reading of King’s letter on Facebook Live attracted more than 2 million views.
George Takei, the actor and activist, suggested Warren’s Democratic colleagues read King’s letter on the Senate floor in solidarity.
You know what? Every Democratic Senator should stand up and read Coretta Scott King's letter tomorrow. Every. Single. One.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 8, 2017
New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall did just that.
New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall begins reading Coretta Scott King's letter on the Senate floor https://t.co/T5uqoA85rO pic.twitter.com/sunkqrkLe6
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 8, 2017
Udall then took to Twitter to explain why he did it.
When Mr. Sessions served as US Attorney, his record on voting rights—the backbone of our democracy—was subject to serious question.
— Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017
In the context of this confirmation hearing, Senator Sessions' record on civil rights must be included in the debate #LetLizSpeak
— Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017
I read Mrs. King’s letter about Mr. #Sessions’ commitment to justice for all. I leave it to my colleagues to assess that commitment.
— Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) February 8, 2017
“I read Mrs. King’s letter about Mr. #Sessions’ commitment to justice for all,” he wrote. “I leave it to my colleagues to assess that commitment.”
Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) followed suit.
Republican senators silencing @SenWarren because she quoted a letter from Coretta Scott King in opposition to Jeff Sessions is outrageous.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 8, 2017
I think Sen. McConnell owes @SenWarren an apology. It's outrageous she was denied the right to voice her concerns about Jeff Sessions.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 8, 2017
Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio, said Warren was out of line.
“We have become a society incapable of having debates anymore,” Rubio said.
But to Warren, King’s letter was a crucial part of the debate.
“I went to the floor last night to do my constitutional responsibility: to debate whether or not Jeff Sessions should be the next attorney general of the United States,” Warren told Yahoo News. “My constitutional responsibility is to come down here and debate with my head and with my heart.”
More from Yahoo News: