When Senate Republicans invoked a little-known rule Tuesday night to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the middle of a speech criticizing attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Democrats were stunned.
“Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech,” he said. “She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
If the Republican senators had intended to minimize Warren's message, the decision backfired — severely.
Her supporters immediately seized upon McConnell's line — giving Warren a far bigger megaphone than if they had simply let her continue speaking in what had been a mostly empty chamber, some pointed out.
“Thanks for the new battle cry,” one person tweeted.
"Nevertheless, she persisted." #LetLizSpeak pic.twitter.com/COeSbXdOS0
— YellieKat (@YellieKat) February 8, 2017
As had been the case through a long, embittered presidential campaign (see: “basket of deplorables,” “nasty woman"), an off-the-cuff phrase meant to end a debate was instead turned into a badge of honor by the other side.
#ShePersisted, #LetLizSpeak and “Silencing Elizabeth Warren” were among Twitter's top trending topics in the United States by Wednesday morning.
Women in particular bristled at the sentiment — essentially, to sit down and stop talking — and noted it was hardly unfamiliar to them.
"I'm shocked at how @SenateMajLdr treated @SenWarren last night," said no woman ever. #letlizspeak
— Amy Butler (@PastorAmyButler) February 8, 2017
"The senator will take her seat," said by Republican senators to Liz Warren. Remember that, ladies, when you vote. For now, #letlizspeak
— Cheryl Great Lakes (@CherylUpNorth) February 8, 2017
"She was warned." Words every strong woman has heard from a man at some point in her life.#LetLizSpeak #ShePersisted
— Jen (@jendrinkswine) February 8, 2017
On the heels of the furious tweets came the memes.
Soon, people were applying McConnell's trio of sentences to any notable situation — historical or fictional — in which women had been silenced.
The Suffragettes. Rosa Parks. Harriet Tubman. Malala Yousafzai. Even Princess Leia.
“[Warren] was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted,” said @SenateMajLdr, providing a history of feminism.
— Jamil Smith جميل كريم (@JamilSmith) February 8, 2017
“She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted." #ShePersists pic.twitter.com/zibEorqbNq
— Brian Jay Jones (@brianjayjones) February 8, 2017
“She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, #ShePersisted.” pic.twitter.com/ubZIi5rKyo
— liz (@calinative) February 8, 2017
She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. pic.twitter.com/ebXJRX23Re
— Marc (@MarcSnetiker) February 8, 2017
That Warren had been interrupted as she was reading a 1986 letter by Coretta Scott King, the wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., added extra insult to injury for many.
It is demeaning to the memory of Coretta Scott King and harmful to the process for the Republicans to silence @SenWarren. #LetLizSpeak
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 8, 2017
My mom's words were finally read at #Sessionshearing by @SenJeffMerkley but why was @SenWarren silenced? #letlizspeak & defeat patriarchism https://t.co/qcwlBCL1hq
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) February 8, 2017
For her part, Warren did persist in reading King's letter in its entirety — outside the Senate chamber, on Facebook Live, where it garnered over 4.5 million views by early Wednesday morning.
