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Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, saying she must do the right thing for Arizona and herself in order to continue her healing, will resign from Congress this week.
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.
h/t Rustic Observer
58 Comments
This:
Before leaving office, Giffords will complete the “Congress On Your Corner” event that was interrupted last January when 22-year-old gunman Jared Loughner opened fire, killing six and wounding twelve.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/rep-gabrielle-giffords-to-step-down-from-congress/
Thank you, Gabby.
Pelosi statement (same link as comment #1):
Giffords will also attend Tuesday’s State of the Union address.
In a statement today, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Giffords has been “an inspiring symbol of determination and courage to millions of Americans.”
“Gabby’s message of bipartisanship and civility is one that all in Washington and the nation should honor and emulate,” Pelosi said in the statement. “I join all my colleagues in Congress in thanking Gabby for the honor of calling her colleague and wishing Gabby and Mark great success and happiness. She will be missed in the House of Representatives, but her legacy in the Congress and her leadership for our nation will certainly continue.”
May the Great Spirit help move you along to a full recovery.
We look forward to your being back to not only help Arizona, but all of us.
Be well and blessings upon you.
Thank you for all you have done.
More tears a year later, but different. Like The Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig, and also different.
A remarkable spirit behind a beautiful smile, some days I can almost hope
Keep fighting, brave Gabby, and thank you.
The way Gabby has handled this tragedy is far more important than anything she could have done in Congress. Strength and determination are a lesson for us all. Very classy woman.
I hate to say it, but this is long overdue. She didn’t do her constituents any favors by holding on this long.
Then don’t say it.
US Congressional Politicians take note: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is public servant that places her constituents interests above her own. Were it within my power, I would prefer she stayed and the rest of you resigned.
Thank you Gabby.
Thanks Teddy.
Yeah, thanks Teddy. This makes me teary. What a courageous lady she is.
Amen…Thanks. What a difficult and courageous journey.
This breaks my heart. Fuck the NRA and fuck the gun nuts and fuck the haters. Have we learned any lessons? I doubt it. I’m glad for Gabby’s sake that she didn’t try to put herself through another campaign because her enemies have absolutely no shame and it would have been really ugly.
(((Gabby)))
Disappointing! I thought people on this site were a little more enlightened about Gifford’s proud Blue Dog philosophy. One wishes her well of course and sympathizes with her but lets not forget that it is the Blue Dogs who toe the NRA line most of the time – not to mention all the other Republican-lite nostrums.
Incredibly brave. I’d roughly estimate there to be about 534 other members of Congress and the Senate who could take a few lessons from her.
Actually, that statement is incorrect. See Twain’s remark directly above yours. Giffords’ courage, determination and class is to be admired and emulated by us all. The visibility of her position permitted her to show us the way. The lessons are many and varied.
Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll come out of retirement to do a few spots in support of cutting SS…..
Hate to see you gratuitously give away ‘fucks’: a positive good.
My expletive of choice is ‘unfuck’: you take one away.
Guns are meant to kill human beings.
And they do that rather effectively.
Unfuck the NRA.
I would hope that I have enough human-ness to wish anyone a good life who has been through this – blue dog or Republican.
Paulart, I lived in Tucson; Gabby was my rep and I disagreed with almost everything she did as a blue dog. That doesn’t in any way mitigate my anger and horror at a public official being gunned down while attempting to meet with her constituents. I am as cynical about our “democracy” as anyone could be and I would not have expected Gabby to vote any differently had she run, but that is hardly the point.
I do not know the details of her politics nor do I care… people learn and change throughout their lives and sometimes profoundly through life changing events. She may very will have been a “blue Dog” democrat or still be one but given that she was gravely wounded in the act and service of her nation as a representative of the people, I give her wide, wide latitude in her political biases. I also admire and respect her decision to step down after suffering such a debilitating injury. NRA proponent or not, when push comes to shove, when our nation’s corporate owned government finally collapses from the corruption and greed, I want to be packing as much firepower as possible and I say that as a citizen who has not owned or fired a weapon for 40 years.
Yes, you are spot on accurate in your statement.
Irony is a bitch/bastard, ain’t it!
Yet, it is a tragedy.
Ban all guns!
I’m sad to see this. Thanks, Teddy.
Yes, there are still blue dog Dems, NRA supporters, like-minded voters, whose worlds overlap. It seems counterintuitive, but it is what it is, a population of Dems who aren’t consistently progressive.
My hunch is a blue Dem progressive (i.e., specifically gun control / ban if possible) candidate would not have prevailed in Gifford’s election. It was Arizona, after all, not Massachusetts.
The shooter apparently turns out to be a schizophrenic, wannabe Bolshevik. Still there hasn’t been much news in that regard since he began being force fed drugs so he might stand trial.
We’ll know more later.
I guess you are a fortune teller…So not necessary
Oh, please. You sound as if congress has actually done something in the last year and that her one vote in the Republican controlled dysfunctional House would have changed anything. In addition, with the makeup of things currently in Arizone, good luck with that too. In the event that you would suffer some catastrophic event, I would hope your colleagues wouldn’t be pushing to have you replaced.
I agree with you, but remember, Gabby was a solid advocate of the second amendment and owned guns.
Right, you and the rest of the gun toters against the largest, strongest military in the world controlled like everything else by the 1%. Remember, you have a gun and they have missiles, tanks, planes. Nothing more to be said.
Good point. :)
I know she did. If she had decided to run again, I think she would have been forced to defend that position – assuming she hasn’t changed her mind. I don’t know if she’s made any statements in that regard yet.
Hate to be a buzz kill, and please correct me if I have wandered too far off the reservation (no offense to our native American brethren).
But, and that’s one hell of a big but, is it not true that Ms. Giffords is/was pro-gun and pro-NRA even in a nation drowning in violence caused by private ownership of guns?
So, ultimately she is the victim of her own conservative political ideology.
Perhaps, the most interesting question is how many times before she was shot did she express sympathy and remorse for others who were shot or died at the end of a gun?
That’s what I thought.
It would appear that we have seen a tragic example of what goes around comes around.
Interested in your reaction to my 1:08 pm comment in response to Jim @ 12:37 pm.
That’s not what Shoto said at all.There are many programs available for the reading impaired. Look one up.
Gabby Giffords, class act all the way.
“That’s what I thought.”
What was it you thought?
Sorry to be so obtuse.
I don’t recall Giffords taking the public stage to express sympathy and remorse for the victims of her Blue Dog gun politics.
Do any of you have such recollections?
That’s what I thought.
See how it works.
“It would appear that we have seen a tragic example of what goes around comes around.”
If Ms. Giffords was a murderer I could agree.
Wow, what an honorable and brave person. I am truly sorry to see her go, but I respect her judgement.
Congresswoman Giffords, thank you for your service.
I don’t know if Gabby ever expressed remorse about gun violence before she was a victim of it; it’s possible that she may have. A lot of people who are pro-gun are often quite hypocritical in that regard, blaming such violence on random acts by criminals who could not have been stopped. Loughner fits that description for anyone who wants a superficial explanation. I can’t even begin to imagine if Gabby has had time to sort that out for herself yet. Whoever succeeds her as the Dem candidate will have to dance around that issue if they want to get elected; you don’t get to be dogcatcher in Arizona if you say anything bad about guns.
To chisel a finer edge on my initial point, she is more an accessory to a crime.
But an accessory is still held accountable for the commission of the crime, especially if she was fully aware of the possibly consequences of her actions.
I therefore will not recant my original rant.
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Well, sometimes speaking the truth is unpleasant, and subjects one to censure and criticism.
So your solution to that problem is “Then don’t say it”? How courageous!
Not sure whether you realize it, but there are things a Member of Congress does other than vote. They attend committee meetings, and ask questions. They provide services to their constituents. They do meetings which give their constituents the feeling that they are a part of our democracy, and that their only member of the House of Representatives is listening to them.
The attack on Rep. Giffords was tragic and despicable. Her recovery has been courageous. Her continuation in office over the past year dies not make her battle for recovery any more or less courageous, nor any more or less interesting to the public: she’s the only member of the House ever to survive being shot while in office. But when a public servant is elected to a two-year term, and it becomes clear that they will not be able to represent their constituents effectively, they owe it to their constituents to resign.
Hogwash. She was chosen by her constituents to be the representative. She owed it to her constituents to “try”. Trying is not a black and white process…it requires not knowing the outcome when you begin. She didn’t know how much function she would gain. The only way to know is to forge ahead and find out. I am so damn tired of black and white thinking. I am so damn tired of impatience and inconsiderate behavior. We owed her the chance to find out. We owed her “time” to find out. She sacrificed for us. It’s not black and white…technically, what do we owe her and what does she owe us in regard to finding out her peak performance?
Bah, such bleeding hearts. She should have stepped down in the immediate aftermath of the event. It was the only fair thing to do for her constituents. Her with her last second vote for the debt ceiling did no one any favors and only helped cement the shitty situation we find ourselves today.
Gun Violence and murders occur daily which are directly related to Blue Dog Bipartisan Politicians like Gabby Giffords. Like her terrible injury, the others – in great number – are also tragedies.
These murders occur domestically and in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, etc.
We also have lost our civil liberties as we suffer an expanding Security State Juggernaut because of Representatives like Gabby Giffords.
Is one person’s life more valuable and more important than another?
Wow, some people….
Thank you for your service Gabby. May your recovery be swift and complete.
Spot on. Something tells me that Mr. Thompson would be just as “upset” if she had resigned immediately.
I really don’t care.
Wow, I thought I was the only one that would be stupid enough to push back against the official line.
Of course she was a blue dog. And “we” love her.
Of course she supported guns. How much harm did that cause? Don’t care, “we” love her. How many others have been “courageous” enough to recover from gun-related injuries, like her? Well we don’t talk about them, but “we” love her.
Did she take lobbying money, aka bribery? “We” love her.
SS, debt ceiling BS, … it doesn’t matter, “we” love her.
And she’s so courageous. I mean she recovered, and that takes … courage? Ok.
Come on people, many of you know better than push against the mass delusion, even here. I should really be the only one doing that. I mean what about all those mean words? And they won’t like you any more. So please, let me march into the fray first and catch the flak. Then you can do it, after most of their ammunition is depleted. Most already don’t like me (still surprised I’m not banned yet, even though many would like to).
Ssshhh… They want to believe the narrative about the courageous Congresswoman who fought back from her injury. Not about the months she was unable to do her duty or how many millions were spent of taxpayer money in her recovery. I doubt our service members coming back from Iraq and/or Afghanistan are anywhere near as fortunate.
It’s not about the “narrative”. She survived being shot in the fucking head which in my mind transcends politics or policy. Good lord, would some of you people have cheered if she had died from her injuries? What class. I expect it from some of these names but you wirerat1? Disappointing to say the least.
I wonder why she used the techniques of a campaign commercial in this video? That bothered me, and I couldn’t watch it all the way to the end.
I told you folks, please let me be the cannon fodder in this.
Now they will come after you as well. And they will make up shite that you never said, because if you don’t support the official line then you must … “hate her” and “want her dead”???
It already started. And now watch them pile on. That’s why I ask people let me catch the flak first.
Good luck.