I #StandWithWendy

It could have happened; it was thisclose. Down there in Texas, of course it would be Texas, a bill very nearly passed that would virtually ban abortion. The measure would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and would have required all clinics to be graded as surgical centers, with all doctors required to have admitting privileges at hospitals. It's estimated that nearly all of the state's clinics wouldn't have been able to meet the new standards and would have to close.

Luckily, the clock ran out on ridiculousness in Texas. This time.

Senator Wendy Davis, a Democrat from Forth Worth, stood and spoke, not eating, not drinking, not taking time to visit the loo, in the hopes that time would run out and the Repugnants, Rethuglicans, Republicans in Texas wouldn’t be able to pass their anti-abortion bill.

"What purpose does this bill serve? And could it be, might it just be a desire to limit women's access to safe, healthy, legal, constitutionally protected abortions in the state of Texas?"—Wendy Davis

But, after three challenges to her speech were upheld, it seemed her filibuster attempt fell just short and as the Legislature voted their horrific bill into law, protesters in the gallery cheered, clapped and shouted Davis’ name from 11:45 p.m. to midnight and beyond.

So, it seems that Texas now joins a long list of states where Republican men are telling women what they can and cannot do with their bodies except ….

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, acting as Senate president, initially said the voting began just before midnight, and several reports suggested that the bill had been passed after a 19-10 vote and would go to Governor, and Not Gay, Rick Perry. But, later on, Dewhurst announced that the vote had been held too late because of all that ruckus in the gallery.

And then men in Texas took their heads out of the vaginas of the women in Texas.

Dewhurst said that the special session had expired and the bill could not be “signed in the presence of the Senate … and therefore cannot be enrolled.” But then he suggested that Miss Ricky could immediately call another special session, and condemned the protesters for staging what they described as "a people's filibuster."

"I didn't lose control (of the chamber). We had an unruly mob."—David Dewhurst

Um, Lt. Governor, you are elected to do the job of the people and if the people want to be in that chamber and demand, vocally, vociferously, loudly, and acting a bit unruly, that is their right. You, sir, work for them. They pay your salary.

Unlike filibusters in Washington, D.C., where the senators talked nonstop about anything that came to mind, Wendy Davis was required to stand up, speak nonstop, not drink, not eat, not take a bathroom break and speak only about the topic on hand; she couldn’t even lean on her desk for support.

As the night wore on, Repugnants Rethuglicans Republicans won rulings that Davis had, in fact, broken the rules—for getting improper assistance from a colleague who adjusted her back brace and for straying from the topic. Then, late into the night, Davis ran afoul of a three-strikes-and-you're-out rule when Dewhurst upheld an objection that she had strayed from the topic again, this time by discussing a 2011 law involving sonograms and abortions, which he ruled was non-germane to the abortion bill.

That ruling opened the door for Senate Repugnant Rethuglican Republican majority to call for a straight up-or-down vote to end Davis' remarks. As the midnight deadline neared, raucous cheering and shouts erupted from the gallery during the roll call vote and the disruption halted Senate action for several minutes.

And that was all that was needed to deny the GOP yet another stab at telling women what they can and cannot do with their bodies.

"My back hurts. I don't have a lot of words left."—Wendy Davis, praising the "determination and spirit of Texas women."

I, too, like the President, who Tweeted, “Something special is happening in Austin tonight” #StandWithWendy.

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