'Why did she lie?'--Wendy Davis still pitching misleading narrative

LA Times:

The woman who wants to be the next Texas governor stood at a podium in an inner-city community center here last week, a polished blond in a tailored pink jacket, black slacks and heels, and invoked her rags-to-riches narrative.

"The promise of Texas is that where you start does not determine where you go," state Sen. Wendy Davis said.

Davis, a Democrat, is attempting to sell Texas voters on her transformation from single mother in a Fort Worth trailer park to Harvard-educated lawyer and state lawmaker gracing the pages of Vogue. It's a story that has been picked apart by her opponent — dubbed "Trailergate" in scathing news reports about inconsistencies in the pitch — but she continues to champion it.

"I want every Texan to have the same opportunities that I had," Davis said at her appearance last week. "God bless you all, and God bless Texas."

Davis rose to national prominence in June during her filibuster of Republican-backed legislation that curbed access to abortion statewide, holding the floor for 11 hours in her trademark pink sneakers. In October, she announced her bid for governor and began fundraising, headlining events in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington.

Though much of Davis' money has come from Texas, hundreds of thousands of dollars have come from outsiders, including Dodgers co-owner Bobby Patton, Barbra Streisand, Martina Navratilova and New York billionaire Sid Bass.

Still, to win, Davis must sell herself inside the state.

"We've had a bit of a drought in Texas. Davis is our hope for a revival," said Democratic strategist Paul Begala, a native Texan. "She's larger than life, and Texans love a larger-than-life figure."

Democrats have not won statewide office in Texas in a decade. Davis' opponent in the November election, state Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott, has raised more than twice the amount of money she has, about $30 million, and Davis lingers about 10 to 15 percentage points behind him in recent polls. Her success is likely to hinge on her ability to motivate Latinos and moderate suburban women, who are remaking the state's political landscape.

Texas is increasingly Latino — the bloc accounts for 19% of registered voters, according to a Gallup poll released this month. But only 43% of Latinos are registered to vote, compared with 77% of African Americans and 82% of whites, Gallup found.

Argelia Cardenas, 75, lives near the Houston community center where Davis spoke. The retired medical interpreter is registered as a Democrat but is also ardently against abortion rights and is a fan of current Gov. Rick Perry. She considers herself independent.

She had planned to vote for Abbott, whom she has met, but was inspired by Davis' strength during the filibuster and her compassion for immigrants — a major issue for Cardenas and one she says Republicans have neglected.

"She's a woman I can admire," Cardenas said.

Then criticisms of Davis' personal narrative surfaced, and Cardenas said she wondered, "Why did you lie?"
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I think her story is so compromised at this point, that it is a mistake for her to keep repeating it while leaving out the part of her success attributable  to a generous former husband who made her education possible.  I think she is going to have difficulty getting Hispanic votes with her stand on abortion and that is why she keeps trying to disguise it with a pro-life message in some forums and a pro abortion one elsewhere.