On Tuesday night, Elizabeth Warren was silenced by the Senate for talking trash about her fellow senator, Jess Sessions of Alabama, whose confirmation vote for Attorney General will take place on Wednesday.
Except Elizabeth Warren wasn't saying, herself, anything about Jeff Sessions. She was reading a letter from Coretta Scott King. That's the activist and widow of Martin Luther King Jr. The woman who once campaigned against the same Jeff Sessions' nomination for a federal judgeship in 1986.
"Mr. Sessions has used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens," said Warren, quoting King.
Sit down and shut up, responded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, essentially, as the Senate voted to enact an "arcane" rule forbidding any senator from saying something mean about another senator.
After the chamber voted 49-43 (along party lines) to keep Warren from talking, McConnell defended himself:
"Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted."
And with that, the resistance said thanks for the new slogan.
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People used the phrase to share photos of "persistent" women in history.
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They used it to hold up a middle finger.
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They used it for t-shirts (coming soon).
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Of course they used it for jokes.
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And inspiration.
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Look for this one on every poster at the next Women's March.