You might wonder why a member of Congress would lament high gas prices. But if you wonder that about Sandy Adams (R-Fla.), you don’t know her personal story.
Adams, along with twelve other representatives, met recently for a discussion at the Capital about pressing political issues including the federal budget, the presidential race, the transportation bill, the end of the shuttle era, and tax policy.
It’s a job none would have predicted for Sandy Adams when she dropped out of high school at age 17 to join the Air Force.
After an abusive marriage, Adams walked out with nothing but her clothes and a three-year old daughter to support. Adams ended up taking on several jobs to make ends meet, including cleaning out filthy dog kennels.
She did not give up on her dreams, and as a single mom, she attended school at night while working retail during the day to support her daughter.
Law enforcement seemed an attractive option for her so she started police academy. Once she entered the police department, she fell in love with a fellow officer. They wed, with her daughter as their maid of honor. Within a few short months, he died in the line of duty, falling from a helicopter.
Adams’ daughter did not want her to return to law enforcement, fearful that Adams would die too. Adams knew she had to return to her job so she could support her family, despite the anguish of worrying her young child.
Too familiar with the pain of crime, she became a tireless crusader for victims’ right in her home state of Florida. She realized that she wanted to go further and be part of enacting laws, and she went back to school again. First, she successfully gained a seat in the Florida legislature, and served the maximum eight years.
Concerned about our exploding federal debt and wrongheaded health care policy, she ran for Congress, and the people elected her with 60% of the vote.
At the Conversations with Conservatives meeting at the Capital this week, she shared what she would do if she were in Romney’s shoes to persuade women how limited government benefits them.
Adams began by sharing her life story. She has lived through the difficult circumstances that many women are living today: She lacked of education, faced an abusive marriage, has been an early widow, a single parent, a working mom, and has struggled to make ends meet.
She knows what helped her rise above her circumstances and succeed in a way that few Americans ever achieve, by reaching the halls of Congress. The federal government did not elevate her. Instead, her hard work, sacrifice, and determination lead to her success.
She discussed how it cost her $81 to fill up her gas tank this week, and how the policies of the left are hitting women where they live, each and every day. The Obama administration’s economic policies are disastrous to women who work hard, go to school, raise families, and thereby, improve their lives.
When liberals ask where are the women, Sandy Adams can rightly answer: Here am I.
She explained that she does not let politics get involved in the important Congressional job of policymaking so other women like her can provide for their families, live their dreams, and make a better future for us all. What is not to admire in that?
First published on Independent Women’s Forum in April 2012
