While liberal Democrats still beam with pride over the sit-in protest staged this week on the House floor, the historic event may be best remembered over time through the impassioned speech delivered by Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell.
Dingell’s fiery rhetoric in the early morning hours on Thursday was named the “most memorable moment” of the House Dems’ sit-in by Mother Jones magazine.
The liberal publication put the Dingell speech at the top of their list of five memorable moments in part because of the story Dingell told about her father, who she said suffered from mental illness and terrorized her family at gunpoint.
Dingell
In her youth, she once hid in a closet, praying that God would let her live, as her father went on a gun-toting rant. Another time she stepped between her father and mother as he took aim. “I know what it’s like to have a gun pointed at me,” she said, nearly letting her emotions get the best of her.
A fixture in Michigan Democratic politics for decades, Dingell conceded that she parts ways with her husband (former longtime congressman John Dingell) in a big way on gun issues. The former dean of the House is a loyal NRA member but, she said, he is a “responsible gun owner.”
Her experiences with guns were very different, which is why the Dearborn Democrat seeks to block gun sales to those on the government’s terrorist watch list and others who present a potential danger to the public.
“Can’t you come to the table?” she asked her Republican colleagues via Periscope, which livestreamed the event. “Can’t we have a discussion? Can’t we say enough is enough? Can’t we have a vote?”
Her speech drew a roar of cheers and applause as her Democratic colleagues sitting on the House floor and those watching from the House Gallery rose to their feet.
Eclectablog.com has provided the video and a transcript to follow along with the speech. The video is a bit grainy and the audio quality is subpar because it was shot by a congressman on his smartphone. C-SPAN picked up live coverage of the event through the use of the Periscope technology after GOP leaders ordered the standard camera equipment to be shut down.
The worst memorable moment of the protest surely came when Speaker Paul Ryan adjourned the House at approximately 3 a.m. on Thursday. That middle-of-the-night maneuver allowed lawmakers to head home until July 5. Which only served to highlight that the do-nothing Congress is probably the only place of employment in America where the Fourth of July holiday is celebrated by taking 15 days off.
Photo: Deadline Detroit
