IT'S NOT QUITE A FLUFF PIECE...

The Lakeland Ledger prints a feature article this morning which originally appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite (R - Spring Hill). While reading it, I began to believe it was just a fluff piece, especially when it included a quote from collegue Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D - Pembroke Pines), one of the most liberal Democrats in the Florida delegation. But the article did touch on several points that voters in the 5th District need to remember:

She has aggressively supported the war in Iraq, even as the death toll climbs and its popularity plummets. She accepted $14,000 from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in her last election and $1,500 from a former DeLay aide who pleaded guilty in a corruption scandal.

She supported changing House ethics rules to allow DeLay to remain as leader if indicted, as well as expanding corporate tax cuts and allowing police to search library records. A Congressional Quarterly analysis shows she has voted with her party more than 90 percent of the time since she got to Washington...

She also has taken a hard line on immigration reform, opposing President Bush's plea to balance border security with allowing millions of illegal immigrants to work legally. Instead, she voted for the House bill that calls for sending all 12 million illegal immigrants back, and opposes the more lenient Senate version that passed last week.

As a state senator, BrownWaite developed a reputation as a moderate who often voted against her party on consumer and environmental issues. Observers say her Washington career has been more conservative.

Her rankings with the Christian Coalition, the American Conservative Union, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and most other conservative groups are typically more than 90 percent. She has consistently supported the president's tax cuts, banning gay marriage and drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Brown-Waite's biggest gamble of the past year has been touting Part D, the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, despite reports of mass confusion and dislike. Rather than join those calling for enrollment extensions and other tweaks, Brown-Waite campaigned on the plan's virtue, if not its perfection.

While she bucked the GOP leadership on several issues, such as cutting veterans' benefits (her district has more military vets than any other in the nation), embryonic stem cell research, and when the Terri Schiavo end-of-life case came before the House, she has proved much of the time to be simply a follower, not a leader.

She's proven to be too much for even some fellow Republicans, such as former Hernando County Sheriff Tom Mylander, who campaigned against her two years ago:

"Ginny Brown-Waite is Ginny Brown-Waite," Mylander said. "She has her way of doing things, and she just -- You can't take anything away from her. She's gotten where she is, but I don't particularly like the way she's treated people along the way."