By any reasonable measure, FL-17's Frederica Wilson is ineffective in Washington, D.C. -except for drawing negative attention to herself for her silly hat fixation, which renders her a cartoon. Why does the South Florida news media continue to give Wilson a "hall pass" and never PRESS her to answer serious questions? Mutuality of interests! Wilson doesn't want to be asked tough questions and the press corps DOESN'T want to ask them!

By any reasonable measure, FL-17's Frederica Wilson is ineffective in Washington, D.C. -except for drawing negative attention to herself for her silly hat fixation, which renders her a cartoon. Why does the South Florida news media continue to give Wilson a "hall pass" and never PRESS her to answer serious questions? Mutuality of interests! Wilson doesn't want to be asked tough questions and the press corps DOESN'T want to ask them!

As of just a few days ago, according to THOMAS, the legislative database maintained by The Library of Congress, http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php the following are the 14 attempts at legislation sponsored by FL-17-Representative Frederica Wilson, who is my rep, since January of 2011, when she first took office.

Among the things you'll notice right away is that of the 14 bills -only two in 2012- 7 of the 14 have 2 co-sponsors or less, 5 of the 14 have NONE.
None!.

Of course, every Member has their relative strengths and weaknesses and as I learned from being there for 15 years, at one point, living five blocks from the U.S. Capitol, not all are cut out to be or are even interested in being writers of legislation, the THOMAS Jefferson.

That being the case, and her clearly not being of them, given the objective facts below, perhaps her strength is in persuading others.
I've heard that from her apologists.
Where's the evidence?

Can you name anyone in Congress who looks to Wilson to decide how they'll vote.
No, first because she has proven to be a very liberal Rubber Stamp, and secondly because last year she was one of THE most frequently absent Members in the whole country.
Again, not one of the worst for the Florida delegation, one of THE worst for the entire U.S. House of Representatives.

When did you ever hear this fact mentioned on a local newscast on Channel 4, 6, 7 or 10?

And where was the Miami Herald?

Well, as has been their tried-and-true template for the past few years, their go-to strategy for how they've dealt with members of Congress that it doesn't want to offend, as was the case recently when the Herald completely ignored New England reporters calling-out Debbie Wasserman-Schultz self-evident hypocrisy to her face re her tax returns, not wanting to say anything negative about her, the Herald said nothing and printed nothing.

They just played the waiting game. 

So, rather than note the hypocrisy when it actually happens -you know, reporting?- the powers-that-be just say let's wait a bit.

It was the same with Kendrick Meek dozens of times, and even supporters of his knew this.

Again, when his successor, Frederica Wilson, wound-up with one of THE worst attendance records in the entire U.S. Congress last year, the Herald waited forever to mention it -this year!

About her 2011 attendance!

Nothing about it when it was actually happening!

Why?

Yes, Wilson had surgery in November, but what about the first ten months of 2011?

Again, not among the worst attendance records for Florida, among THE very worst for the entire 435-person Congress.

That's a question that the Herald/McClatchy reporters and columnists in DC and Miami never asked Wilson to explain.

So where was she?

Yes, it seems that no matter where your faithful blogger looks or turns, whether at Hallandale Beach City Hall, the State Capitol in far-off Tallahassee, with carpet-bagger state Rep. Joe Gibbons and state Sen. Eleanor Sobel, or with U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson in Washington, D.C., he is over-represented by ineffective Rubber Stamps with no history of being serious and thoughtful statesmen, where being effective and right on public policy is more important than party.

*Reminder: as a result of congressional redistricting, a subject of so much discussion on this blog the past 18 months, FL-17 is morphing into the new FL-23, as my new Voters's Registration card from the Supervisor of Elections reminded me when it came in the mail a week ago.

1. H.R.2574 : Jobs Now Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 7/18/2011)      Cosponsors (None) 

Committees: House Education and the Workforce 

Latest Major Action: 9/8/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. 
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.

2. H.R.2575 : Drive to Stay Alive Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 7/18/2011)      Cosponsors (2) 

Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure 

Latest Major Action: 7/19/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. 
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

3. H.R.2582 : Homeowners' Defense Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 7/19/2011)      Cosponsors (None) 

Committees: House Financial Services 

Latest Major Action: 8/22/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. 
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.

4. H.R.2723 : Social Security Protection Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 8/1/2011)      Cosponsors (15) 

Committees: House Rules 

Latest Major Action: 8/1/2011 Referred to House committee. 
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Rules.

5. H.R.2724 : Medicaid Protection Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 8/1/2011)      Cosponsors (10) 

Committees: House Rules 

Latest Major Action: 8/1/2011 Referred to House committee. 
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Rules.

6. H.R.2725 : Medicare Protection Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 8/1/2011)      Cosponsors (10) 

Committees: House Rules; House Budget 

Latest Major Action: 8/1/2011 Referred to House committee. 
Status: Referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

7. H.R.2726 : Education Protection Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 8/1/2011)      Cosponsors (10) 

Committees: House Rules; House Budget 

Latest Major Action: 8/1/2011 Referred to House committee. 
Status: Referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

8. H.R.2727 : People's Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 8/1/2011)      Cosponsors (10) 

Committees: House Rules; House Budget 

Latest Major Action: 8/1/2011 Referred to House committee. 
Status: Referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

9. H.R.3507 : Cease Haitian Deportations Act

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 11/22/2011)      Cosponsors (None) 

Committees: House Judiciary; House Foreign Affairs 

Latest Major Action: 12/2/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. 
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.

10. H.R.3595 : Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation Act

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 12/7/2011)      Cosponsors (1) 

Committees: House Financial Services 

Latest Major Action: 1/12/2012 Referred to House subcommittee. 
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.

11. H.R.3741 : Rilya Wilson Act

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 12/20/2011)      Cosponsors (109) 

Committees: House Ways and Means; House Judiciary 

Latest Major Action: 1/6/2012 Referred to House subcommittee. 
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

12. H.RES.371 : Expressing support for designation of a "Hear My Cry Day" in schools across the United States.

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 7/25/2011)      Cosponsors (None) 

Committees: House Education and the Workforce 

Latest Major Action: 7/25/2011 Referred to House committee. 
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

13. H.RES.521 : Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should work with the Government of Haiti to address gender-based violence against women and children.

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 1/23/2012)      Cosponsors (55) 

Committees: House Foreign Affairs 

Latest Major Action: 2/3/2012 Referred to House subcommittee. 
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

14. H.RES.581 : Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the continued deployment of United States military support personnel advising regional forces working toward the apprehension of Joseph Kony is both necessary and appropriate.

Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Frederica [FL-17] (introduced 3/9/2012)      Cosponsors (None) 

Committees: House Foreign Affairs 

Latest Major Action: 3/9/2012 Referred to House committee. 
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.