A few weeks ago, in talking about the day a crazed gunman shot Rep. Gabby Giffords in the head, Wasserman Schultz pivoted to how “the discourse in America” had taken “a very precipitous turn towards edginess and a lack of civility with the growth of the Tea Party movement.” Republican national chairman Reince Priebus demanded that she apologize for her “reckless comments blaming the Tea Party for the horrific Tucson shooting.”

Wasserman Schultz makes no apologies. Nibbling a sandwich in her House office, she says: “I make strongly worded statements so people pay attention a little to what I’m saying.”