Transcript for Honoring politician Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ros-lehtinen. Take a look. Ileana Ros-lehtinen was born in Havana, Cuba. At the age of 8, she and her family escaped from Fidel Castro's tyranny and fled to she started her career as a teacher before becoming a principal of eastern academy in Florida. She was such a tireless advocate for children's education that the parents of the student body encouraged her to run for public office. Ros -- Ros-lehtinen became the first hispanic woman to serve in the Florida house of representatives. Four years later, she became the first hispanic woman in the Florida senate. Continuing her passion for education, she introduced a program that helped over 1 million people in Florida attend college. Ros-lehtinen made history in 1989, becoming the first hispanic woman ever elected to congress. She fought for the causes important to her like education and women in the military. She also passionately spoke out against Fidel Castro to the point that the dictator referred to her as la loba ferros, the ferocious she wolf. In 2006, she became the first Republican in congress to support gay marriage. After 35 years of loyal service to her constituents, Ros-lehtinen decided not to seek re-election in 2017. As we celebrate all the strides made by female politicians in the past year, take a moment to remember the ground paved by Ileana Ros-lehtinen. I got to tell you. That was very impressive. It's what a life and legacy she has lived. Ileana was very impressive, but I'm also talking about the way you rolled those "Rs." You're talking about my -- can you roll your tongue? No. Give me -- okay. You want it to, like -- can you do it? Okay. Here we go. Wow. Michael is the only person. Is that a gap thing? Right here on the close-up. Watch this. Okay. You settle down over there.
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