Does She At Least Get A Parking Pass?

You think your job is futile? Check this out.

Representative Shelley Sekula Gibbs skipped freshman orientation, but the new lawmaker had a good excuse: She's in a class by herself. The Texas Republican will be gone by the time the new 110th Congress is sworn in January 3. She won a special election to fill out the remaining term of former House majority leader Tom DeLay. "I figure I can get to one, maybe two fundraisers," she said. "And maybe a golf outing or two. What's the cab fare to K street?"

For her seven weeks on the congressional payroll, she'll earn more than $22,000. "Well, that is if you don't count the...er...intangibles," said an aide.

Sekula Gibbs isn't planning to find more permanent housing in the Washington area than the hotel she's in. "Hey, they got the great room service," she said. "Besides I have a tradition to uphold.

Sekula Gibbs, wearing a congressional pin on her red suit, greeted a few well-wishers, Texas lawmakers and at least one lobbyist one floor down in DeLay's old office. "Well, the lobbyist was here when I came in," she told reporters. "His office is right next door."

"I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work," Sekula Gibbs said. "I have a short time to get my piece of the corporate pie...er...I mean do a big job for the people of my district, you know, the ones who didn't elect me. They're my chief concern."

The congresswoman cast three votes on the House floor, including a "yea" for a bill on normalizing trade with Vietnam that failed. When asked when she had time to study the proposals she had voted on she replied, "Voted? Is that what I did? I thought it was bingo or something. You know, an ice breaker for all the new people."

Chris Bowlin, a lobbyist for the American Medical Association, stopped by to welcome Sekula Gibbs. "We're thrilled to have her," he said. "Well, I don't mean we 'have' her. At least not yet."

Representative Kevin Brady, R-non-indicted, said Sekula Gibbs "can demonstrate her philosophy" by building a voting record, even a short one, to challenge democrat Nick Lampson who won the election in 2008. "But truth be told, she was just a sop we had to throw on the ticket because Tom screwed the pooch with the timing of his resignation," Brady said. "By the time 2008 rolls around I'm sure Tom will have found someone to run who more closely represents him...er...the voters of his district."