Culture

The Internet Rallies Around Elizabeth Warren After The Senate Attempts To Silence Her

On Tuesday night, in a 49-to-43 vote led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Senate called to silence Elizabeth Warren from speaking out against Donald Trump’s Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions. They did so on grounds that Warren was impugning the senator’s reputation, when in fact all she did was attempt to read a poem written by civil rights leader Coretta Scott King in 1986, in response to Sessions initially being suggested as a nominee. As a result, Warren is now barred from speaking at all for the duration of Sessions confirmation hearing.

Refusing to be silenced, Warren tweeted, “I will not be silent about a nominee for AG who has made derogatory & racist comments that have no place in our justice system.” She also live streamed the above video on Facebook, reading King’s poem just outside the Senate doors.

McConnell later defended his decision by stating on record, “Senator Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” Not surprisingly, McConnell’s remarks only helped to fan the flames and overnight hashtags such as #LetLizSpeak and #ShePersists began trending on Twitter, as the internet rallied around Warren.

https://twitter.com/JenKirkman/status/829216335460712448

https://twitter.com/brianjayjones/status/829300817773604866

https://twitter.com/JustTheJune0101/status/829308382855180297

https://twitter.com/woolard_susan/status/829320407526285314