Sheila Jackson Lee - Free at Last

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX 18th) made a shocking statement at the well of the House of Representatives last week.

While Congresswoman Lee gave plaudits to President Lincoln for freeing the slaves, her floor speech made two anachronistic assertions.  Firstly,  Rep.Jackson Lee presented herself as a freed slave.  Well, the Emancipation Proclamation was promulgated by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863.  As Rush Limbaugh joked,  Sheila Jackson Lee looks good for her age but she has to be over 110  years old.

 Then Rep. Jackson Lee  claimed that this Congress had freed the slaves. Not quite.    More like the 33rd Congress not the 113th Congress. The House of Representatives did pass the 13th Amendment on January 31, 1865.  It was ratified by the required 3/4ths of states on December 13, 1865.  In fact, the Mississippi legislature had approved the 13th Amendment in 1995 but had only altered the Federal Register this February.   But certainly this Congress did not free the slaves.

Maybe Representative Sheila Jackson Lee was preoccupied about coordinating with her chauffeur for her one block commute.  After all, she needed sufficient time to change outfits so that she  so could spend  up to eight hours  seat squatting waiting on the aisle  to hug President Barack Obama at the State of the Union speech.

President Barack Obama greets Rep Sheila Jackson Lee at 2013 State of the Union

Considering the regal way that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee treats her staff, it's no wonder that so many Hill Rats yearn to say "Free at last!".