Chris
06-28-2013, 09:09 AM
Everything you ever wanted to know....
Apropos those damned Reps in DC and that glorified Dem in Texas.
Peeing During Filibusters, Explained (http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/06/peeing-during-filibusters-explained-wendy-davis)
Update (6/27/2013): This morning, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that, according to Joel Burns, who holds Sen. Davis' former Fort Worth City Council seat, Davis was equipped with a catheter during her filibuster. When contacted to confirm, Davis' office responded that the senator "made all necessary preparations."
While obsessively watching state Sen. Wendy Davis' heroic filibuster in the Texas Legislature yesterday, I couldn't help thinking the obvious: 13 hours without peeing is a long time. Was she just holding it? Or wearing some sort of, er, contraption? (The options on such things, by the way, are many.)
For the most part, the logistics on this tend to be something politicians keep mum about. "It's a kind of urological mystery," Joseph Crespino, biographer of legendary filibusterer Strom Thurmond, told the BBC last year.
But over time, filibustering heavyweights have tried some pretty incredible tactics to avoid defeat by bathroom—and have gone on to share their tales. A few of them below:
1. Steam baths and a surreptitious urine bucket: Thurmond....
2. When without a bathroom, bring the bathroom to you! In 2001, then St. Louis Alderwoman Irene Smith....
3. Astronaut bags and a light diet: In 1977, then-Texas Sen. Bill Meier....
4. Catheters: ...Rand Paul....
5. Adult diapers: Lots of jokes and rumors have flown around about various filibustering politicians pulling a Lisa Nowak and using these, though we haven't been able to find any confirmed instances.
Apropos those damned Reps in DC and that glorified Dem in Texas.
Peeing During Filibusters, Explained (http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/06/peeing-during-filibusters-explained-wendy-davis)
Update (6/27/2013): This morning, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that, according to Joel Burns, who holds Sen. Davis' former Fort Worth City Council seat, Davis was equipped with a catheter during her filibuster. When contacted to confirm, Davis' office responded that the senator "made all necessary preparations."
While obsessively watching state Sen. Wendy Davis' heroic filibuster in the Texas Legislature yesterday, I couldn't help thinking the obvious: 13 hours without peeing is a long time. Was she just holding it? Or wearing some sort of, er, contraption? (The options on such things, by the way, are many.)
For the most part, the logistics on this tend to be something politicians keep mum about. "It's a kind of urological mystery," Joseph Crespino, biographer of legendary filibusterer Strom Thurmond, told the BBC last year.
But over time, filibustering heavyweights have tried some pretty incredible tactics to avoid defeat by bathroom—and have gone on to share their tales. A few of them below:
1. Steam baths and a surreptitious urine bucket: Thurmond....
2. When without a bathroom, bring the bathroom to you! In 2001, then St. Louis Alderwoman Irene Smith....
3. Astronaut bags and a light diet: In 1977, then-Texas Sen. Bill Meier....
4. Catheters: ...Rand Paul....
5. Adult diapers: Lots of jokes and rumors have flown around about various filibustering politicians pulling a Lisa Nowak and using these, though we haven't been able to find any confirmed instances.