Once dismissed as unable to make a difference because she was nothing more than a "mom in tennis shoes" Patty Murray embraced the derisive comment and turned it around on her detractors.
Three times the citizens of Washington have sent her to D.C. as a Senator, and today she won a leadership position. Senator Murray is the new Secretary of the Democratic Caucus, replacing Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan who is stepping down to lead the Democratis Steering Committee.
The Secretary of the Democratic Caucus is the third most powerful position in the senate, behind only Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Assistand Majority Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois.
"It is a tremendous honor to join this leadership team" Murray said at a press conference. "Our country is once again strong and we are at your back" Murray said, refering to veterans. When the new congress convenes in January she is expected to become the chair of an appropriations subcommittee that controls transportation dollars and to move up to a senior leadership position on the Veterans Affairs Committee.
Not bad for a "mom in tennis shoes." And whoever coined that phrase, thank you from the bottom of my democratic feminist heart.
