ken...one of yours...
Democrat congresswoman 'calls staff mother----er'
'Finally I slammed on the brakes and told her to get the hell out of my car'
March 02, 2011
By Joe Kovacs
© 2011 WorldNetDaily
A U.S. congresswoman who once demanded that hurricanes be given names that sounded more "black" is now in the spotlight for allegedly being the queen of mean girls to her staff, including calling one aide a "stupid mother----er" on numerous occasions.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas
Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, is said to go far beyond the typical nicknames politicians give their workers.
According to a scathing report in the Daily Caller, the Houston lawmaker addressed one of her employees with the emphatic M.F.-bomb "constantly ... like, all the time."
Another Jackson Lee aide recounted the time her parents came to Washington to visit: "They were really excited to come to the congressional office. They're small town people, so for them it was a huge deal. They were actually sitting in the main lobby waiting area….[Jackson Lee] came out screaming at me over a scheduling change. Called me a 'stupid idiot. Don't be a moron, you foolish girl' and actually did this in front of my parents, of all things."
According to the report, another staffer remembers requesting a meeting to ask how best to serve the congresswoman.
Jackson Lee's response: "What? What did you say to me? Who are you, the congresswoman? You haven't been elected. You don't set up meetings with me! I tell you! You know what? You are the most unprofessional person I have ever met in my life," as she then hung up the phone.
The same staffer claims Jackson Lee "would always say, 'What am I a prostitute? Am I your prostitute? You can't prostitute me.'"
The story says even by Washington's tough standards, Jackson Lee may be the worst boss in Washington.
"It's like being an Iraq War veteran," said a former aide. "Strangers may say, 'Oh, I know what you've been through.' No, you really don't. Because until you've experienced it. ... People don't tell the worst of the stories, because they're really unbelievable."
One staffer was told by his doctor he needed to quit working for the representative, as the physician warned him about the stress and long hours, "It's your life or your job."
A few staff members are said to have fought back against the abuse.
One of Jackson Lee's drivers became so frustrated, the chauffeur pulled the car over and demand she stop: "She's screaming and swearing. 'M.F.' everything. Finally I slammed on the brakes and told her to get the hell out of my car. I'm like 'I can't drive with you like this. Either get out, or you can calm down.' And she's like 'you need to go or get fired.' I'm like, 'that's fine. But I'm either leaving without you or you can calm down,'" the staffer said.
Former drivers say the congresswoman demanded they ignore red lights and drive vehicles on the shoulders of the road to evade traffic.
The Democrat's demanding nature was not just limited to working hours.
"In the middle of the night, people had to go get her garlic. She'll call you at two in the morning for garlic because she takes them as supplements," an ex-staffer said.
Jonathan Strong, author of the report, said he tried numerous times to talk with the congresswoman about the allegations, but to no avail. He noted that in one attempt, Jackson Lee briefly emerged from the House floor with her cell phone in hand.
"Congresswoman, I need to interview you," Strong said politely.
"She looked at me, scanning up from my waist to my face, said nothing and hurried back onto the House floor," he wrote.
Over the years, Jackson Lee has been a lightning rod for racially charged comments.
Just last month, she claimed on the House floor a Pepsi commercial aired during this year's Super Bowl was somehow racist:
"It was not humorous. It was demeaning – an African-American woman throwing something at an African-American male and winding up hitting a Caucasian woman," she said
In 1997, she asked NASA whether the Mars Pathfinder photographed the U.S. flag astronaut Neil Armstrong had planted on the surface of Mars. After it was noted the flag was on the moon and not Mars, her staff issued a letter stating, "You thought you could have fun with a black woman member of the Science Committee."
In 2003, Jackson Lee reportedly complained that current names for hurricanes were too "lily white," and sought to have better representation for names reflecting African-Americans and other ethnic groups.
"All racial groups should be represented," Lee said, according to the Hill. She hoped federal weather officials "would try to be inclusive of African-American names." A sampling of popular names that could be used include Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn, the paper said.
In 2009, she was among those fighting to prevent Rush Limbaugh from becoming an NFL owner.
"He does not represent the fullness of appreciation of athletes of all diverse backgrounds, no matter what he wants to pretend to say on his radio station," she said.
Commenting about today's Daily Caller profile of Jackson Lee, Limbaugh noted, "I wonder what the race of most of her employees is. The way she's treating these people. Can you imagine ... ? Are you surprised by this? I'm not. This kind of thing doesn't surprise me at all. Then they have to listen to her sit there and ask if the Mars rover is on the moon. You can imagine how tough it can be for them."
In that light, the report says Jackson Lee has one of the highest staff turnover rates in the nation's capital. Over the last ten years, at least 39 staffers have left within one year. The congresswoman has during the decade had at least nine chiefs of staff, eight legislative directors, and 18 schedulers or executive assistants, according to records of federal disclosure forms published by the website Legistorm. Nine staffers left within two months, 25 within 6 months. |
