Pacing next to the desk and U.S. flag in her district office in Garden Grove, the paradox that is Rep. Loretta Sanchez was on full display.
The congresswoman ticked off a meaty legislative to-do list: immigration reform, port safety, stopping sex trafficking, revamping "terrible management" at the Department of Homeland Security. She was articulate and sharp, even magnetic.
At the same time, she was shedding a red St. John Knits suit and shimmying into an \o7ao dai, \f7a traditional Vietnamese tunic and pants,\o7 \f7for her next event. Meaning that she was telling a female reporter about her chairmanship of the House Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism while wearing only pants and a black bra.
Was this a glimpse of Loretta Sanchez, siren, a politician known for her strenuous workout regimen and fondness for come-hither heels? Or was this Loretta Sanchez, harried congresswoman, too wrapped up in important national issues to take a break in the name of modesty?
Few members of Congress, if any, are such a walking Rorschach test. In the decade that Sanchez has represented central Orange County, the Democrat has been viewed alternately as a masterful fundraiser, legislative lightweight, political mentor, headstrong politician, leading Latina voice and one of Congress' "babes."
Her latest headline-maker, quitting the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, mixes two familiar elements in Sanchez's career: politics and the risque.
Sanchez had told Politico, a new website covering Capitol Hill, that her departure was due in part to Rep. Joe Baca's demeaning manner toward women and his gossiping that she was a "whore," both of which he has denied.
Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert then devoted an entire "Colbert Report" segment to pondering, "Is Loretta Sanchez a whore?" (No, the comedian decided.) Last week, several caucus members unsuccessfully tried to oust Baca, a Democrat from Rialto, as the group's chairman, the Hill newspaper reported.
In the coming months, Sanchez will be tested on whether her reputation will be more coquette or congresswoman. Entrenched in the House majority for the first time, she is allied with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and sits on two of the most prominent committees: Armed Services and Homeland Security, being the second-ranking Democrat on the latter.
