I lean more to the right than I do to the left, but I'd never try to argue against the left and use her as an example. It just wouldn't be fair. She's a statistical flyer. Like David Duke. Except she got elected.
I'm actually in her district and I've met her a couple of times. Last year, I met her under circumstances where I honestly expected her to be rather difficult and she was incredibly nice and gracious. I don't agree with all of her methods. There is the long running joke in the media that the most dangerous place in the world is between Shelia Jackson Lee and a television camera. She is a ruthless self-promoter. I will say this about her, however. I have never seen someone as responsive to her constituents in federal government. I remember a year or two ago driving by a dedication of a veteran's memorial on Heights Blvd. This was not the OFFICIAL dedication, but a much smaller ceremony - no lights, no cameras, etc. She was the ONLY elected official in attendance including local and state officials and I found that to be typical of the way she is. I know lots of people who know her and they all think she is very difficult to work with. They also all know that she has a great deal of power. I'm not a big fan, personally, but she's done an awful lot of work in her district while others have largely ignored it.
She's a Hakeem hater also. She was tearing into him in May 1995 at my graduation about how he wasn't a good role model because he played basketball. Since when does being an athlete disqualify you to be a role model? They shouldn't necessarily be a role model because of athletic achievement alone, but they can be role models for what they do off court. Hakeem was a valuable member of the local economy and helped out the Muslim community.
