Sen. Elizabeth Warren is holding a telephone town hall to celebrate the anniversary of her dust-up with Republican senators that boosted her national image, led to the “Nevertheless, She Persisted” liberal rallying cry and, according to the Massachusetts Democrat, sparked a movement.
Mrs. Warren is up for re-election this year, and also is competing for the attention of grassroots activists ahead of a possible 2020 presidential run.
The 68-year-old’s biggest moment arguably came last year when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used a little-known rule to cut her off in the middle of a speech impugning then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, which included reading a decades-old letter from Coretta Scott King accusing the Alabama Republican of racist motives.
Mr. McConnell, in seeking to explain the decision during Mr. Sessions’ attorney general confirmation hearing, said: “She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
The clash with the Kentucky Republican bolstered her image in the eyes of liberal activists and groups, including the Progressive Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which promoted the phone call event that was hosted by the Warren campaign.
“One year ago today, on February 7, 2017, Mitch McConnell had me thrown off of the Senate floor for reading a letter by Coretta Scott King. Every single Republican in the Senate chamber that night voted to silence me,” Ms. Warren said in a PCCC email.
“That night, ’Nevertheless, She Persisted’ became a rallying cry for people all across this country who were tired of being told to sit down and shut up,” Ms. Warren said. “A year later, it’s a movement.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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