# Wendy Davis for Governor of Texas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 5, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685 "2013-07-05T02:59:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/101 "2014-01-29T04:45:36Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > I’ll vote for her. > > Todd Kincannon, former head of the South Carolina GOP, is having a Twitter meltdown about her today calling her a “whore,” saying “I don’t care if folks attack Wendy Davis unfairly. I just want her attacked” and saying she should have been aborted. > > They aren’t scared at all. > > [http://aattp.org/vile-teapublican-todd-kincannon-has-wendy-davis-meltdown-on-twitter/](http://aattp.org/vile-teapublican-todd-kincannon-has-wendy-davis-meltdown-on-twitter/) Wow, that guy is nuts. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/102 "2014-01-29T05:25:37Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Wow, that guy is nuts. Kincannon has taken it upon himself to play the role of the GOP’s Troll-In-Chief. He says outrageous and horrible and vile things on Twitter on an hourly basis. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/103 "2014-01-29T07:00:02Z")
Coked out whore, ya say? Even if true I don’t think that will get much traction here. Now if she ate at Applebee’s or talked loudly on her cell phone in public places we’ve got a real scandal. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/104 "2014-01-29T07:09:07Z")
Looked Kincannon up on the intertubes, got literally Google vomit. No, for real, its all over the fucking keyboard… He apparently holds no positions of any significance. He is President of the Republican National Lawyers Association. I swear, I’m not making that up. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/105 "2014-01-29T07:21:29Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He apparently holds no positions of any significance. He is President of the Republican National Lawyers Association. I swear, I’m not making that up. Not now, no, but he is a former Executive Director of the South Carolina Republican Party. Also, be careful of his Wikipedia article…the Wikerati appear to suspect that a heavy contributor to that page is Kincannon himself. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/106 "2014-01-29T07:50:24Z")
Does the Republican National Lawyers Association have conventions? And wondering, is there a good way to take a thousand doses of Ecstasy and make maybe like an aerosol bomb? Guess those are for General Questions… ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/107 "2014-01-29T15:03:26Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > No Democrat has one statewide elective office in Texas for a long time now, and I don’t think that’s going to change for quite a while. > > As I said a few months ago, Bill White couldn’t manage to pull it off and he was quite a moderate. > > Abortion is _such_ a huge issue in this state, there’s no chance Davis wins. Not just White- I thought the Democrats had a decent chance the year they ran Ron Kirk for Senate, Tony Sanchez for governor and John Sharp for lieutenant governor. Shoot, in many states, those guys could have run plausibly as Republicans. EVENTUALLY, if the sleeping giant of the Mexican vote ever comes to life, the Democrats can win again. But Wendy Davis sure isn’t the candidate to excite them. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/108 "2014-01-29T15:46:44Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Does the Republican National Lawyers Association have conventions? And wondering, is there a good way to take a thousand doses of Ecstasy and make maybe like an aerosol bomb? Guess those are for General Questions… They have [a convention-ish thing](http://www.rnla.org/events/EventsDetail.asp?EventID=945) in March. They only have 2500 members out of 1.2 million licensed US attorneys (even though they allow law students to join) so despite the name they’re presumably not a Very Big Deal. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/109 "2014-01-29T16:14:18Z")
More on Wendy Davis’s [plans for improving Texas education](http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14712/wendy-davis-focuses-on-education-while-conservatives-focus-on-name-calling): > [@](#): > > So while Republicans and Tea Party Conservatives are shamelessly shaming her for nothing, (you mean she was only separated as a teen mom and not divorced!? And her second husband helped pay for her education while they were still married! What!? She’s clearly not struggled at all in her life! Not at all!) Wendy Davis is busy telling voters how she can help fix the dire education situation in Texas. > > “Every Texan who continues their education beyond high school makes every Texas family stronger and the Texas economy stronger,” said Senator Davis. Meanwhile, [Greg Abbott continues his fell work](http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14718/greg-abbott-continues-lawsuit-to-defend-billions-in-cuts-to-education): > [@](#): > > Hundreds of Texas school districts are back in court after a judge reopened the lawsuit that previously declared Texas’s school finance system unconstitutional. > After the Texas legislature cut $5.4 billion from public schools in the 2011 legislative session, State District Judge John Dietz handed down his ruling that Texas’s education funding scheme was neither sufficient nor fair. But after about two-thirds of the funding cuts were restored in the 2013 session, he recently reopened the case. > > In his position as Attorney General, Greg Abbott has been defending the $5.4 billion in cuts in the lawsuit against school districts representing two-thirds of Texas public school children. He says it’s just part of his job - something he is required to do. Except it’s not. Even if Wendy does not get in this time, more Texans will realize just how bad the Republicans have been for our state. Oh, about all that “concern” for the votes of Texas suburban women: After beating Aggie Clayton Williams (he of rape jokes & other uncouth behavior), Ann Richards said he reminded many Texas women of their first husbands… ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/110 "2014-01-29T21:43:57Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Whoa, what? She had an adult child when she was 19? I’m from Texas, and I got female relatives who had adult children by the time they were in their mid-30s but this is a new one on me. She gave up custody of her child during the divorce from her second husband. She divorced her first husband when she was 21. By the time she got divorced from her second husband, her child from her first marriage was 21. > [@elucidator](#): > > Cite the statement from the husband that she was unfaithful, You skipped over that part. The claim of infidelity was discussed in the article. [QUOTE=DMN article] In his initial divorce filing, Jeff Davis said the marriage had failed, citing adultery on her part and conflicts that the couple could not overcome. The final court decree makes no mention of infidelity, granting the divorce solely “on the ground of insupportability.” [/QUOTE] > [@elucidator](#): > > And if she thought the action was best for her children, and did it for that reason, Moms everywhere, suburban or otherwise, can relate. I guess we’ll see. I don’t think that demographic is going to relate much to the idea of not even seeking joint custody. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/111 "2014-01-29T21:47:40Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Sorry, I just think it’s wrong to allow someone decrying inaccuracies to make inaccurate statements themselves, so I corrected you. I’m not decrying her. I’m saying I think it will hurt her chances with a demographic group that she was counting on. I think I used the phrase “right or wrong”. I think her true personal narrative is compelling; I don’t really understand why she felt the need to exaggerate it. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/112 "2014-01-29T21:54:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Don’t you realize that it’s all one party/movement? I have a different mindset than you, obviously. To me, the Dallas Morning News reporter seems to be doing the job a good reporter should do. I think we should accurately report the news. That’s all I see him doing. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/113 "2014-01-29T22:16:46Z")
> [@LonghornDave](#): > > I’m not decrying her. I’m saying I think it will hurt her chances with a demographic group that she was counting on. I think I used the phrase “right or wrong”. I think her true personal narrative is compelling; I don’t really understand why she felt the need to exaggerate it. I misunderstood your first few posts then. I appreciate the clarification and I apologize for mis-characterizing your remarks and your position. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/114 "2014-01-29T23:19:23Z")
> [@LonghornDave](#): > > She gave up custody of her child during the divorce from her second husband. It appears this is not accurate: From [The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/us/texas-democrat-defends-back-story-under-criticism.html?hp) > [@](#): > > But Ms. Davis made a point on Tuesday to dispute perhaps the most personal accusations: that she was not involved in raising her daughters while she attended Harvard, and that she gave up custody after her divorce from her second husband, Jeff Davis. She said that her daughters moved to Boston to stay with her during her first semester, and that during her last year at Harvard, she arranged her class schedule so that she could alternate two weeks in Boston and two weeks in Fort Worth, in order to be at home with her daughters. > > “For those who have mangled the story of my life, either carelessly or purposely, know this,” she said. “I never gave up custody of my children, I never lost custody of my children, and to say otherwise is an absolute lie.” It looks like the Dallas Morning News got some details wrong. [Her daughters released statements refuting these claims as well.](http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/Davis-Daughters-Share-Open-Letters-Refute-Claims-242445451.html) Follow the link for the text of both letters, but it makes it clear the accusations are untrue. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/115 "2014-01-29T23:44:00Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > It appears this is not accurate: > > From [The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/us/texas-democrat-defends-back-story-under-criticism.html?hp) > > It looks like the Dallas Morning News got some details wrong. > [Her daughters released statements refuting these claims as well.](http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/Davis-Daughters-Share-Open-Letters-Refute-Claims-242445451.html) Follow the link for the text of both letters, but it makes it clear the accusations are untrue. This makes me repeat my misgivings from earlier in the thread: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I’m curious now to know what relationship the author of the story, Wayne Slater, may have with any people in the GOP. This story smacks of a set-up, especially in light of the fact that the GOP apparently got a hash-tag to trend on Twitter (did I say all that right? I’m not really down with Twitter) less than 24 hours after the story ran. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/116 "2014-01-29T23:51:39Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > It appears this is not accurate: > > From [The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/us/texas-democrat-defends-back-story-under-criticism.html?hp) > > It looks like the Dallas Morning News got some details wrong. > [Her daughters released statements refuting these claims as well.](http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/Davis-Daughters-Share-Open-Letters-Refute-Claims-242445451.html) Follow the link for the text of both letters, but it makes it clear the accusations are untrue. If the Dallas Morning News got it wrong than so did Davis herself. [QUOTE=Wendy Davis] “My girls wanted to stay in their family home,’’ she said. “I did feel like as the non-custodial parent that that was my obligation.” [/QUOTE] [The Wendy Davis Story (And Why It’s A Good Example of What Collaborative Law Can Do)](http://www.collablawtexas.com/blog/2014/01/the-wendy-davis-story-and-why-its-a-good-example-of-what-collaborative-law-can-do/) I think what’s going on here is that people, including Davis, are responding to different claims and confusing them. The Dallas Morning News article does not make claims like that Davis abandoned her children when she went to Harvard. Other people have made that claim. She defends herself against that claim. The Dallas Morning News article does say that she gave custody of her child was given to her husband in the divorce. Now, I guess I don’t know why she would call herself a noncustodial parent while later saying she never gave up or lost custody. Those statements seem to directly conflict with each other. Perhaps she still needs to learn to make her language tighter. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/117 "2014-01-30T01:04:46Z")
From your link with bolding added by me: > [@](#): > > After Jeffry Davis filed for divorce, Wendy Davis traded their 4,300-square-foot home for a one-bedroom apartment. The house, which was in her husband’s name, is where Amber and Dru had grown up and that’s where they wanted to stay, their mother recalled. > > \*\*The final, agreed-to divorce decree in 2005 gave Jeff Davis primary custody of Dru, who was then 17, \*\*and Wendy Davis agreed to pay $1,200 a month in child support, records show. > > Having grown up without the benefit of child support herself, Davis said it was the right thing to do. Maybe I’m splitting hairs but to me there is a difference between saying someone gave up custody or lost custody of a child and saying their spouse had primary custody of the child. One sounds more like abandonment or being unfit and the other doesn’t necessarily go down that road. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/118 "2014-01-30T01:57:12Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > From your link with bolding added by me: > Maybe I’m splitting hairs but to me there is a difference between saying someone gave up custody or lost custody of a child and saying their spouse had primary custody of the child. One sounds more like abandonment or being unfit and the other doesn’t necessarily go down that road. I don’t think it’s too controversial to say that courts are generally biased in favor of mothers. For a mother to not be awarded at least joint custody, I think most people would say that would typically involve them having an issue (drugs or something) or that they voluntarily gave up custody. However, all we can do is speculate. I think she gives conflicting statements at times. I think it is because her life story isn’t really as great as what she’s been portraying it to be. I think her life story is still pretty good and that there’s nothing in there that should be looked at too negatively. However, she’s been able to raise a lot of money nationally because she’s been running on an inflated story. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/119 "2014-01-30T03:36:59Z")
> [@LonghornDave](#): > > I don’t think it’s too controversial to say that courts are generally biased in favor of mothers. For a mother to not be awarded at least joint custody, I think most people would say that would typically involve them having an issue (drugs or something) or that they voluntarily gave up custody. > > . Not a 17-year old kid who continued living in the family home. It’s pretty much a no-brainer that if at all possible, you leave a kid in their last year or two of high school where they are. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685/120 "2014-01-30T04:13:36Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Not a 17-year old kid who continued living in the family home. It’s pretty much a no-brainer that if at all possible, you leave a kid in their last year or two of high school where they are. You are talking about which parent has physical custody if the child. Legal custody is an entirely different issue. Having joint custody doesn’t at all mean that the child would be physically living with that parent. Joint custody is the standard in Texas. A mother not having joint custody means she either didn’t want it or wasn’t fit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wendy-davis-for-governor-of-texas/662685.md?page=7)