On a night when two women senators with Arkansas ties had roles at the Democratic convention, it was only natural that the state’s first female senator was mentioned.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., brought up the late Hattie Caraway in a short videotaped message to delegates.

Caraway was the first woman ever elected to the Senate.The Democrat from Jonesboro, served from December 1931 to January 1945.

She earned the nickname “Silent Hattie” because she rarely spoke on the Senate floor.

Clinton, the former Arkansas first lady, referenced Caraway as she introduced via a video message the female senators for whom Caraway effectively opened the door.

“One day someone asked her why she never made speeches in the Senate,” Clinton said. “She said it was because ‘The men have left nothing unsaid.’ Well, they may not have left nothing unsaid, but they left plenty of things undone.”

Eight current female senators, including Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., used their convention time to set out a domestic policy agenda they hope to advance in the Senate.

Tags: Blanche Lincoln, Hattie Caraway, Hillary Clinton

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 6:46 pm and is filed under Conventions, Democrat Convention 2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.