Democrat's ‘I Will Not Yield’ Speech Turns Into New War Cry Against GOP

Lee Moran
Democrat's ‘I Will Not Yield’ Speech Turns Into New War Cry Against GOP

North Carolina state Rep. Deb Butler (D) inspired a new battle cry against the GOP after hitting out at what she described as Republican “trickery” during a legislative session on Wednesday.

Video going viral shows Butler resisting GOP lawmakers’ vote to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the state budget during a session without the attendance of dozens of Democratic representatives. Republican lawmakers had reportedly told Democrats the vote would be delayed until later in the day.

“I will not yield,” Butler repeatedly says in the clip, below, as she denounces Republican leadership:

It prompted the #IWillNotYield hashtag to trend on Twitter:

Butler and fellow Democrats were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempt to stop the vote. The governor later called the Republican effort “an assault on our democracy.”

Butler, the state House Democratic Party whip, explained her actions and comments on Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Last Word.”

“I was aghast and tried to intervene, as best I could,” Butler told host Lawrence O’Donnell. “North Carolina is a place that used to be revered for public education. Our teachers are paid at the very bottom of the barrel in this country, our water is contaminated because we have not fully funded our Department of Environmental Quality, our schools are crumbling because of a lack of infrastructure and we have the working poor, of course, who have not enjoyed health care because of our failure to expand Medicaid.”

She continued:

I have asked people to forego cancer treatments. I have asked them to come after surgery. I have asked them to miss anniversaries and birthday parties and first days of kindergarten, so when I saw the speaker about to rob my colleagues of their hard work, it was more than I could bear and I think you saw that.

It was a day that I’ll never forget and I’m totally humiliated North Carolina has sunk to this level, and, again, I will not yield, Lawrence. I will not yield.

Check out the full interview at the top.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.