Bernie Sanders had a score to settle with his fellow senators after Elizabeth Warren was silenced while attempting to read a recently resurfaced letter written by Coretta Scott King in 1986. The letter’s subject matter had everything to do the controversial Jeff Sessions’ attorney general confirmation process, for King wrote the letter when Sessions went up for Senate confirmation on a federal judge position. And back then, as with now, much of the concern had to do with what King described as “reprehensible conduct,” which included but was not limited to alleged KKK jokes cracked by Sessions, along with his quashing of voter rights.
Sanders directed his ire towards Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who inadvertently launched the “nevertheless, she persisted” catchphrase that prompted an an outpouring of support for Warren. The Vermont senator condemned the “incomprehensible” silencing of his female colleague:
“The idea that a letter, a statement made by Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., a letter that she wrote, could not be presented and spoken about here on the floor of the Senate, is to me incomprehensible … I want the American people to make a decision whether or not we should be able to look at Senator Sessions’ record and hear from one of the heroines of the Civil Rights Movement.”
A fiery Sanders declared himself “outraged” over this incident. He also insisted that civil rights and voting rights, which do come into play regarding Sessions’ career history, are important issues that must be debated on the Senate floor. In that regard, Sanders demanded on apology on Warren’s behalf:
I am going to vote against Jeff Sessions to become our next attorney general, but I am even more alarmed about the decision of the majority leader here in the Senate to deny one of our leading senators the right to voice her opinion, the right to put into the congressional record what I have just said … And if Mr. McConnell, or anybody else, wants to deny me the right to debate Jeff Sessions’ qualifications, go for it. But I’m here, I will participate in debate, I will oppose Jeff Sessions, and I think Sen. Warren is owed an apology.”
Sanders then read the letter, and he wasn’t alone. He was bookended by Senator Tom Udall — who not only read read Scott’s full letter but part of her 1986 testimony — and Senator Sherrod Brown, who read the letter as well. None of these men were interrupted while speaking.
McConnell’s spokesperson, David Popp, attempted to explain the discrepancy to CNN. He said that the rule used to silence Warren couldn’t be invoked retroactively. Popp also added that the three men did not tack on “a prolonged disparagement of a colleague” to their Senate floor appearance. Sessions is, of course, a Senator from Alabama, but that certainly didn’t prevent Cory Booker from becoming the first senator to testify against another senator (Sessions) in a confirmation hearing a few weeks ago.
(Via CNN & Huffington Post)