(The Contributor) — When Texas lawmaker Wendy Davis was filibustering a draconian anti-abortion bill last June, and vaulting to Democratic celebritydom, you just knew that conservatives would work themselves up to take her down.
Sure enough, the gubernatorial hopeful’s preferred narrative (Wendy Davis, struggling single mom who became a success story) is now being challenged by her enemies’ version of her life (Wendy Davis, liar, bad mother, and gold-digger who sacrificed her family on the altar of her political ambitions). This kind of sexist sliming was bound to happen; many months ago, Fox News commentator Erick Erickson tried to exploit her good looks by labeling her “Abortion Barbie.”
It’s hard to imagine that Davis could wind up as governor. Texas has been notoriously inhospitable to female candidates; statewide, no woman has won a Texas government race in 20 years. But conservatives are well aware that the state’s increasingly diverse demographics could make Texas more competitive in the not too distant future, so they’d like to ensure that the Democrats remain leaderless. Hence the current bid to whack Davis at the starting gate.
