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Gabrielle Giffords to resign from Congress

Gabrielle Giffords to resign from Congress

It’s not very surprising.  While her recovery is miraculous, the strain of staying in Congress would have been too much.  But she and her husband needed to reach the conclusion with the benefit of time.

Via ABC News:

Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will step down from the House this week and not seek re-election when her current term expires this year, she announced today.

Giffords has made a stunning recovery after being shot in the head when a gunman opened fire while the Arizona congresswoman was meeting with constituents at a suburban Arizona supermarket in January 2011. But she said in the video today that she needs to focus on her rehabilitation.

“I have more work to do on my recovery and so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week,” Giffords, speaking clearly but slowly and haltingly, said in a video posted online Sunday. “Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover.”

I wish her the best.

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Comments

Joan Of Argghh | January 22, 2012 at 4:01 pm

I do commend her decision. I will (heartlessly?) point out as others have that while she was mentally not fit for duty, her constituents were being denied their due political process. We’ve demanded more from members who are ethically, morally or emotionally challenged in the pursuit of their duties, for the very same reasons: distractions and inattention are a disservice to their constituency.

On a side note=====> Van Morrison’s Wild Night is one of the best songs ever. Thanks!

To think that after the shooting, the idea of Gabrielle Giffords running for Senate was floated about like it had some level or credibility about it.
I wish her well.

    McCoy2k in reply to Neo. | January 22, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    The trial balloon of a Giffords Senatorial campaign came from people who didn’t know the extant of brain damage that occurred. To watch the videos of her in the recovery period show that there has been a shift in personality (child-like characteristics are quite evident) and a loss of skills, some of which will never be relearned. Giffords will never be the same person.

God bless Ms. Giffords. She is doing all she can to recover. I’m sure the pressure to return to Congress has been great but thankfully she has made the decision to step aside – good for her.

I wish her the best. Amen.

hmm..retire last year no benefits, retire 1-2012 and get lifetime pension.
maybe I am jaded but….

    Joan Of Argghh in reply to dmacleo. | January 22, 2012 at 5:01 pm

    Where can one cite that factoid? It’s a losing point, considering she was disabled “on the job” so to speak. I don’t think I can begrudge her some sort of pension. It’s no less than you or I would expect from an employer. She’s earned it more than most of the miscreants in D.C.

      http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

      Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees. They become vested after five years of full participation.

      pension has nothing to do with comp (which I as a disabled worker am really aware of) or the AD&D insurance already provided.

      this is above and beyond. if you get hurt at work on year 4 and are out on comp, etc and at year 5 resign do you get fully vested pension?
      I sure as hell didn’t.
      this decision for 2012 was monetary only. yeah it was a tragedy but remember last year when people asked about her resigning or people wanting to appoint a temporary rep? thought the world went to hell as everyone went nuts. so people in her district had no representation through all of it.
      she should have resigned after the 60 day mark last year when it was evident she could not fulfill her duties.

        Joan Of Argghh in reply to dmacleo. | January 22, 2012 at 6:15 pm

        Thanks for that link. I did not know how long she had served so that really is a pertinent point. It’s still a losing one, in the bigger picture of things, but it’s easy to share in the cynicism since it’s just one more monetary advantage that the elite vote into their bank account.

          don’t get me wrong, this whole thing was tragic and I have been praying for her often and found her recovery inspiration….
          but the voters needed her to step down long time ago and she chose not to all the while not doing her job.
          and IMO this was why.

          but I could be wrong..

theduchessofkitty | January 22, 2012 at 5:28 pm

Let us all wish her and her family the best life and future.

And for her Congressional district to receive proper representation soon. They deserve nothing less.

And for the shooter to spend the rest of his days rotting in an institution for the criminally insane. He deserves nothing less.

I wish Gabrielle Giffords a complete recovery. I also wish she would tell her husband and her party’s Debbie Blabbermouth Schulz to make a public apology to Geovernor Palin for their vicious and politically motivated blood libel.

To recover is not enough, to do so with a clear conscience is better.

I wish her the best and a speedy recovery.

I predict that she will likely be back once recovered, and be a very challenging opponent when that happens.

    BannedbytheGuardian in reply to PrincetonAl. | January 22, 2012 at 6:53 pm

    Reality check.

    Gabrielle had the absolute best treatment in the world & in the history of humanity. A speedy transport , battle field experienced surgeon . massive rehab. No monarch on earth could receive better.

    She lives & walks & talks. A miracle.

    If she were to be recovered to the extent you wish -it would have had to happen some time ago.

    Sorry .

I wish all the best to Ms. Giffords and her family. The timing of the decision is her privilege.

I admire this woman for her recovery, and while I understand the decision she made it makes me sad. A Professional Staff can do as much for the Boss as the Boss can herself, but yeah, we don’t elect a Staff as such.

My prayers and admiration follow her, where ever she may decide to go.

Gabby Giffords was not responsible for the actions of her husband. His failing was his unjustified attack on Giffords’ political opponents. The actions of that madman were not motivated by Republicans, Conservatives or the Tea Party. Yet, he never retracted his claim that they were responsible.

I am happy for her, that she will have time to heal without the life in the fishbowl that is political life. I am glad she is not going to let the conscienceless Dems use her.

Here in CA – when state legislator Pat Wiggins entered full dementia, they kept it covered up and kept using her, refusing to let her bow out gracefully, because they wanted to keep her seat. It’s despicable the games that go on.

Glad for Ms. Giffords that she will get to have and enjoy a real life with her family.

not really that sympathetic towards her leaving. she voted for 0bamacare, so her running combined with her now slightly retarded mental state and one obviously knows the election bid wouldn’t have worked out in her favor.

obviously what happened to her was indeed a tragedy, yes… but the Democrats politicising the whole incident trying to play off as much of the empathy of voters from what happened to gain otherwise unfavorable issues passed …that weren’t very favorable to begin with… kinda was annoying.

so I am kinda glad to see her go… it probably should of happened sooner, like a few days after the incident rather than drag it out this long.

I wonder if her husband has any aspirations of running for her seat? Can you imagine the lefty media’s response to anyone that ran against him and had the nerve to criticize him? It would be fodder for the MSNBC group on a nightly basis.

I really don’t blame her for waiting until now to resign. She was shot for being a congresswoman and she will never be the same. She probably will never be able to earn a living to take care of herself. What if her husband dies or decides to leave her? If she had resigned at the time of the shooting, wouldn’t she be able to sue the government for redress. If not the federal government then the state or county. I would much rather see that she got her pension than some of the others. As for her district not being represented, these congresspeople rely on their staff more than we think. I doubt if any of them are breaking their backs working.

My prayers for Ms. Giffords’ continued progress in recovery.

However, it has been entirely selfish of her family and the Democratic leadership to allow her to keep a seat for a year without being able to perform its duties. Her constituents have been effectively unrepresented so Pelosi and the Democrats can use Giffords to gain sympathy and somehow, nefariously and falsely accuse Republicans or the Tea Party of being complicit in the nut’s attack on her and others.

Congress has always been too lax on its members who lose their ability to serve effectively.