Portside

Progressive organizing was indeed crucial to changing the filibuster, with Senators like Merkley and Udall working the inside game while the outside groups got the public riled up. Many Democratic senators—including Reid—didn’t want to do rules reform back in 2009 when the GOP began its unprecedented obstruction, and it took a lot of convincing.

McConnell has so exaggerated the filibuster power that it has effectively allowed him to thwart not just Senate votes but the operations of federal agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board. He and his allies have gone so far as to block the confirmation of nominees for cabinet posts, such as Department of Labor nominee Tom Perez.

Alarmingly, the Lone Star state has plenty of company when it comes to extreme measures that will harm women and families.

Fans of Wendy Davis, the Texas state senator whose marathon filibuster stopped an anti-abortion bill in its tracks, are expressing their sentiments in Amazon reviews of the shoes that Wendy wore.