“She was an absolute embarrassment,” says an insider familiar with the goings-on. “So abusing Delay’s staff that they walked out on her. For example, she made them work on Veterans Day, a holiday, to write a bill that would never go anywhere in the few days left in session. They walked out when she berated them for not getting President Bush to attend her office open house.”

Councilmembers note that her remarks during meetings are uninformed and even “off the wall.”. “A lot of times the answers to her questions are in her briefing materials. I don’t know if she’s just not being briefed correctly or doesn’t have the time to read it. But if you don’t know about it, why don’t you read about it before you get to the meetings? Don’t waste our time being educated here.”