For the first time since Tom DeLay made the district a laughing stock stepped down, CD22 is up and running again. Such a proud moment, as this fluff piece serious news article from WaPo demonstrates:
“I’m working hard to accomplish the things I’m working for,” she said yesterday. “For tax cuts. For immigration reform. To make sure we have a good solution for the war in Iraq.”
All that? In a few weeks?
“If there’s a way to do it, I’ll do it,” she said, smiling beneath her bright blond hair. “I’ll deal with the leadership to get as much done as possible.”
The article (which probably would have fit better in the society pages) details Shelley’s first breathless hours as a serious legislator who’s “looking forward to making a difference and providing a solid voice for conservative values.”
On Monday evening, just before she took the oath of office, Sekula-Gibbs held her first congressional news conference in her new office, which is DeLay’s old office. Wearing a blue pantsuit with a fuchsia blouse and a string of pearls, she quickly proved that she has mastered the art of the well-worn political bromide.
[snip]
She said: “I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting as much done as I can accomplish.”
One assumes the fuschia blouse has buttons to facilitate rolling-up/down, and resists wrinkles.
She looked around. The dull beige walls were nearly bare. The only pictures were stored on the floor of a closet.
“These are splendid accommodations,” she said, smiling. “All we need are the bare essentials to get things done.”
She won’t be doing any redecorating, she added. And she’ll scrape by with a small staff — a few DeLay holdovers, plus a couple of ex-campaign workers.
A truly strange write-up all the way around, but I have to confess that I’m enjoying her upbeat, Pollyanna attitude. It must be bringing great joy into the lives of those around her… or maybe not?
Rumors circulated around Washington today that members of the staff of erstwhile Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) had resigned en masse from their positions in the office of Texas’s 22nd district after it was taken over yesterday by Republican Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.
“We don’t discuss personnel changes,” said Lisa DiMond, who serves as Sekula-Gibbs’ press secretary, chief of staff, and, until recently, campaign manager. “We had some people here who were transitional,” she said, adding that those staffers once worked under DeLay.
But sources close to the office have confirmed to RAW STORY that the staff members all resigned after a series of confrontations with Sekula-Gibbs.
“It started when she got to the office Thursday,” said one source. The staffers, say the source, “came to the realization that this was a boss they did not want to work with.”
“They were not fired,” says another source with knowledge of the incident.
Maybe they just can’t tolerate fuschia? I think we’re missing part of the story here…
Seriously — if Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is still smiling after all this nonsense, I can’t help but admire her. It really must be quite embarrassing, all the way around.
* * * * *
Kevin Whited at bloghouston.net posts with more information about the love that was not felt between Sekula-Gibbs and her inherited staff.
More here from Charles Kuffner, who wonders when Shelley’s going to remember about that other job she apparently still needs to resign from…
Grrr. What I find annoying about such coverage is that if the subject were male, it’s unlikely the writer would point out his “tailored black wool suit, crisply starched white shirt, fuchsia tie and pearl cufflinks.”
I wouldn’t want to have any of Delay’s boys hanging around trying to tell me “how we do things around here”…would you?
You got me there, marc. I got so caught up with the color-coordinating jackets and drab beige walls, I never even considered Shelley mighta orchestrated things so they’d all just get mad and quit so she could have untainted help. You really think that’s it?
I like the fuschia-clash, myself.