Gabrielle Giffords Steps Down From Congress
A little over a year after her tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords announced Sunday that she is stepping down from her position as a House Representative (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Arizona is my home, always will be. A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for we can change things for the better. Jobs, border security, veterans. We can do so much more by working together. I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week. I'm getting better. Every day, my spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country. Thank you very much.
Godspeed in your continued recovery, Gabby.
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Comments
She did the right thing by her constituents
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 12:57am.
I wish her all the best, and hope she can take her recovery as far as possible.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Indeed, Blonde,---
Submitted by matthewdean on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 1:06am.
would that more politicians acted as properly.
I wish the lady well.
MD
Giffords should have stepped aside long ago ...
Submitted by NL207 on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 1:59am.
when it was apparent that her injuries had compromised her ability to represent her constituents. Considering that she has had to learn how to speak again, that time was very shortly after she was injured.
Had she stepped down promptly, a special election could have been held to fill that seat. As it is, her constituents have been without representation for over a year, and will remain so until Jan 1, 2013 unless the Governor of Arizona orders a special election to fill the vacancy sooner. This was a disservice to the people of her district.
I believe the delay was a
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 3:10am.
I believe the delay was a political move. My brother has a brain injury and they are buggers to fully recover from. My brother will never recover fully and is in a group home and under supervision for the rest of his life.
Take care, Congresswoman.
Submitted by LinTaylor on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 1:46am.
I hope your recovery is speedy and painless, and may you be successful in whatever you choose to do afterwards.
Kudos to Ms Gifford*
Submitted by cajun2 on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 1:59am.
She has put other people's needs and representation above ego. Hope she continues her recovery.
The liberal media will find opportunity to once again blame Sarah Palin or the TEA Party for ending this woman's career. I have read a number of those idiotic stories on how Laughtner's attack was politically motivated. None of these articles and pundit spewage has ever addressed the possible motive of the gunman, who not only shot Gabby Giffords, but killed nine year old Christina Taylor Green as well. I wonder what she did to deserve the death penalty.
Huh?
Submitted by NL207 on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 2:11am.
It took her over a year to figure this out. And you think she was placing the needs of her constituents first? I think she was clinging to power as long as she possibly could until it became a certainty she could not continue in that office. This was no service to Arizona.
Jared Loughner looks like a bona-fide nut job. There is no point trying to assess the motives of an irrational being. Of more interest to me is the incompetent and possibly corrupt Democrat Sheriff who failed to arrest Loughner after he made death threats to local college officials prior to the Giffords shooting. This guy should have been in a padded cell long before he was shooting these people.
No NL*
Submitted by cajun2 on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 2:42am.
It was a snarky remark regarding the obvious biased media blaming republicans and not realizing the disrespect the media showed to the other victims of that shooting. And yes, pc liberal attitudes is what allowed a nut job to roam free and to obtain a gun. But the media raged on with their bias failing to recognize their callous disregard for the other victims.
Having no idea what Ms Gifford's motives were, who was influencing an obviously damaged individual, let's just assume, that she was trying to do the right thing for her constituents. We can delve into her motives when we have more substantive information. Let's not take the same tact as the biased media and inject motive where we have no evidence to do so.
Give the Democrats the benefit of doubt?
Submitted by NL207 on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 8:04pm.
We shall offer them the same as they and their cohorts in the MSM have offered conservatives.
That Giffords had hoped to make a better recovery, I do not doubt, but the medical advice on these matters is always the same. These kind of injuries do not heal to their fullest extent for 2 years. I am certain Giffords' doctors knew and shared this with her. Moreover, these kinds of severe brain injuries never heal completely. The victim always is something less than before injury. Giffords and her doctors know this as well. If she were putting her constituents first, she should have stepped down as soon as the severity of her injury was known. If in time her recovery is sufficiently complete to enable her to perform the duties of Congress again, then she would always be free to run for that office again.
This is what an honorable person would have done. We see that Gabby Giffords did something different than this.
I do not wish Giffords any other than the most complete recovery she is able to make. Perhaps she will reflect on this and have some appreciation there were others who lost far more to Jared Loughner than she and received scant attention from the media jackals who fed off this event.
NL---
Submitted by matthewdean on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 2:43am.
Agree on the Sheriff and Loughner.
Giffords may have been reluctant to give up the reins, or was maybe just hoping to get back to a normal life so that she could continue to serve her constituents when fully restored to health.
While I don't ignore the "me first" persona found in most politicians, Giffords (probable) desire to regain her ability to provide the full range of service required of the position, especially considering the severity of her injury, doesn't seem too out of line given the time frame involved.
MD
⇒ Get well, Gabrielle
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 7:58am.
Our prayers are with you and your husband. May G-d bless your recovery with astounding results.
Good luck, Gabbie
Submitted by Mashugana on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 10:31am.
It's too bad some really disturbed people have concluded you waited this long for purely selfish reasons.
Whassamatta, Zippers? You thought 'miscreants' was too harsh?
Submitted by SickofLibs on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 10:41am.
.
Can't wait for Little Debs' final soliloquy on this tragedy.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 10:37am.
They are BFFs you know, and talk at least ten times a day.
It should be really awesome.
Our prayers to Gabby for a speedy recovery.
Submitted by drsamherman on Mon, 01/23/2012 - 2:02pm.
Having treated neurotrauma patients, I can say that Gabby is doing the right thing to focus on her recovery and not on political gamesmanship. We wish her all the best and our prayers go out to her and her family.
Now if that mayo-haired Crime Princess or that jackass sheriff try to make political hay out of this, they should be chastised and forced to resign.